The 2016 /17 year has definitely had some intriguing moments. The forests however have had little to talk about. They continue to lap up the sunshine and soak up the moisture.
The heavy rain we have had recently has had no adverse impact on their growth and or condition. Fortunately, the forests are located in areas where the wind factor is minimal. Crossed fingers this continues. We look forward to a reasonably normal winter.
We have again had a small outbreak of ‘Dothistroma Needle Blight’. Like last year this seems to have cured itself. The forests are continually monitored to check their health and growth you will see from the Permanent Record Plots, on average the trees have put on 1 to 2 m of height. The Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) has also got bigger. The height and DBH and age of the trees will be used to determine the yield that the forest will generate. This yield will dictate what value the forest will receive at harvest time. As we approach harvest we will start to undertake Pre-Harvest planning which will involve intensive sampling plots and the planning of the actual harvest of the forests.