MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands' sheep paddocks with fence posts from North Wales
Fence posts made from North Wales timber are keeping sheep safe thousands of miles away in the Falkland Islands. Every year a consignment of 4,000 fence posts weighing 20 tons is trucked from Ruthin to Portsmouth on the first stage of an 8,000-mile journey to the South Atlantic, reports the Daily Post from North Wales. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesQuite right,
Jan 13th, 2015 - 11:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0the sheep should be kept safe, their are far to many odd people abt...
“The fence posts are specially steam-treated by Clifford Jones Timber to prevent any contamination of the delicate eco-system in the Falkland Islands.”
Jan 13th, 2015 - 05:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0yeah, right.
now they are concerned for the ecosystem...lol
http://www.seabirds.org/starvation.htm
http://www.seabirds.org/starvation.htm
We care more about our eco system than you lot do you retard, the penguin numbers are now increasing thanks to improvements in conservation and fishery stock management, and no one ever mentions the damage done efore the war, when we had no control over our economic zone. I also like how you keep bringing up that corruption article, well we learn from our mistakes and try to ensure we do not commit them again, what do you lot do? One fuck up after another lol
Jan 13th, 2015 - 06:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@2
Jan 13th, 2015 - 07:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And you seem to be one of the posters claiming the islands are isolated-well they can be supplied fence posts from the other side of the world.
If they were as isolated as you suggest, they wouldn't get any fence posts.
On conservation, what have Argentina done to prevent the mortalities suffered by Mollymawks in fishing nets that the islanders have prevented by insisting on changes of fishery practice?
In Argentine territorial waters the government tell the boats to overfish-that's good for the environment?
And what about the Soy crops in Argentina grown on a massive scale?
As they are genetically modified, it means massive amounts of herbicides can be sprayed without damaging the soy, but not the kids there and exactly what environmental advantage does this give?
This would never be allowed in the Falkland Islands or the UK-it would be illegal.
4
Jan 13th, 2015 - 07:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“And you seem to be one of the posters claiming the islands are isolated-well they can be supplied fence posts from the other side of the world.”
and you seem to be one of those boludos who are proud of it.
you cannot even manufacture a pair of fence post and you are happy with that... my god.
and we are not talking about rocket science here, eh?
@2 Having just read the penguin article, i do agree that the fishing industry has had some impact on penguin numbers but far more ships were fishing here unregulated before 1986, once we were given control over the economic zone we have continuously improved our practices, ships can no longer fish near penguin colonies for example. And like Pete Bog mentioned we now have counter measures on all fishing vessels to ensure albatross and other seabirds are not caught or injured during fishing, these have been very successful at reducing seabird mortality's. There is currently ongoing research on how to improve these counter measures further. But the decline in penguin populations can also be attributed to global warming and shifting sea currents along with a poisonous algae that decimated some penguin populations in 2005, although research shows there has been an increase in breeding pairs, but its still early days, there has also been a decline in penguin populations in other parts of the world, such as New Zealand, its a problem that is not fully understood, in fact penguin populations have been decreasing since the 1800's. So to be honest that article is a little short sighted, and for you to place the entire blame on us is a little unfair, especially with Argentina's terrible conservation record, like the over-fishing and decimation of the Blue Whiting, which is only now starting to recover, but you lot forget things like that. We have made mistakes but we try to improve and learn from them, unlike Argentina.
Jan 13th, 2015 - 07:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 05 paulcedron
Jan 13th, 2015 - 10:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You're a funny one aren't you.
I'm completely happy with the fact that we can't manufacture fence posts. In fact, I'd be amazed if we could. Because we haven't got any trees. Silly boy.
How can you not know that?
Other things the Falklands can't produce; rubber, cocoa, coffee, bananas....my god.
It's not rocket science. No, it's the climate.
