Native Forestry

Native News May 2010

As a result of an increasing number of enquiries, both through our website and more locally through people asking us, Native Forestry intend to start selling firewood from the winter of 2011/12. There are many issues to consider and it has quickly become apparent that the business of selling firewood is not as simple as it first appears!

One of the main problems that many contractors are facing is the supply of suitable hardwood timber in certain areas of the country. Much of the countryside within the East Midlands region, for example, is used for agriculture, with only pockets of significant woodland cover scattered throughout the landscape. Fortunately, our contacts within forestry enable us to access local supplies of firewood, which will help to keep transport costs as low as possible. The cost of firewood is significantly increased as the distance between source and end user increases, so local sources should always be sought wherever possible. A number of nationwide firewood suppliers that sell through the internet are clearly sourcing timber from all over the country, with the higher transport costs reflected in the higher prices compared to those of smaller local contractors. If anything, the larger companies should be able to supply firewood more cheaply than smaller companies through economies of scale, but this is clearly not the case!

In order for a firewood business to be commercially viable, the efficiency of the felling, processing and delivery operations must be maximised. This inevitably involves the use of machinery such as chainsaws (harvesters for large areas of woodland), log splitters (firewood processors for larger volumes) and forwarders, trailers and lorries for handling and transporting the timber. The initial capital costs of these machines and the ongoing maintenance costs, together with the frequently required storage and drying facilities, mean that firewood businesses must be efficient for them to be profitable. The recent increase in demand for firewood has enabled contractors to increase the price, although the production costs have similarly increased owing to the high price of fuel.

As the supply of firewood is seasonal, with the demand obviously much greater in the winter, the selling of firewood will only be part of our overall business and therefore remain relatively small-scale. We have yet to carry out any market research so don't have a clear idea of how much demand there will be in the local area, but as future price increases of fossil fuels are inevitable, the current level of demand for firewood will increase if anything. We will update our progress in further posts on our website, so watch this space.

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