To strengthen conditions for family forestry and develop the range of services offered to members, Södra is launching three new long-term collaboration agreements: a Forest Owner Agreement, Management Agreement and Supply Agreement. The new agreements are a further development and broadening of the current Forest Management Agreement and meet the needs of different forest owners. The agreements will be available as of 20 January 2025.
Owning forest is enjoyable, but also challenging. The growth and resilience of forests, the economy of forest estates and nature conservation, external expectations and an uncertain future will form the basis for active decisions and measures.
“The Forest Owner Agreement is focused on building long-term and strong partnerships. Today’s forest owners have a wide range of goals and ambitions for their forests, and we think this service could be interesting for many of them. Our aim is to deliver the best offer and a secure and mutual relationship based on different forest owners’ needs,” said Peter Karlsson, President of the Södra Skog business area.
The Forest Owner Agreement service is based on an annual cycle and can be very helpful whether you are a new forest owner or have many years of experience.
“It is an interesting and stimulating service where new forest owners receive guidance in formulating their intentions for their estate and a clear plan for what has to be done during the year. More experienced forest owners can instead receive help to challenge their goals and further develop what they’ve already started. The members I have worked with say the Forest Owner Agreement has injected new energy into their forest ownership,” said Victor Ljungar, advisor at Södra.
The Management and Supply Agreements are more suited to large forest owners who needs help with operations or have their own forestry organisation.
The new services will increase predictability and planability for Södra. Therefore, forest owners who sign up for the services are paid based on the year’s highest timber prices when they harvest.
“We see long-term demand for the raw material from family forestry as more and more people want to use the forest for different purposes. Long-term collaboration agreements provide security for both parties and are therefore worth a higher wood price,” said Peter Karlsson.
Facts
- In the Forest Owner Agreement, an overall five-year forest estate plan is developed based on the goal discussion, and a concrete annual plan with measures that move the forest estate in the long-term direction. A supervision report and a new goal conversation take place every year to identify any changes in the forest or forest ownership.
- The Management Agreement is mainly intended for forest owners who need help with the management of their estate, usually a large estate.
- The Supply Agreement is for particularly large forest owners who have their own forestry organisation to manage operations and want a long-term business partner for their wood deliveries.
