Portable Sawmilling Costs for Landholders in Western Queensland

Portable sawmilling trials with Acacia aneura (mulga) and A. cambagei (gidgee) have been undertaken to estimate the private landholder costs associated with small-scale timber production from woodlands in western Queensland, Australia. A time study of harvesting and milling operations facilitated estimation of landholder labour input requirements. The scarcity and small size of millable logs, coupled with the prevalence of timber defects, make harvesting and portable sawmilling of western Queensland acacias an expensive undertaking for landholders. The cost of producing sawn timber that meets the High Feature (HF) grade of Australian Standard AS2796 is estimated at between A$3,000/m 3 and A$3,400/m 3 of HF timber. INTRODUCTION The woodlands of western Queensland, Australia, contain a substantial timber resource that has been traditionally viewed as an impediment to agricultural (predominantly pastoral) development. Lack of information about the wood properties 3 of the resource, the scarcity of straight-boled trees, their typically small stem diameters, the prevalence of timber defects, remoteness from major timber markets, and the availability of high-quality cabinet timbers and construction hardwoods from eastern Queensland, have led to low private landholder valuation of these woodlands. As landholders have strived to increase the productivity of their pastoral holdings, much of the resource has been pulled (with bulldozer and chain) windrowed and burnt, a management practice that was encouraged by the State Government until the mid-1980s (Rolfe 2000). By 1997, approximately 24 M ha (23%) of Queensland's Acacia and Eucalyptus woodlands had been cleared (National Land and Water Resources Audit 2001). Low commodity prices and drought, particularly throughout much of the late 1980s and 1990s, resulted in many western Queensland landholders experiencing financial difficulties. During this time, the unique timber properties of several western Queensland hardwoods, particularly Acacia species, became better appreciated in Australia and, to a limited extent, overseas. Small volumes have reportedly been utilised in specialty applications where high timber prices were obtained (Venn and Whittaker 2003). This has led some landholders to change long-held attitudes; woodlands are being seen less as an impediment to their enterprises and more as an economic opportunity. Timber production potentially offers a relatively stable and drought-proof income stream to traditional western Queensland graziers. Western hardwoods can also be considered a form of liquid asset, which could be tapped when cash is required. Timber production in western Queensland could generate considerable economic 4 benefits in rural communities, including employment creation, local skill development, income diversification and attraction …