Bambra Agroforestry Farm

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Bambra Agroforestry Farm Bambra Agroforestry Farm and Rowan Reid, Agroforestry Educator Rowan Reid (Forest Scientist)

Bambra Agroforestry Farm - It's OK to harvest trees

In 1987 we purchased a small farm in the foothills for the Otway Ranges on Gadubanud Country. My idea was to make forestry - even the act of cutting trees down - attractive to farmers and the wider community. We plant trees because we need trees (land, water, soil, shelter), we manage them to maximise the range of values they offer, we are happy to wait for the trees to grow because we enjoy watching them change the landscape, and, when the time it right, we harvest because we can, and because timber is a renewable and beautiful resource. The way we harvest doesn't take the land back to how it was before, it takes our forests to the next level.

Its just Radiata Pine! Why would I grow that? Pine often gets a bad wrap as a low value exotic grown in large industrial...
20/10/2026

Its just Radiata Pine! Why would I grow that?

Pine often gets a bad wrap as a low value exotic grown in large industrial plantations that is only good for knotty framing.

Although it was the first species we planted on our farm back in the winter of 1987 it wasn't till we built our house that I began to fully appreciate its qualities.

We pruned our pines and spaced them so we had some great logs. We needed a lot of 300x45mm beams for the joists and rafters plus all the 90x45 studs for our 2 storey house. We were able to cut the lot from 35 pine trees. This was during Covid when the hardware shelves were bear.

Other than the baseplates and batterns, which we had treated for durability using a non CCA method, none of the pine framing left the farm. In summer we could dry the sawn timber in our solar kiln down to 15% in less than a month. By comparison the 50mm thick eucalypt took more than 6 months.

I was able to visually grade our pruned Pine onsite and easily achieved the F7 rating we needed for the most critical beams. By comparison the eucalypt beams and posts were graded to F17.

Sure. Pine is light, boring and not durable but as a useful, easy to grow and mill timber its great to have them growing on the farm for whenever we do our next building project.

They grow on most farm sites and work well as the tall component of shelterbelts including when mixed with native trees and shrubs.

Rowan Reid
Forest Scientist
Owner of Bambra Agroforestry Farm
Author of "Heartwood-the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit"



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Hardwood Mills Australia

18/10/2026

Is small scale timber production a viable proposition for farmers?

Could it ever make a significant contribution to Australia's future timber needs?

Our farm is only 42 ha. It has taken us almost 40 years to plant trees of more than 50 species across half of it and manage them for high-quality timber.

We only plant what we can afford to manage and focus on the species and products we think will be in demand in the future. Every tree provides non-timber values - environmental, agricultural, fire protection or aesthetic - that enhance our farm and improve its capital value.

Now we have a network of multipurpose forests spread across the farm that could provide a continuous supply of high-quality sawlogs - as long as we don't take more than we are able to grow.

Our farm is never going to make a significant contribution to Australia's wood supply.

Our aim is to simply show what is possible.

Scale of production, as it is for all farm products (e.g. beef, wool, milk, crops etc), comes when hundreds of family farmers produce the products the market wants.

So the question is: What can we do to build the confidence of thousands of farmers across Australia to consider wood as a complementary farm product?

Video shows me felling one of the Blue Gums for our house build a few years back. This one was only 27-yrs-old and 86cm in diameter at breast height. That's a growth rate of over 3cm per year despite droughts and a medium rainfall ( 700mm).

The cable runs to the remote controlled logging winch on the tractor. This allows me to cut the scarf and back cut, then stand well back to pull the tree over. Once down we extract the pruned sawlogs and one or two sawlogs from the unpruned section, then cut the rest for firewood.

We used our pruned Blue Gum for F17 structural beams and posts, and for BAL19 shiplap cladding.

Rowan Reid
Forest Scientist and TreeGrower
Owner of Bambra Agroforestry Farm
Author of "Heartwood-the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit"

How your hardwood timber is cut can really matter:Look at the endgrain: can you tell if your timber quartersawn or backs...
16/10/2026

How your hardwood timber is cut can really matter:

Look at the endgrain: can you tell if your timber quartersawn or backsawn?

Which do you prefer? Why?

We quartersaw many of our timber species for a range of reasons:

- Many species have a very high tangential shrinkage (along the growth ring) resulting in backsawn boards cupping as they dry and moving more with changes in humidity. This includes most of the eucalypt species.

- Quartersawn boards of almost all timber species are more stable in use which is why they are preferred for musical instruments and fine furniture. This even includes species like Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) which are otherwise considered very stable.

- If the log has fiddleback grain then the beautiful pattern can only be seen on the quartersawn face - photo of fiddleback blackwood in a guitar and our fiddleback Blue Gum cladding.

- Those species that have large medullary rays cells (like sheoak, silky oak and English oak) show a very special grain pattern on their quartersawn face. Photo of the end grain of sheoak showing the ray cells and the quartersawn cut Silky Oak

As logs from native and planted forests are getting smaller in diameter there is very little quartersawn timber available so it is becoming more valuable.

We've been testing a number of different sawing patterns for use on our horizontal bandsaw with the aim of producing a high proportion of quartersawn timber. See our youtube video - search for the Bambra Agroforestry Farm channel

Knowing the importance of large diameter logs for quartersawing means we grow our pruned trees in parklands to promote diameter growth. I like to harvest eucalypt logs when they are at least 65cm in diameter.

For a discussion about the use of quartersawn timber in our house check out the "Heartwood Podcast" on building our house (search for Heartwood Podcast )

Lots more in my Book: Heartwood.

