What was the challenge/problem addressed?

In 2006, John Casey, Teagasc forestry development officer, initiated a series of meetings and field days to discuss with mainly farmers the establishment of forest owner producer groups in the West Cork region of Ireland. 

The general consensus was that the formation of producer groups was key to overcoming many of the obstacles that forest owners encountered including lack of market awareness, low forest management skills, small individual forestry plantations, etc.

Many farmers were first generation forest owners and were coming from a low knowledge base. Capacity building could be enhanced by developing both economies of scale and a forest culture amongst these owners .

How did you solve the problem?

The West Cork Forestry Group was formed in 2009 from two existing start-up producer groups. The initial focus was on building capacity amongst the forest owners through a series of courses on timber measurement, marketing, operating chainsaws, etc. and, e

What is innovative in your practical case?

In 2018, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) launched the forestry Knowledge Transfer Group (KTG) programme, the main aim of which is to broaden the knowledge level of forestry topics amongst farm forest owners. 

FOCS was to th

What are the success factors in solving the problem?

The greatest factor in the the successful establishment and ongoing development of the Forest Owners Co-Operative Society (FOCS) has been the long term commitment of key members. The active involvement of these members had lead to a substantial knowledge

Lessons learned

Scale matters- whether it securing services from timber contractors, organising harvesting or achieving certification.

Without sufficient knowledge, farm forest owners are more likely to be price takers, instead of price makers.

Organisation capacity and a funding structure are essential- long term growth and development require more that part-time administration.

What role does the advisor or advisory service play with the practical case?

The Teagasc forestry advisory service was critical to the genesis and development of the groups that led to the establishment of the Forest Owners Co-Operative Society (FOCS).

Teagasc provided independent , objective advice at all stages through individua

Can your approach be transferred and/or adapted for other innovation challenges and regions?

Yes

Estimated transferability on a scale from 1 to 5

(where 1 is easy and 5 very difficult)

2

For sharing the experience on the good practice, please contact 

Dr. Kathryn O’Donoghue

kodonoghue@focs.ie 00353 86 343 5164

Link to external information

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2019/Forestry—Investing-in-forestry-knowledge.pdf

https://issuu.com/dawn_media/docs/1_2023 (pages 22-23)