By Chris Chapman The 23rd Forestry South Africa AGM provided fascinating insights into how the public and private sectors are chipping away at the structural reforms and investments required to spark an exciting phase of…
By Chris Chapman Winch-assisted steep slope harvesting has come to South Africa for the first time, with two Ponsse Cobra wheeled harvesters doing the business in the KZN Midlands and Melmoth in Zululand. The harvesters…
By Joy Crane The 2025 Precision Forestry Symposium focused on the application of innovative technologies, open-source and specialised software, and artificial intelligence (AI) to plan, manage and monitor operations from nursery to logyard. The Department…
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Southern Africa has registered a process to develop a new Forest Stewardship Standard (FSS) for natural forests in South Africa by year end. Currently, there is no FSS specifically designed…
By Chris Chapman Forest scientists from all corners of the country gathered in Pietermaritzburg recently, showcasing the breadth and depth of research currently on the go in the forestry sector. It has been seven long…
A recent wattle field day organised by NCT Forestry provided an ideal opportunity for local tree farmers to pick up some pointers from the wattle “experts” who have been working with wattle for decades. The…
The high rainfall, cool temperate climate, and well-drained red soils make the Hermannsburg area, with its traditional authority villages, Mbulwane and Ematimolo, ideal for growing Acacia mearnsii (wattle) trees. Two small-scale wattle timber growers are…
Khethezakhe Nkosiniphile Zulu, a small-scale tree farmer and timber transporter, was awarded the prestigious NCT Small-scale Tree Farmer of the Year Award at the organisation’s AGM. He obtained his matric at Nokhalela High School in…
Delft Forestry, a family-owned and run business, won NCT‘s Commercial Tree Farmer of the Year Award. The family’s farms, Delft, Welkom and Lodewykslust Landgoed, cover a total area of 4,600 hectares in the Mkhondo area…
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has released its flagship publication, Forest Futures. This pivotal work leverages current scientific research to assess the state of the world’s forests and explore their potential for profound change. It…
