Planting, growing, protecting, managing and harvesting; forestry is at the heart of what Coillte do and to assist them in this regard they employ the services of Keith Stewart of Donegal-based Stewart Forestry Services Ltd.
It was by accident rather than design that Keith Stewart found himself setting up a forestry business back in 1993. Out of work, he inherited a 40-acre farm from his uncle and decided to dip his toes into forestry.
27 years down the line, it’s fair to say that he hasn’t looked back since. Stewart Forestry Services now boasts a 30-strong workforce, which includes Keith’s wife Caroline (administrator) and son Sam, who graduated from Ballyhaise College a couple of years ago with a Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Forestry to his name.
Keith and his team provide a full range of forestry services to their valued clients and take great pride in the quality of their work. Keith’s passion for forestry is the cornerstone on which the company’s progress has been built.
“I have over 100 hectares myself planted on land and it’s nice watch it grow. I love forestry. I enjoy the healthy, outdoor lifestyle that comes with it and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” he said in conversation with Irish Tractor & Agri magazine.
Today the forestry sector employs 12,000 people in Ireland and every year it contributes €2.3 billion euro to the economy. It is estimated that the industry has the potential to double in size over the next 10 years.
Working away at the coalface, Stewart Forestry Services’ weekly workload keeps them busy.
“There is a lot of forestry that was planted 35 years ago that is coming to maturity now,” Keith pointed out.
“We look after 450 hectares a year for Coillte. We started harvesting two years ago and specialise in first, second and third thinnings. We also carry out a lot of forest road construction, clearance work and barrier erections. We have a firewood kindling business as well – something for every season!”
To enable them get the job done and meet those all-important deadlines, Stewart Forestry Services operate an extensive fleet of forestry vehicles and associated machinery.
These include two John Deere harvesters (1170G 8W and 1070E), two John Deere forwarders (810E and 1010G), a Komatsu 830.3 forwarder, two Massey Ferguson tractors (7720 and 6170) and 5 Hyundai track diggers, to name but a few. A Robinson timber trailer was the most recent addition to the impressive fleet.
Always keen to promote his line of work, Keith is a member of the Donegal Woodland Owners Society Ltd committee and Society’s objective is to maximise returns to forest owners through good forest management.
To be eligible for membership applicants must own woodland located in Co. Donegal. Each member owns one share in the Society, irrespective of the size of their woodland. The share has a value of €5. The Society has been financed to date by membership fees, charges for goods and services provided and a start up grant from the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The voluntary commitment of the members has resulted in huge cost savings to the group. To date the Society has over 150 members who between them own approximately 15,000 acres of woodland located in Co. Donegal.
Overall, Keith is optimistic about the future of the sector in Donegal and beyond but he does encounter challenges on a daily basis. The cut-backs on the use of chemicals is one while attracting and retaining staff is another.
“It’s labour intensive work and getting people who are willing to do more manual work is a lot more difficult. There is greater choice out there nowadays. For example, I advertised for 10 new employees last year and only got four. Also, there are so many different courses you have to do now and the cost of training is very expensive. You could spend up to €1,000 on someone and they could be gone after a week.”
That aside, the future is bright for Stewart Forestry Services as their graph looks set to continue on an upward trajectory. The company has come a long way since its humble beginnings and has established a reputation for quality and reliability which is second to none thanks to the in-depth knowledge of Keith and his highly-skilled team.
Stewart Forestry Services Ltd
Ballyboe
KIlmacrennan
Co Donegal
Tel:
086 6006468 (Keith)
086 4519706 (Sam)
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 8 No 3, October/November 2020
