OneFortyOne, a leading forestry company based in Mount Gambier, has announced its acquisition of approximately 15,000 hectares of existing plantations in the Green Triangle and Western Australia. This strategic purchase, which enhances the company’s land holdings by 15 percent, aims to meet the increasing demand for timber driven by Australia’s ambitious housing targets. Chief Executive Wendy Norris shared the company’s audacious plan with us. Over the next five years they will convert 80% of these plantations to softwood radiata pine.
OneFortyOne’s operations sit in the environmental and cultural Lake Green Triangle region, which includes around 334,000 hectares of pine plantations. This sector accounts for 17 percent of Australia’s forestry workforce. The conversion to radiata pine is part of a broader response to a national goal of constructing 1.2 million new homes by 2029. The increasing need for softwood timber to build homes is forcing a big change in priorities among forestry companies.
Strategic Shift Towards Softwood
Wendy Norris stressed that the conversion from blue gum to radiata pine meets the market demands. She noted it’s a shrewd economic move. She told us that blue gum trees take only seven years on average to grow to maturity. By contrast, radiata pine only takes about 30 years to finish its growth cycle.
“Blue gum grows for about seven years and when you convert to radiata pine you grow your growing cycle to about 30 years,” – Wendy Norris.
The latter’s longer growth cycle means that these trees can store more carbon, too. This expanded storage dovetails nicely with the booming market for carbon credit trading. Norris noted that growing pine not only yields economic benefits through timber production but contributes significantly to climate change mitigation.
“You store a lot more carbon in the tree when you grow it for that long and you earn more carbon credits,” – Wendy Norris.
Both state and federal governments are heavily incentivising the growing of radiata pine. Consequently, investment in this sector is exploding. Rod Keenan, former chair of forest and ecosystems science at the University of Melbourne, noted a clear movement in this direction. Much more pine is being planted today to supply the long-term timber needs for building lots.
“Both the state and the federal governments have incentives in place for industry and private investors to grow radiata pine,” – Rod Keenan.
Implications for Employment and the Environment
The transition from blue gum to radiata pine is expected to have positive implications for employment in the forestry sector. Nathan Paine reiterated that this transition is a huge opportunity for the 21,300 South Australians employed in forest industries. These workers are both directly and indirectly impacted, and the potential increase is significant. He noted that softwood operations are more job intensive than hardwood operations.
“It’s a shot in the arm for these 21,300 South Australians who work directly and indirectly in forest industries in Australia,” – Nathan Paine.
With rapid expansion of the industry there are ongoing concerns that entire blue gum forests may be lost. Keenan noted that when these large tracts of forest land are sold, they’re usually replaced by general agriculture. This conversion often leads to a loss of tree cover.
“Over the past decade, when there have been large sales, we’ve seen that land revert to general agriculture and we’ve lost those forests,” – Rod Keenan.
Keenan went on to stress that blue gums are in decline and quite miserable in their plantations. Their extreme water requirements and changing climate conditions are the main contributors. In comparison, radiata pine is much more resilient to these factors and is therefore a better option for future plantations.
“The blue gums are typically quite water-hungry and some of the sites they were planted on are probably not that suitable for blue gum these days and becoming less suitable as the climate becomes drier,” – Rod Keenan.
Future Prospects for Australian Forestry
The timber for New Zealand’s very strong domestic market is supplied by the softwood production from fast-grown radiata pine which has a good reputation for its quality. OneFortyOne operates Jubilee Mill, one of the world’s largest timber processing mills. This particular mill is dedicated to processing softwood timber into 2 x 4s and other dimension lumber for home building.
Wendy Norris, very happy indeed about this strategic shift. She is convinced that this will pay off both for the company and the society at large. Transitioning toward more resilient plantation systems will help promote sustainable forestry practices alongside meeting the housing needs.
