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22nd August 2026

PVoC programme paused

Greg Boulle, CEO of the South African Furniture Initiative (SAFI), says local furniture and mattress manufacturers have been closely tracking the regulatory framework

22nd August 2026

White River Saw Mills wins the 2026 Sawmill Improvement Award

Congratulations to White River Saw Mills on participating in the Crickmay & Associates Intermill Comparison (IMC) and on attaining the Sawmill Improvement Award for the second time

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.

03rd August 2026

The real test of localisation is procurement, imports and enforcement

Localisation has become one of South Africa's favourite economic buzzwords. It appears in policy documents, industry master plans and conference speeches. Yet for many manufacturers, the reality on the factory floor tells a different story.

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.

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.

29th June 2026

WHY SERVICE SUPPORT IS A REAL DIFFERENTIATOR IN A COST-CONSTRAINED MARKET

In a market where every operating hour counts, downtime can quickly become one of the most expensive costs a business faces. Pieter Smuts, Managing Director of Husqvarna South Africa, explains why service support is emerging as a key differentiator for equipment buyers

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

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

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.

16th April 2026

The effect of Mycorrhizal Fungi inoculation on the growth rate of Eucalyptus Grandis seedlings at SA Fine-Tuned nursery in Stutterheim

Forestry contributes significantly to South Africa’s economy, providing raw materials for domestic and international markets. Among many species, Eucalyptus grandis is valued for its rapid growth, adaptability, and high-quality wood.

31st March 2026

Sawblades and Retipping Costs are Surging and It Will Get Worse

Sawmillers and woodworkers across South Africa are already experiencing sharp increases in sawblade and retipping costs. But speakers at the South African Saw Doctors Education Association (SASDEA) conference, echoed by Sawmilling South Africa Executive Director Roy Southey, warn that this is not temporary. It marks the start of a sustained structural rise.

31st March 2026

Opportunities for Southern African timber exporters?

Stricter CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) regulations on African tropical hardwoods are creating market gaps that plantation-grown timber

30th March 2026

CUTTING IT FINE: March can be your garden’s make-or-break month

Most of us love the idea of a beautiful garden. In reality, life gets busy. One week of rain becomes three. The hedges get a little wild, the shrubs start spilling over, and suddenly the garden feels like something you need to catch up on.

17th March 2026

Focus on Forestry 2026: The Value of Forestry in a Greening Economy

Against this backdrop, CMO, Nelson Mandela University and Forestry South Africa will host Focus on Forestry 2026 under the theme: The Value of Forestry in a Greening Economy.

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