Forestry Corporation has sown 3.1 million seeds at Grafton Nursery, as part of the annual replanting program supplying timber and wood resources for future generations.

It has been a busy time at the nursery with production occurring in recent months.

Dispatch has been delayed due to dry weather conditions over spring, however with recent heavy rain across northern New South Wales stock will start to be dispatched from the nursery from this week.

“We've dispatched more than 15 million seedlings from the Grafton nursery over the past five years, which have ultimately helped to build people’s homes and vital infrastructure,” Forestry Corporation’s Grafton District Manager Trent Froud said.

“Around 1.765 million southern pine seeds have been sown this year along with 840,000 radiata pine.

“Seedling production is a year-round business, and we are also grading and dispatching 74,000 Hoop pine for planting over the coming month.

“Hardwood production will also see 1.2 million seedlings grown from dispatch,” he said.

The Grafton nursery also supplies a further 150,000 seedlings to private industry, including private forestry and revegetation/restoration organisations.

The nursery is providing a boost to local employment and continuing to regrow NSW State Forest plantations that have either been harvested for timber or affected by wildfire.

“This year the nursery has employed 20 permanent and casual staff," Mr Froud said.

“The Grafton nursery is a crucial component of Forestry Corporation’s operations.

“Wood is the ultimate renewable resource – our forests are regrown or replanted to continue the forest cycle into the future,” he said.

Over the coming year, the crop will be carefully hand-weeded, fertilised, nurtured and watered to produce seedlings in time for planting over summer and autumn.

Forestry Corporation is the largest producer of plantation-grown radiata pine in Australia, managing around 225,000 hectares of softwood plantations around the state and producing around 3 million tonnes of timber each year.

This is enough to construct about a quarter of the houses built in Australia each year.

Find out more about Forestry Corporation at www.forestrycorporation.com.au