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SA Forestry magazine cover Nov/Dec 09
Are PBS vehicles the answer to reducing timber haulage costs, or should we be lobbying Transnet to get timber back onto rail?
Yes, PBS vehicles are the way to go.
No, we have to put timber back onto rail.
Both! We need an efficient rail service and PBSs on the road, so they can compete with each other and drive down costs.
  5 %
  68 %
  27 %
  Total votes: 100

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Currency data courtesy: coinmill.com
Indigenous forest - Forestry magazine South Africa - picture

A forestry magazine from seedling to sawmill

 lead story for forestry in South Africa   News-in-brief for forestry in South Africa

SA Forestry magazine present at conference

Focus on transport & forest plantation roads

SA Forestry magazine attended the Focus on Forest Engineering Conference, held at Howick in the KZN midlands. It served to highlight the need for grower companies to be more strategic about the establishment and maintenance of plantation roads, and for transporters to come up with innovative solutions to optimise payloads and drive down costs. 

With more and more timber transport migrating from rail to road due to the increasing inefficiency of the freight rail service, the pressure is on. Key challenges were identified as the need to reduce the number of plantation roads while improving the quality, thereby eliminating or minimising the need for shorthaul. At the same time, transporters are innovating around truck specs and payload (PBS vehicles), the use of multi-drive trucks and tire pressure control systems. Stakeholders agreed to begin sharing information about plantation roads while Forest Engineering SA would try to facilitate more R & D in this aspect.

Mercedes Benz fire tending vehicles, Forest Engineering conference - picture  

Mercedes Benz fire tending vehicles on display at the Forest Engineering conference.

Ask the forestry experts

Visit our Ask the Experts page to ask any forestry-related question and get an answer from our editor or an expert in the relevant field – free of charge!

Also, read the comprehensive answers that others have received.

Translate our forestry magazine website

If you do not understand English very well, no problem! Just go to http://translate.google.com/ and type in the website address and voila! Instant translation into the language of your choice (including Afrikaans!) 


  
Grasslands plantation - map

Improve the design of your forestry plantation

Ecological networks or open, unplanted areas on timber estates are often not optimally designed for biodiversity, but are a by-product of riparian delineation, areas not viable for timber, power line servitudes and firebreaks or patches of indigenous forests, which are protected by law.

Now the Grasslands Programme has developed a tool to enable timber farmers to identify areas of high conservation value on their land and design their plantations around ecological networks that promote biodiversity and bring many other benefits – without reducing timber production.

The programme team is looking to work with growers to incorporate ecological networks on their plantations as pilot projects. Interested growers should contact Steve Germishuizen on steve@aes.co.za or 033 345 6037/082 824 5242. See www.grasslands.org.za.
 

Sappi's Usutu sawmill set to close

Sappi has announced plans to close its Usutu pulp mill in Swaziland at the end of January 2010 due to adverse trading conditions as well as the impact of fires which destroyed 40% of the Usutu timber crop in 2008 alone. 

With the closure of the mill, which has a capacity of 190,000 tonnes annually, Sappi would also exit the unbleached softwood flash-dried pulp market. The Sappi Usutu Pulp Company employs around 600 people directly. 

A spokesman for Sappi said the company would continue to seek future beneficiation opportunities for the profitable utilisation of the Usutu forests. This could include the introduction of new investors.
  Competition header for forestry in South Africa
FEBRUARY 2010
FSA Annual Regional Meetings
 Alfred County – February, Harding Country Club
Est/Mid-Illovo/Rich/Ixopo – 9 February, Beaumont Eston Farmers Hall
Umvoti/Main Line – 9 February 14:00 Karkloof Club
Northern KwaZulu-Natal  – 10 February, Bloemveld Dam
Zululand – 11 February, KwaMbonambi Club
Southern Cape – 16 February 14:30 Saasveld 
Agendas for the above meetings can be obtained on request or at the meeting.
Contact Judy Dowsett Tel: 033 346 0344
Email: judy@forestrysouthafrica.co.za

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ICFR Regional Field Day
Central Region at Iswepe outside Piet Retief, 9 February 2010
Contact Sally Upfold at sally.upfold@icfr.ukzn.ac.za or 033 386 2314 by 4 February 2010.


