Business profiles in forestryBack >

NCT’s Top Commercial Tree Farmer

Carl Seele's farm, Trewirgie, won in the category of commercial farm managed on privately owned land. Located at the head-waters of the Umlaas River in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, it is 1 400 ha in extent with 770 ha planted to timber (170 ha wattle, 300 ha eucalypts, and 300 ha pine). Carl also runs a herd of beef cattle as a sideline activity, and maintains kikuyu pastures and grassland for grazing. The remainder of the farm is managed primarily for conservation purposes.

Carl Seele and his son Ben at their farmhouse in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.

Well-maintained plantation road on Trewirgie.	Conservation areas on the farm are carefully managed to protect biodiversity.

Carl has a distinguished record of serving the timber industry. He has held positions on numerous boards, councils and committees, including chairman of SATGA, vice-president of SAWGU, board member of CTC and chairman of NCT. He is currently a member of the Board of Hans Merensky and is part of the project management team of Pulp United.

The Seeles continuously strive to improve the productivity of their timber operations. Species are matched to site conditions and market requirements with wattle being planted below the snow line. Pine (Patula and Eliottii) and E. grandis are grown on sawlog rotations, while E. smithii is grown for the NCT woodchip market. Wattle bark is sold to the UCL factory in Dalton.

All forestry and farming operations are performed by the farm's own labour. Long-haul transport to Durban Woodchips is also an own operation.

Silviculture is of a high standard, with seedlings planted into weed-free compartments. Wattle seedlings are grown by Carl's wife, Christine, in a farm nursery. The plastic sleeve system is used to produce a large and robust seedling, negating the need to blank wattle compartments. A motor/manual harvesting system using trailers is employed to fell and extract timber to depot. This system results in very little site damage.

The fire protection management on the farm is noteworthy. High fire risk grasslands, riparian areas, and firebreaks are burnt annually and wattle belts are used throughout the farm as 'green' fire breaks. Brushwood is burnt only when it is strategically necessary.

The environmental management on the farm is outstanding. This includes ensuring that timber farming activities do not pollute or degrade the natural environment. Pristine mistbelt grasslands are not grazed, and along with the natural forest patches and riverine areas, are carefully managed for the conservation of biodiversity. The farm provides refuge to many rare and endangered species, including extensive colonies of Hilton daisies, some black stinkwoods, oribi antelope, samango monkeys, tree hyraxes and blue swallows.

The Seeles bought the farm in 1978, and planted all the timber themselves. They employ a permanent labour force of 100 people. Carl's son, Ben, is also involved in running the farm.

Carl sees a big future for timber because of the increasing gap between demand and supply in South Africa, because of the fact that it is an environment-friendly material with many uses, and in view of the growing need for biomass for green energy.

A major challenge facing the timber industry is what he terms the 'demise' of Transnet Freight Rail. He says that all of his timber was being transported to the mill by rail until the branch lines were closed.

"I supported freight rail because I thought it was right, but they are concentrating on coal and iron ore because they are profit-driven. The country's rail infrastructure should be used to provide a service to all bulk commodities, like timber," he said.

Published in August 2011