Purpose
This project explored whether adding short saw logs to the current mix of log grades would have a positive or negative impact on net revenues in hardwood plantations,
Summary
Increasing competition from alternate materials such as steel, plastic, and concrete, along with alternative land uses, are impacting the long-term competitiveness of the forestry industry. Producers need to be cost-efficient and maximise economic value out of their resources. To obtain maximum economic value and quality from the logs, trees must be cut and sorted into products with different specifications, including length specifications. Cutting stems into different lengths can impact various harvesting, handling, and transport production processes, leading to increased operation costs.
The primary goal of the research was to evaluate whether incorporating short saw logs into the existing assortment of log grades would positively or negatively affect net revenues in hardwood plantations. The study design included the evaluation of three treatments carried out at three sites in northern Tasmania. Two of the sites were unpruned stands of high and low quality, and one was a high-quality pruned stand. Researchers assessed the impacts of increasing the mix of short log lengths on various factors, including optimal equipment configurations, value recovery, machine productivity, production costs, and overall supply chain economics.
Benefits for the Forest and Wood Products Industries
The researchers found that short wood harvesting and transport costs increase by adding short saw logs to the current basket group of log grades, including long saw logs, export veneer, and pulp logs, supporting better decision making by processors. In both unpruned and pruned hardwood plantation stands, cost increases would not be covered by the additional revenue obtained from the additional saw log volume, particularly if there is negligible difference between short saw log and pulp log prices.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by funding provided to Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) to administer the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation program (NIFPI).
Funding for the program was provided by the Australian Government, the Tasmanian Government and Australian forest and wood products industry.
