Friday 17th of February 2023 | Posted In: News and Views

Poplar Farm Walk - learn all about this excellent energy crop

Poplar Walk – led by William Jackson

Wednesday 8 March 1100-1400 (Includes refreshments and lunch)

Meet at the Certainly Wood board room: Lower Lulham Farm, Lulham, Hereford HR2 9JJ at 11am -  (Google Maps link here)

Are you interested in planting poplar on your land? Or do you already have a poplar crop and want to know more about its management, harvesting and the potential markets?  

Whatever your questions, whether they concern agronomy, economics or logistics expert William Jackson will be able to provide all the answers.

At this walk you will see:

  • the poplars and also the Certainly Wood drying kilns and boilers. 
  • how you would plant poplar as a Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) crop and as a Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) crop and how to push whips and cuttings into the ground at the correct spacings. 
  • There are various types of poplars to see: 
    • Cutting beds for multiplication which are managed as closely spaced SRC
    • SRF planted at 4x2m 
    • Wider planted mature poplar trees

This farm walk is in association with Envirocrops – a project supported by the Government’s Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme. Members of the Envirocrops team will be on hand to give you the latest information on the web app that is being developed to provide decision support to farmers and consultants.

About William Jackson

William Jackson is the manager of the Poplar Tree Company and procurement and operations manager for Certainly Wood. Utilising his forest management, commercial woodland planting and habitat creation expertise, Will has driven froward an information rich organisation, that is focused on delivering an expertise in poplar, woodland creation and management, and farm diversification.

Based in Hereford, the Poplar Tree Company has been going strong for 17 years. Previously, the Poplar Tree Company was involved in woodland planting. Currently, they have a large nursery for offering several poplar varieties and provide solid advice on best variety mixes and planting. In addition to this they help landowners accrue extra revenue by providing information on tree planting and help with farm diversification to woodlands. Certainly Wood, the other organisation Will is involved in, are pioneers in kiln dried firewood sourced form sustainable woodlands. They produce kiln dried logs, kindling and Flamers firelighters.

About Envirocrops

The Envirocrops consortium - led by the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) with support from two energy in agriculture consultancies: Crops for Energy Ltd and NFU Energy and software development company, Calvium - has been set up to create an app and STEM game. 

The Envirocrops web app is envisaged as a central source of impartial information in an easy to access, free or low-cost, user-friendly format, that will enable farmers, land managers and consultants to make an informed decision about planting biomass crops. 

Callout for Poplar Farm Walk attendees

To join us on the 8 March please email [email protected] to register your interest and come along to the walk. By signing up to this event you are also opting in to the Envirocrops quarterly enewsletter. We will not share your details with any other party but we will simply provide you with information on future events and updates on the Envirocrops app. You can unsubscribe at any time.