Gippsland farm forestry grant program

The Victorian Government is supporting the establishment of plantations on farms, to expand and diversify the state’s timber resources and enhance farm productivity.

Program objectives

The program aims to support plantation growth on farms to expand and diversify Victoria’s timber resources, while generating other benefits such as:

• enhancing farm productivity
• diversifying income streams for landholders through the sale of timber and potentially carbon credits (or contribute to carbon offsets via other industry schemes or carbon in-setting)
• generating economic activity in regional communities.

As well as supporting the establishment of plantations in dedicated woodlots, the program encourages the integration of timber trees and agriculture in other ways, including within shelterbelts and in wide-spaced plantings, preferably guided by the landholder’s whole farm plan. Designed in this way, incorporating timber trees into the farming landscape can produce a broad range of economic, environmental, social and cultural benefits.

About the program

Grants are available for landowners to establish plantations on their properties.

Typical planting regimes are as follows, and landowners may choose to establish combinations and variations of these:

• Woodlots – small-scale plantations where production of timber is the primary objective, generally 5 to 20 hectares in size.
• Shelterbelts (or timberbelts) – strips of trees (often in combination with shrubs) strategically planted to shelter livestock, crops and pastures from the elements, as well as producing timber.
• Wide-spaced plantings – trees planted in rows or clumps, much further apart than typical woodlots, enabling effective grazing of livestock or growth of crops, as well as producing timber.

* Support is available within the grant structure to help the landowner clarify their objectives and determine the why, what, where and how of each planting.

Eligibility and guidelines

Grants are now available for plantation establishment in 2024–25.

Successful applicants will be awarded around 50% of the typical establishment and early management costs to establish a farm forestry plantation on their land.

Details about program eligibility can be found in the Gippsland Farm Forestry Program Guidelines 2024-2025.

If you believe the program fits with your objectives, you can apply using the Gippsland Farm Forestry Sites Grant Application Form 2024-2025.

Key dates

Applications open: 4 March 2024

Applications close: 7 March 2025

How to apply

If you are interested in applying please contact farmforestry@deeca.vic.gov.au

Resources

Species information

The Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action (DEECA) is committed to protecting personal information provided by you in accordance with the privacy principles in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.

DEECA will use your personal information and contact details to provide communications to you about the Victorian Carbon Farming Program via the My Emma platform, and may refer your personal information to third parties for the sole purpose of encouraging collaborative projects between yourself and any such third parties. The My Emma service is based in the US and by clicking the above consent box you agree that your information may be stored overseas. Any personal information collected, held, managed, used, disclosed or transferred will be held in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and other applicable laws.

DEECA’s privacy policy and our privacy statements are located at deeca.vic.gov.au/privacy. You may contact us to request access to your personal information at farmforestry@deeca.vic.gov.au or by contacting us via our privacy page.