MARCH 2010
Continuing Education in Forest Finance and Economics Course
The Dept of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, 1-3 March 2010
Pierre Ackerman - Email: packer@sun.ac.za
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ICFR Occasional Seminar of 2010
ICFR Conference Room, ICFR Pietermaritzburg, 5 March
Dr Black will be visiting South Africa, from Ireland. He is an Adjunct Research Fellow of the University College Dublin, and is currently Programme Manager for the COFORD funded CLI-MIT project on forestry climate change adaptation and mitigation research activities for the Irish Forest Sector.
Contact Sally Upfold: Tel: +27 33 386 2314 Fax: +27 33 386 8905
E-mail: sally.upfold@icfr.ukzn.ac.za
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The International Timberlands Investment Trends Conference
Sao Paulo, March 15, 2010
Website: www.pulpwoodconference.com
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The 4th Global Wood Fiber Conference
Sao Paulo, March 16-17, 2010
Website: www.pulpwoodconference.com
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HeavyWeight Transport Expo
Tshwane Events Centre, Pretoria West, 23-26 March 2010
The gathering place for the heavy transport industry, including bulk transport, materials handling, agricultural applications and special vehicles.
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Kirstenbosch hosts 3rd Biodiversity Expo
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, March 25-28
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and Conservation. Offering more than 30 exhibits on conservation projects, sustainable development, careers in the industry and lots more there are special days for schools and a celebration of Earth Hour on March 27. Entry to the Expo is free. Garden Entry tickets will be handed out for the first visitors over the weekend so make sure you get there early. 
Enquiries: a.morkel@sanbi.org.za
Website: www.sanbi.org.za
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FESA Annual National Stakeholder Meeting
ICFR, Pietermaritzburg, 24 March 2010
Please indicate your participation by latest 1st March 2010 via e-mail.
Emai: dirk.laengin@mondigroup.com

MAY 2010
Cape Parrot Counting Day
Venue to be confirmed, 8 (pm), 9 (am) May 2010
Volunteers are needed to help save one of South Africa's most endangered birds.
Contact: Prof Colleen T. Downs
School of Biological & Conservation Sciences
UKZN, Pietermaritzburg
Tel: 033 260 5127/04 (w); 033 396 2011 (h) • Cell: 082 920 2026
Email: downs@ukzn.ac.za
              
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Cable Yarding course - for contractors and forester (3 days)
SAFTC, Sappi Clan Village, Crammond, KZN, 11-13 May 2010
Presenter(s) Names: Peter Allpass
Cost per person (excl. VAT): R 2,750.00
Registration closes: 26 April 2010
Contact Kate Muir at:
Email: kate@forestrysolutions.net or Fax: 086 613 2558

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World Bioenergy Fair
Jönköping, Sweden, 25-27 May 2010
Email: (Jakob Hirsmark) worldbioenergy@elmia.se • (Gustav Melin) worldbionenergy@svebio.se
Website: www.worldbioenergy.com

 
JUNE/JULY 2010
18th Commonwealth Forestry Conference
Edinburgh, Scotland, 28 June–2 July 2010
Theme: “Restoring the Commonwealth’s Forests: Tackling Climate Change”.  
Tel: +44 131 339 9235 • Fax: +44 131 339 9798 


AUGUST 2010
II International Timber Processing and Industry Exposition 
“Maderexpo 2010” 
Montevideo, Uruguay, 19–22 August 2010 





  

Winner of the SA Forestry magazine Silky Saw subscriber competition

SA Forestry subscriber winner of Silky Zubat saw - picture

Congratulations to new subscriber Dietmar Niebuhr of Iswepe (right) for winning the Silky Zubat saw in our SA Forestry magazine subcriber competition! He is pictured receiving his saw from Ronnie Gevers of Forest-Pro in Paulpietersburg.

Thanks to our subscribers for the great response!

Stihl FS45 trimmer - picture

Subscribe to our forestry magazine and win!

Watch out for the latest competition in the Nov/Dec issue. The prize is a Stihl FS 45 Trimmer valued at a whopping R2 100 and is open to all new and renewing subscribers!

The winner will be announced in our February 2010 issue of SA Forestry magazine.




Environmentally friendly mulching in forestry - picture

Mulching protects soil from compaction when extracting timber
(see latest Environment blog).


Check out our three Editor's blog themes: Environment, Timber Transport and On the Road (informal travel blog).

We will be updating these regularly and would appreciate your feedback, so please feel free to leave your comments on our SA Forestry magazine editor's blog page. 
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