@6
Jan 13th, 2015 - 10:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You really don't have to explain yourselves to them. They are actually starving the Qom indians as we speak, if they hadn't already caused enough damage to the original inhabitants.
http://en.mercopress.com/2015/01/08/argentina-shocked-over-the-death-of-indigenous-child-of-malnutrition-and-tb
7
Jan 13th, 2015 - 11:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0nabo
the climate in the islets is crap.
now the climate in wales is not any better, you ignoramus.
maybe you think that wales has a lot of forestal resources, that they are like russia, brazil, canada, argentina, etc?
you dont have any tree because you are a bunch of lazy isleters incapable of having a forestry strategy plan and incapable of planting a f*cking plant.
Your envy is showing again.
Jan 13th, 2015 - 11:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@9 Paulcedron
Jan 13th, 2015 - 11:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I take it that you have never been to Wales like all those other places you haven't been to but keep spouting about.
Wales has 303,000 hectares of forest against a land area of 21000 sq km
meaning approx. 14% of Wales is forested
Argentina has 1.15 million hectares of forest against 2.78 million sq km of land
meaning approx. 0.4% of Argentina is forested
and your comment about forestry strategy in the Falklands demonstrates that you have no idea as to the climate, soil etc of the Falklands - ask your veterans, the real ones I mean not the rock throwing vandals
you cannot even manufacture a pair of fence post and you are happy with that
Jan 13th, 2015 - 11:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0///////////
well,
you cant build a ship that floats, are you happy with that...lol
@9 No rebuttal to my argument Pauly, is it because your are a simple retarded troll, bet you couldn't give me an answer anyway because you know nothing about the fishing industry in either of our countries, or anything about wildlife for that matter, you are simply a moron.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 12:05 am - Link - Report abuse 0Also, there are no indigenous trees in the Falklands you nabo, so why would we spend a fortune growing a forest, in soil where trees basically cant grow, when its cheaper to import. YOU ARE RETARDED
Not many trees in the Pampas are there, and I am sure the Falklanders would love to plant trees somewhere where there are no landmines you knobhead.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 12:27 am - Link - Report abuse 011
Jan 14th, 2015 - 01:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0argentina has 36 million ha of native forests and +/- 1 million ha of implanted forests, you nabo.
so, you isleters, an implanted population, do not know the concept of implanted forests...funny.
13
brainless F.Y.
and what the fuck has the fishing industry got to do with this issue, you reverendo boludo?
the fact is you dont even have 1 tree in those islets, because you dont have a plan agrario nor an ingeniero agrónomo .
you might have imported raw material and manufactured those frigging posts in the islets but the concept of production is out of your vocabulary.
so you are a joke in the rural and industrial activity at the same time.
and then they dont want to be called parasites...lol
@15 You brought up the penguins you stupid fuckwit, I simply explained to you why you are wrong, but of course you wouldn't understand that because you were probably deprived of oxygen at birth. And why would we import the raw materials to make them here when it is already done over there, cheaper to import, you simply don't understand supply and demand you dipshit. And we do have trees, I'm looking at one in my garden, even if it is stunted and shitty lol. And how a agricultural plan help us grow forests? The soil is to acidic you prat, trees do not naturally grow here and we don't try to plant thousands of trees as it would damage the natural environment.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 01:57 am - Link - Report abuse 0Industrial joke? We never claimed to have thriving industrial output, and what the hell would you know about anything rural, you couldn't run a farm or a ranch, you would probably cry at the sight of a cow you big girl
brainless fuck you
Jan 14th, 2015 - 02:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0you are not too bright, are you?
tell all that shite to the author of the article, pelotudo.
and as far as i know, he knows a bit more than you about the matter.
in fact even another retarded isleter knows more than you about anything, and that is a lot.
so implanted trees would damage the natural environment for you?
what in fact damage the natural environment is that joke of oil well you have there and all your untreated sewage, you stinky isleters.
of course you never claimed to have industrial output, who can believe that shite?
the only thing you lot are good for, is to get drunk
Unless the trees are indigenous then yes it damages the natural habitat, this applies to a lot of countries. Yes we put sewage into the deep ocean, like cruise liners and many other countries, considering there are so few of us it will do very little damage. And as for oil, well its obviously not going to happen with current price of crude oil.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 03:32 am - Link - Report abuse 017 paulcedron
Jan 14th, 2015 - 09:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0There have been lots of forestry trial in the Falklands. The rate of growth is nowhere near enough to support commercial timber production.
