Donegal farmer Ross Buchanan is taking home an RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Award for his innovative woodland project in Carndonagh.
From traditional Donegal sheep farming stock, Ross Buchanan manages 48 hectares of diverse woodlands planted on an outlying farm in 2006. This has opened up new opportunities for farm diversification, and as such forestry is now very much an integral part of the farm.
Ross scooped the Production Forestry Award at the ‘Finding Common Ground’ festival in the RDS yesterday.
Ross Buchanan’s woodland is almost as far north as it is possible to go, and contains what is probably the most northerly oak stand being managed for quality timber on the island. The woodland is a diverse mixture of productive stands in an incredibly beautiful setting; which is being managed using a complex range of management styles and objectives.
The Judges said “Ross is finding unusual markets for some of his products – from using spruce brash for stream stabilisation to using wood chip for suppression of Japanese knotweed. He also has a large number of beehives in a clearing within one of his spruce crops. Ross and his family are committed to this land into the future and have very ambitious plans for tourism opportunities in the coming years.”
