First year costs of establishing pines

Costs of establishing a pine forest are highly variable. In particular, site conditions and the amount of labour the landholder can contribute to the project themselves will affect the cost of establishing pines. It is, however, important to have an idea of costs prior to establishing a site with pines.

In some areas costs can be reduced and it is a matter of evaluating the particular site to be established to see what can be done to minimise the cost. The table below provides some indicative figures for the first year of establishment costs.

Other variable costs when establishing a pine forest include vermin and regrowth control and the costs of replanting.

A typical planting rate is 1,000 trees per hectare so on average landholders spend between $1,000 and $2,000 per Hectare establishing their pines with many providing their own labour.

Activity		Cost
Site preparation	Rip and mound with DLWC dozer and savannah mounding plough.	$180 - $220 per Ha + floatage. Alternative cheaper options for site preparation are available including the hire of local equipment. This can cost as little as twenty dollars a day plus costs of transporting the equipment to and from the site.
Pre plant weed control	Round up application on mounds	Applied at about 6L Ha @ $200/20L = $60/Ha. This weed control may not be necessary, will depend on how weedy the site is prior to planting.
Fencing	Purchase of fencing materials	Dependent on type of fence, between $2000 and $3000 per kilometre. With strategic planning fencing costs can be kept at a minimum.
Fencing	Erection of fence	Dependent on site, between $2000 and $3000 per kilometre. This is a full contract rate.
Plant seedlings	Purchase seedlings	Planted @ 1000 trees/Ha @ $255/1000 trees = $255/Ha. Cuttings may be purchased instead of seedlings but usually cost about three times the price at $600 / 1000.
	Planting	Hand planting, spades $65 each, or can be borrowed from STFFN at no charge.
		Machine planters available at around $25 per day. Can plant between 2000 and 5000 trees a day with machine planter with three people working on it provided conditions are suitable.
		Contract planters 15c - 30c/tree = $150-$300/Ha.
Post plant weed control	Purchase of Forest mix weedicide	Applied after planting @ about 3g / tree @ $220 / 20kg = $30-$40 / Ha.
Post plant weed control	Application of Forest mix weedicide	Contractors will charge between 5c – 15c / tree = $50 - $150 Ha.
Fertilizer	Purchase fertilizer (eg: starter phosphate)	Applied @ 150g / tree = $75 /Ha
Fertilizer	Application of fertilizer	Contractors will charge between 5c – 15c / tree = $50 - $150 Ha (may be applied at the same time as Forest Mix to reduce costs)
TOTAL AVERAGE 1st YEAR COSTS		between $1,000 and $2,000 per Ha

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