Rows and alleys
Timber grows in worked rows with open alleys between them. The alley carries livestock and machinery access for the full rotation — the system is never closed off.
Production system
Silvopasture
Native hardwood timber, grown as a designed system — rows and alleys, canopy layers staggered by light and rotation length, and a planting staged so something is earning from the first year through to the last.
50 ha
Under silvopasture at Cape Kimberley
Year 1
First yield — Paper Bark essential oil
~1.7
People (FTE) to run it
01 · The design
A timber system, not a timber lot
Silvopasture here is engineered, row by row. Every species has a place set by how much light it needs and how long it takes to mature — emergent hardwoods, pioneer nurse trees that close the canopy fast, oil and shade species along the edges. The alleys between the rows stay open the whole rotation, for stock and for machinery.
Staggered canopy
Species are layered by light requirement and rotation length — fast pioneers establish cover and shelter the premium hardwoods growing slowly beneath them.
Cyclone-shaped
Rows are oriented to shed cyclone wind rather than catch it, and resilient species take the exposed edges. Risk is designed into the layout from day one.
02 · The rows
How the timber is laid out
Two timber blocks, each with its own crops, spacings, and rules. These numbers are the planting design as it stands at Cape Kimberley today.
CF Timber Block
Silky Oak (primary)
625 stems/ha4 m rows· 4 m in-row
Orient rows E–W on CF station to minimise cyclone wind exposure from SE.
Companion · Red Ash pioneer at 5×5m in gaps during Year 1
Red Ash (pioneer)
400 stems/ha5 m rows· 5 m in-row
Fast-growing. Establishes canopy within 18 months. Remove selectively as Silky Oak matures.
Companion · Plant in gaps between Silky Oak rows Year 1
Calophyllum (oil+shade)
278 stems/ha6 m rows· 6 m in-row
Dual-purpose — oil nuts from Year 5, structural shade from Year 3.
Companion · Planted along southern boundary as windbreak + oil production
Paper Bark (riparian)
NaturalNatural distribution
Harvest leaf only. Never strip more than 20% crown per tree per 6-week rotation.
Companion · No planting required — existing stands
Lot 89 Timber
Red Cedar
625 stems/ha4 m rows· 4 m in-row
Cedar planted under temporary Silky Oak canopy reduces shoot borer pressure.
Companion · Silky Oak intercrop at same spacing for canopy cover + leader protection
Black Bean
625 stems/ha4 m rows· 4 m in-row
Single leader critical from Year 1. Prune any competing stems immediately.
Companion · Plant in south-facing sheltered positions only — wind sensitive
03 · The rotation
Something is always earning
A timber rotation runs for decades. This one is staged so it never goes quiet — leaf oil from the first weeks, oil and carbon through the middle years, premium hardwood at the end. Physical yields only; the range is low to high.
Weekly — NOW
recurring
Paper Bark EO per still run
150–400 ml8kg leaves → one run. Free. Start this week.
Weekly — NOW
recurring
Paper Bark hydrosol
15–20 litresSame run as EO. Spray bottle product.
Year 5+
mature
Calophyllum oil
20–80 L/ha/yr~15% oil yield from cold press.
Year 10+ verified
mature
Standing carbon
3–12 tCO2e/ha/yr growthIPCC AR6. Land-IP measurement chain.
Year 25–35
growth
Silky Oak timber
80–200 m³/ha100 stems/ha planted. 65% survival assumed.
Year 30–40
growth
Red Cedar timber (Lot 89)
40–120 m³/ha30 stems/ha. Shoot borer is the risk.
The risk to watch
Red cedar shoot borer — Monitor leader every 6 weeks from Year 2. Prune affected leaders immediately.