The climate in the Falklands is nothing like the climate of Wales. The Falklands are much drier and much more windy, both of which are a disaster for trees. The acid soil is not so much of an issue, but we don't have the mycorrhizal fauna that conifers need to grow properly, although you can use an innoculant.
As for importing the timber and turning it into fence posts in the Falklands, what a truly mad idea that is. You clearly have no grasp of basic economics. That might look like a big pile of fence posts, but it's a tiny fraction of the number you would need to turn over to repay the capital investment on the machinery.
So now we can add economics, forestry and climatology to the growing list of things that your meagre education has not equipped you to talk about.
Carry on. You're hilarious.
@12 Briton
Jan 14th, 2015 - 10:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0Be fair, they do float. Just not necessarily the right way up.
couldn't they just use the plastic push in fence posts with multi runs of electric fence wire?
Jan 14th, 2015 - 10:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0Save importing wooden posts and hopefully keep the sheep safe from the sex starved islanders.
@15 Paulcedron
Jan 14th, 2015 - 11:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0My apologies I did not include the native forests in my calculations. However, that still leaves Argentina as 12% forested, still less than Wales.
Does your Mother know that you are so foul-mouthed and aggressive on these threads? I bet she would be shocked.
20@
Jan 14th, 2015 - 11:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0true,,,
21@
couldn't they just use the plastic ....
if they used plastics, the argies would have a fit,
And accuse the welsh of plaster sizing the south Atlantic..lolol
21 Klingon
Jan 14th, 2015 - 12:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Plastic droppers are used, and some electric fencing, especially for some smaller paddocks. Some of these fences run for many kilometers though- it just isn't practical.
@21
Jan 14th, 2015 - 12:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Plastic is not environmentally friendly, you see, wood can degrade over years but it would take hundreds of years for plastic to degrade. Hence they buy wooden posts
When my uncle who farms 800 head of sheep made enquiries about electric fencing some years ago he was quoted 120 euros per km for installation alone although that did include the wire but not all the other paraphernalia of energisers, earthing posts etc. He was also told that it was useless where grass was long or soil was wet or peaty.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 12:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 021@
Jan 14th, 2015 - 01:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0keep the sheep safe from the sex starved islanders.
would it not then be cheaper to remove the Sheep, and replace it with argy bloggers,
but would they bring a high price or just a waste of space...lol
@19 I always thought the soil was the main reason for the lack of trees, well i learnt something new. Typical Pauly tho, he brings up a something of topic so you give him reasoned answer and like a child start he starts swearing and complaining about others going of topic, he clearly isn't very smart lol
Jan 14th, 2015 - 03:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@15
Jan 14th, 2015 - 08:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“ the fact is you dont even have 1 tree in those islets”
If you were to say 'not even one well sized forest', you would be correct. Extract your head out of your arse-go to the Falklands, -then say there are absolutely no trees. There are hundreds if not thousands dummy, they just don't grow quickly there.
If it makes you happy there are loads of trees on my place-Oak trees, Ash amongst many, but because you are not allowed to fell trees in the UK when you like, I get the fence posts for my farm from Wales too.
@19
Good point about the lack of mycorhizal fauna Monty69, it is a factor in how slow trees are. Didn't they try that at a plantation at Shallow Bay?
Am I right in thinking that sadly the Hill Cove forest has copped it?
