12th August 2026

Reflections on the mentoring process

The women who hosted the 2026 webinar are all mentored by women in the She is Forestry SA (SIFSA) network. They had this to say about their experiences

11th August 2026

Mentorship helps women overcome career barriers and build confidence

This year’s She Is Forestry South Africa (SIFSA) Women’s Day webinar celebrated the second anniversary of its Mentor Me programme. The theme was the Power of Words.

11th August 2026

Sawmilling gives a former DRC auditor a new career

A successful career in finance wasn’t enough to keep auditor Julian Kakule in banking after he saw a Wood-Mizer sawmill in action.

05th August 2026

JP Landman says the FSA punches well above its weight

The jovial political economist JP Landman has never been shy about naming South Africa's problems plainly, and delegates at the Forestry South Africa (FSA) AGM in June were treated to an entertaining talk.

30th July 2026

SA’s forestry industry advised to focus on its successes

Forestry South Africa’s annual general meeting offers a glimpse into a rural industry that may be small in national agricultural terms, yet its resilience, ability to build relationships within and beyond its value chain, and depth of leadership make it highly influential in national policy and strategy.

27th July 2026

Logmech solves Mkhoba Forestry’s steep slopes quandary

Harvesting and transport specialist Mkhoba Forestry has invested in the proven TimberPro 725D levelling harvester and SP Maskiner 761LF head combination to address steep-slope cut-to-length operations in south-western KwaZulu-Natal.

25th July 2026

Pest Alert - Cyrtogeniusluteus

During surveys conducted in Mpumalanga in May 2025, aimed at investigating pine bark beetles, members of the TPCP team and Sappi detected an unknown bark beetle inhabiting galleries beneath the bark of harvested pine trees.

22nd June 2026

Fort Cox celebrates the Class of 2025

The ceremony celebrated the graduates’ hard work and achievement, while highlighting the Institute’s continued commitment to developing skilled professionals for the agricultural and forestry sectors.

17th June 2026

New Forests launches global natural capital fund

Fund manager New Forests launched its Global Landscape Opportunities (GLO) strategy in June, the company’s first global natural capital offering for institutional investment across forestry, agriculture, and complementary markets, including carbon and biodiversity.

14th June 2026

STIHL’s BR Backpack Blowers are built for fire management

When you need to slow or stop the spread of fire, you need to remove the fuel. This is where professionals rely on the STIHL BR range of backpack blowers to clear combustible material and create effective fire breaks.

03rd June 2026

The Ponsse Buffalo Planter has landed, and Novelquip’s tech is driving it

Novelquip Forestry, a South African engineering company, and Ponsse, the Finnish manufacturer of forestry machines, launched their new mechanised planting technology, the Buffalo Planter, at Expo Minas Florestal in Brazil in May.

25th May 2026

World's first tree harvested by a drone in a real forest - AirForestry

AirForestry says its drone felled trees in a working production forest and, separately, completed an end-to-end harvest without human control — each a first for the airborne thinning method it has built since 2020.

22nd May 2026

300,000 hectares and counting: How South Africa's forestry sector is quietly preserving biodiversity

Biodiversity stewardship must extend beyond the boundaries of protected areas,” says Dr Ronald Heath, FSA’s Director of Research and Protection. “Conservation has to happen across entire landscapes, where productive land uses and natural ecosystems coexist and support one another.

06th May 2026

NCT’S RECOVERY: Bell water tankers inform NCT’s new fire station capacity

Throughout history, fires have caused widespread devastation and loss. In late September 2023, the NCT Forestry Co-operative Limited (NCT) mill in Richards Bay experienced this firsthand when strong winds, low humidity, and high temperatures combined to create ideal conditions for a fire that raged for more than ten days.

29th April 2026

STIHL marks 100 years globally and 30 years in South Africa with renewed local investment

When STIHL marks one hundred years in business, it does so from a position few in the forestry equipment sector can match

21st April 2026

The Chain of Custody communication gap in South Africa

South Africa's commercial plantation forests are mostly FSC certified. That's not a small thing. It represents a significant and ongoing investment by forest managers in responsible practice

21st April 2026

Fort Cox: Where forestry and agriculture training meet

Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute (FCAFTI), based in Middledrift in the Eastern Cape's Amathole region, occupies an important niche in the country's forestry education landscape.

21st April 2026

NCT Richards Bay rebuilds with Bell after massive fire

Described as “a multi-billion-rand catastrophe”, the September 2023 at the NCT mill in Richards Bay destroyed tonnes of wood chips and round logs, damaged the wattle and Eucalyptus chip lines, and equipment, including a Bell L1506 wheeled loader, an old Bell Haulage Tractor and logger, and a tracked Kobelco Excavator with a timber grab that had been purchased four years earlier.

21st April 2026

SA’s URUS Tightline TL3021 winch-assist powers steep-slope harvesting

A report by Urus Equipment Nine months into full operation in Mondi’s Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal plantations, the URUS TL3021 Winch Assist

21st April 2026

Why the Hitachi BX100 Backhoe loader is a true timberland asset

The Hitachi BX100 Backhoe Loader from Hitachi Construction Machinery may traditionally sit within the construction segment, yet in plantations, it is a capable multi-functional workhorse.

21st April 2026

The ABC of biomass recycling

Africa Biomass Company (ABC) understands the operational challenges of wood recycling and, since 2004, has been at the forefront of developments in biomass recycling and a market-leading equipment supplier and contractor to the forestry and agriculture industries.

16th April 2026

Where do we need glyphosate?

The Timber Industry Pesticide Working Group (TIPWG) has issued a guidance note clarifying the use of glyphosate for firebreak preparation.

16th April 2026

Welverdiend Forestry opts for TimberPro

A highly experienced Mpumalanga-based forestry contractor has taken delivery of a TimberPro harvesting and forwarding system to boost productivity on a pine-harvesting contract for Sappi Forests.

16th April 2026

Afrequip drives forestry performance through partnership and precision

In the demanding, ever-evolving landscape of Southern Africa’s forestry sector, operational efficiency, reliability, and strong technical support are essential. AfrEquip, a specialist supplier and support partner, has spent over two decades refining its role within the industry.

Sector Organisations

error: Content is protected !!
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram