No Fair Share From Forestry - Poplar Farming Program

I know farmers that are signing up to "tree farm" their lands for $20/acre for 20 years. That is consistent with what I see below. This is pretty solid evidence that Albertans are not recieving their "fair share" from the forestry industry.

Poplar Farming Program

Chuck Kaiser, Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Boyle, Alberta

The Net Present Values generated by crop scenarios demonstrate that the economic returns to farmers are equal to, or greater than, traditional agricultural crops.

• Traditional agriculture rotations of oilseeds, cereal crops and forage - $162/acre
• Leasing returns with no maintenance contract - $187/acre
• Leasing returns with maintenance contract - $192/ac

I don't know what aspens grow at in Alberta. From the same link further down, at the article describing the Quebec Intensive Silviculture Network it states:

hybrid poplars and hybrid larches, in Quebec, are fast-growing tree species that can produce on average 15 m³ per hectare annually

Assuming that an Alberta aspen forest produces 15m3 per hectare per year, this means about 6m3 per acre per year. Over 20 years this is approximately 120m3 of aspen.

For 120m3 of aspen, ALPAC is willing to pay a private landowner a cash flow stream which has a net present value of $192. Some easy math on all the numbers indicates that ALPAC is willing to pay a private owner $1.60 per cubic metre of deciduous wood.



Now, remember the stumpage fees that the crown receives? Albertan's trees.

For deciduous aspen, Albertans theoretically get $0.40 per cubic metre, you can see for yourself at ALPAC's Forestry Management Agreement.

http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/forests/pdf/FMA_ALPAC.pdf

A full 25% for what ALPAC pays private landowners.

How is that a fair share? No wonder the Americans have problems with us in the softwood lumber dispute, and issue that has hurt all Canadians.

It's even worse when we consider that in ALPAC's forestry district; NO STUMPAGE fees appear to be being collected.

See here: http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/forests/pdf/econ_impacts_booklet_2005.pdf


ALPAC pays somewhere between 0% and 25% of what it should; and "ALPAC Bill Hunter" comes after the petroleum industry for not being fair. No words can describe the hypocrisy and the gall of Bill Hunter to attack the petroleum sector for not paying its "fair share".