Adoption of farm forestry in Victoria: linking policy with practice

Abstract

Farm forestry is promoted in many Australian regions as a strategy to: address environmental decline on farmland, add to farm incomes, and contribute to regional forest industries. At the core of the federal and state governments' policies on farm forestry is the assumption that a large proportion of landholders will be able to grow trees profitably for timber. Results from a mail survey of landholders in three catchments in Victoria—Goulburn-Broken, Ovens and Wimmera during 1999 to 2002, revealed low levels of farm forestry adoption. Landholders are concerned about what they see as uncertain and uncompetitive regional markets for small-scale growers. Analysis of survey data suggests that high levels of property turnover will occur over the next 10 years. These trends are serious impediments to the widespread adoption of farm forestry in these catchments and have important implications for federal and state policies. We conclude with some practical suggestions about how farm forestry policy and programs can be more effective by responding more directly to the concerns and values of landholders.

Keywords:

• farm forestry
• south-east Australia
• adoption
• landholders' views and concerns