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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jeremy FranksORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Recent changes to UK agriculture policy have resulted in many farmers reassessing the management of their un- and under-utilised traditional farm resources. This study uses SWOT analyses to compare five options for generating revenue from one such resource, small-scale “farm woodland”: selling standing trees “at stump”, selling sawlogs “at the side of the road”, processing and selling “Ready to Burn” firewood logs, selling timber produced using a hired sawmill, and selling timber produced from a farmer owned sawmill. Barriers to developing these new income streams include the upfront cost of surveying and valuing woodland, the woodland’s value, access to specialist woodland management and felling companies willing to work with small-scale woodland, the farmer’s need for cash and their access to working and investment capital, the availability of un- and under-utilised farm labour, buildings and equipment, and a lack of profitability and break-even throughput studies for each option. However, the need for farmers to replace lost income provides an opportunity to change widespread existing perceptions of farming and forestry as being essentially different activities. Policies aimed at removing barriers which prevent individual and cooperative actions from generating cash from small-scale farm woodland are suggested.
Author(s): Franks JR
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Small-scale Forestry
Year: 2025
Volume: 24
Pages: 271-293
Print publication date: 01/09/2025
Online publication date: 30/07/2025
Acceptance date: 04/07/2025
Date deposited: 28/07/2025
ISSN (print): 1873-7617
ISSN (electronic): 1873-7854
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-025-09593-7
DOI: 10.1007/s11842-025-09593-7
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