I believe it grew because it was planted near a stream-as you say the dryness in the Falklands (both lack of ground water and the drying effect of the winds) is a big factor-trees take up a lot of water, though I saw some whoppers on Weddel Island (Antarctic Beech ?)
Hope they are still there.
One thing that concerned me in the Hill Cove forest (20 years ago) is that it didn't look thinned out, so this would make the trees grow spindly to fight the competition for light instead of forming thicker trunks.
Another important thing with establishing a lot of trees in the Falklands is that they would attract tree dwelling birds from across the water that would hit the Falklands wildlife badly as Brian @18 indicates:
-“Unless the trees are indigenous then yes it damages the natural habitat”.
I am glad we have established that the Falklands are not treeless, but clearly it is useless to grow huge forests that would take 100 years to mature, when you can order posts from Wales.
Next Paul will complain that the Falklands does not make its own cars, tractors, airliners,hammers, nails etc etc etc etc etc little understanding that because of this, the Islanders are providing other countries with trade and income.
@25 Wooden posts that have been treated are full of Arsenic, Copper and all kinds of shit that's bad for the environment.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 10:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 029@
Jan 14th, 2015 - 11:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0even if the Falkland's did make all that you mention,
the argies will only claim them as there's..lol
@30 “Wooden posts that have been treated are full of Arsenic, Copper and all kinds of shit that's bad for the environment”.
Jan 16th, 2015 - 09:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The article:
“The fence posts are specially steam-treated by Clifford Jones Timber to prevent any contamination of the delicate eco-system in the Falkland Islands.”
So are mine Klingon, though I paint mimne with eco friendly preservative as there are wood boring insects/wood rotting fungi in the UK, whereas it takes wooden posts in the Falklands many years to rot, due to the absence of wood rotting fungi and wood boring insects-therefore there is no need for the posts to be treated with the chemicals you have mentioned.
@29 Briton
“even if the Falkland's did make all that you mention,
the argies will only claim them as there's..lol”
True, and if the Islands manufactured tampons, the Argentines would invade now, even if it was in kayaks.
Ha ha.
Jan 16th, 2015 - 11:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Apart from crackpot Paulies gimcrack comments an interesting discussion.
Jan 17th, 2015 - 02:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0it would be interesting to know how much these Welsh posts cost, delivered to the farm gate. I am sure there are cheaper alternatives. Antarctic beech (notafagus species) are very slow growing and unless protected from the wind will not grow straight and so no good for fence posts. Poplars seem to grow well in Patagonia. Good for shelter belts but not for fence posts.
Those Welsh posts are probably autoclaved pine and most likely will only last a decade before they have to be replaced.
Alternatives 1. You have plenty of granite, so why not stone posts? I use them a lot on my farm but they are becoming hard to get. They do last for ever so long as they are not used as strainers and under tensión
2. Concrete posts. All you would have to import is the cement and they can be made in situ on the farm if neccessary
3. Hardwood posts from Chile, Paraguay or Uruguay which dont need treatment.
If you want autoclaved soft Wood posts or electicity poles Uruguay grows a lot of that, Eucalyptus grandis/saligna, most of which goes for pulp but some logs are exported. Cycle from planting to harvesting is 8-9 years. Each tree should produce two posts and at 1,000 trees per hectare So three hectares per year allowing for waste should produce 4,000 posts a year, so for a sustainable yield you would require 25- 30 hectares. Might it not be a good investment by FIG or a private investor to buy that sort of área in Uruguay?
Autoclaved here they could be shipped direct from Montevideo at much less frieght costs.
Just ideas and would be interested in practical comments
@33 Pete Bog.
Jan 17th, 2015 - 03:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The posts in the picture HAVE been treated with chemicals, hence the green color from the treatment.
They are probably only have been treated to H4 level. I used to be involved with the production of wooden poles and posts, so have knowledge of this.
Fill yourself in on some facts : http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Articles/Resources/Timber-Preservation
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