Inspirational ideas: low-impact machinery for small farm woodlands

This inspirational idea is also available in a Slovak version. 

Translation courtesy of the National Rural Network Slovakia. Read more EIP-AGRI inspirational ideas in Slovak on the NRN website. 

The Welsh countryside is scattered with small on-farm woodlands. Many of these are under-managed, quite often because they are hard to access with large forest machinery. An Operational Group from Wales has tested the benefits of using smaller, low-impact machinery to reinstate management into these woodlands. This could create more biodiversity, cause less soil disturbance, and benefit the owners.

Many on-farm woodlands in Wales are situated on sloping banks, which makes them hard to access. Furthermore, heavy harvesting machines have a relatively high cost, and using them may cause soil compaction and runoff. “We have explored the use of smaller, low-impact machines to help reinstate management in small-scale woodlands”, says innovation broker Will John from agricultural advisory service ADAS. “Our goal was to identify the best ways to manage harvesting operations in these locations, for the benefit of foresters, contractors and anybody who is interested in managing woodlands and minimising the impact on the environment.”

Read more

Read the full article in the seventh edition of Agrinnovation magazine (page 15).

Download a copy to discover more inspirational stories, or order one or more printed copies of this magazine on the EIP-AGRI website.