"We have found space for trees on our mixed arable and stock holding near Braintree in Essex."

Henry and Edward Heath

The Woodland Trust is working with farmers to encourage woodland creation, with beneficial impacts.

With rising energy costs hitting every farming operation, a major tree planting programme from the UK’s leading woodland charity could help cut  bills and  provide future sustainable on-farm sources of wood fuel.

Brothers Henry and Edward Heath have also  found space for trees on their mixed arable and stock holding near Braintree, now planted with two new blocks of native woodland – a huge addition to the few hedge tree willows that previously adorned the farm

Newly-dug lakes had started to increase biodiversity, but the planting of 2,250 broadleaf trees on 2.5 acres of previous set-aside and rough pasture land in some of the farm’s smaller meadows is another major step towards raising the farm’s conservation profile - creating wildlife habitat and creating game bird cover.

Why plant a wood on your farm?

Shelter and shade: with projected increases in summer temperatures, trees for shelter and shade on farms could be essential for animal welfare.

Pollination: windbreaks also provide important shelter for crops and their pollinating insects. Restoration of lost hedgerow trees could benefit both pollinators and wildlife.

Water quality: carefully sited, trees can reduce soil erosion and protect watercourses from both sedimentation and nutrient-rich runoff from manure and fertilisers.

Conservation / game cover: well designed woodland increases the potential for game shooting acting as both a shelter and as a valuable area for feeding game.

Carbon emissions: new woodland can sequester carbon, helping to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions.

Wood fuel: sustainable use of timber instead of  materials such as concrete and steel - and as woodfuel to replace fossil fuels - plays an important role in the mitigation of climate change.

How to plant a wood on your farm?

Climate change and the shift in our weather conditions will have an effect on crops and livestock.

When planting for shade farmers have the option of allowing tree saplings within hedgerows to develop or additional planting to create the desired effect. Choosing deciduous trees will create the greatest amount of shade during the summer months when the need for shade is greatest.

When planting as a windbreak for crops native trees tend to work better as windbreaks than confier trees as conifers tend to create a solid barrier creating turbulence on the leeside.

If you are looking to mitigate pollution from farming trees located around livestock units can be used to intercept these emissions. The high ratio of leaf surface to ground area make native trees suitable for this purpose.

Woods on farms can also be used to create a timber resource. The time taken from planting a new wood on a farm to the first harvest of usable timber is likely to be around 15-20 years.

Visit the how to plant a wood section for information on funding and for online step by step advice to help you plant your wood. 

Back to the plant your own woods main page.