Rowan Reid
Forest Scientist and TreeGrower
Owner of the Bambra Agroforestry Farm
Author of "Heartwood - the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit"

We're growing a Redwood burl! These are rare in natural forests and the twisted grain makes them very valuable for wood...
11/10/2026

We're growing a Redwood burl! These are rare in natural forests and the twisted grain makes them very valuable for wood turning. This one is already over 30cm across and growing well. The tree is 39-yrs-old and about 80cm in diameter. When ready to harvest the tree we can remove the burl. More likely we'll keep it and see how big it grows. It is wonderful to have these things on the farm.

More about burls in comments

Rowan Reid
TreeGrower
Forest Scientist
Author of "Heartwood-the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit"

A beautiful spring morning on our little tree farmEuropean Cherrywood (Prunus avium) in full blossom 🌸 providing a backd...
09/10/2026

A beautiful spring morning on our little tree farm

European Cherrywood (Prunus avium) in full blossom 🌸 providing a backdrop for our Queensland Kauri ( Agathis robusta).

Both pruned for high quality timber. The Cherrywood is ready to start harvesting for wood turning blanks. The Kauri will stay for many years providing shelter, habitat and beauty.

Rowan Reid
Forest Scientist and Author of Heartwood



We have been asked if you can buy the new edition of "Heartwood" in North America, UK and New Zealand.Published by Melbo...
09/10/2026

We have been asked if you can buy the new edition of "Heartwood" in North America, UK and New Zealand.

Published by Melbourne Books in Australia, Heartwood is accessible to international readers through several domestic and international channels.

The perfect Christmas gift for tree growers, farmers and wood users around the world.

Where to Buy in the USA:
• Direct from the Author: You can order a copy directly from the author's official Bambra Agroforestry Farm Website www.agroforestry.net.au, which offers worldwide shipping from Australia.
• Amazon US: The book is periodically listed by third-party sellers and international distributors on Amazon.
• Fishpond US: Specialized international book supplier Fishpond USA fulfills orders directly to US addresses: https://www.fishpond.com/Books/Heartwood-Rowan-Reid/9781922779670?srsltid=AU7gw4Xv2ZkH2R0UUCl-iFArakeLzZsq3DHI72Ju5JLaPwiwgLnHlb2P

Where to buy in the United Kingdom:
• Direct from the Author: You can order a copy directly from the author's official Bambra Agroforestry Farm Website www.agroforestry.net.au, which offers worldwide shipping from Australia.
• Fishpond: https://www.fishpond.co.uk/Books/Heartwood-Rowan-Reid/9781922779670
• Waterstones Bookshop:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/heartwood/rowan-reid/9781922779670?__cf_chl_tk=bQm1sYcqTwJLn8KhKMqEGeW1azPG8SeWBXclP7u6tSA-1791578496-1.0.1.1-DiRp8OxX7I__nRuTzBlyzkxjRSzjJVBUGzvKcbhfXnM

Where to buy in New Zealand:
• Direct from the Author: You can order a copy directly from the author's official Bambra Agroforestry Farm Website www.agroforestry.net.au, which offers worldwide shipping from Australia.
• Lots of the local bookshops are selling Heartwood - check online
• Fishpond: https://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Heartwood-Rowan-Reid/9781925556117

Or simply search for "Heartwood - the art and science and growing trees for conservation and profit" by Rowan Reid

09/10/2026

Southern Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).

We plant a lot of Australian natives including many from the subtopics where they tend to be more tolerant of higher temperatures and drought.

Rowan Reid
Author of "Heartwood-the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit"

There is a full chapter in my book on Silky Oak

See link in bio.

08/10/2026

Southern Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).

A tree I grow in the face of

We plant a lot of Australian natives including many from the subtopics where they tend to be more tolerant of higher temperatures and drought.

Rowan Reid
Author of "Heartwood-the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit"

There is a full chapter in my book on Silky Oak

See link in bio.

We don’t need more plantations on farms.We need more farmers who see native timber as a potential farm product.We need m...
05/10/2026

We don’t need more plantations on farms.
We need more farmers who see native timber as a potential farm product.
We need makers, builders and consumers who believe in farm grown timber.

Australian farms need trees—for soil conservation, shelter, biodiversity and landscape health. And millions of native trees have already been planted on farms across Australia.

What if some of those trees could also produce high-quality timber?

- Many eucalypts can produce excellent wood.
- Pruning can produce valuable clearwood.
- Given space, eucalypts can put on diameter surprisingly quickly.
- Selective harvesting can enhance biodiversity and forest health.
- Farm-scale harvesting and portable sawmilling equipment make small-scale processing possible.
- Large eucalypt logs can be quartersawn to produce beautiful clearwood.
- The value of large-section hardwood is increasing as the size and quality of logs available from native forests decline.

Yet industrial-scale growers generally aren't interested in producing large-diameter, pruned native sawlogs: it takes too long and is too expensive.

Over the past few years, members of the Otway Agroforestry Network in Victoria have selectively harvested eucalypts that we planted less than 38 years ago along waterways and drainage lines and then managed for clearwood.

We have used the timber for framing, stairs, flooring, cladding (BAL 19), decking (BAL 29), cabinets, chairs, tables and more.

And we're not alone.

Other farmers in our region have been pruning and spacing trees planted for conservation and shelter, with the intention of eventually harvesting high-quality timber. Some now have eucalypts more than 65 cm in diameter ready for harvesting.

We have proved that we can grow the trees.

The next step is to prove—through proper research—that the timber can stand on its own merits.

So here's the question:
Do you believe fast-grown, quartersawn, clearwood eucalypt timber can have wood-quality and performance characteristics comparable to slow-grown native-forest timber?

I'd be interested to hear what timber growers, processors, builders, furniture makers, researchers and other timber users think.

Photos: all planted trees less than 38-yr-old

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Bambra, VIC
3241

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