Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Healy-Rae has announced the opening of the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Group (KTG) Scheme 2026.

The aim of the KTG Scheme is to promote active sustainable forest management by building forest owners’ knowledge, awareness and decision-making capacity to support the management of their forests.

Since its introduction in 2018, the Department of Agriculture said it has supported almost 3,000 forest owners to participate in locally-based groups.

This has helped them to "build the skills and confidence to actively manage their forests and maximise their long-term value".

Practical learning

Minister Healy-Rae said: “The Forestry KTG Scheme continues to be a very successful and sought-after initiative.

"It gives forest owners practical, hands-on knowledge and the confidence to make informed decisions about their forests.

"I am very pleased to reopen the scheme for a seventh year."

Groups are led by professional foresters and operate through field visits, demonstrations and peer-to-peer discussion, enabling participants to learn from both experts and fellow forest owners, the minister explained.

"These groups are about practical learning and real-world experience. They help owners to take a more active role in managing their forests," he added.

Focus areas

A key enhancement to the 2026 scheme is the introduction of two dedicated 'focus areas', allowing organisers and participants to tailor learning to their specific needs.

These are:

Focus area A – sustainable forest management: covering core silviculture, thinning, forest operations, forest health and resilience;
Focus area B – forest management plans and forest certification: supporting owners to prepare management plans and take practical steps towards certification and higher management standards.

As a new addition, and in order to maximise uptake and support wider adoption of forest management planning and certification, all forest owners will be eligible to join a focus area B group.

This is irrespective of whether they have participated in a forestry KTG in previous years, the department said.

Certification

This expanded access removes previous participation restrictions and ensures that any owner wishing to develop a forest management plan or progress towards certification can do so through the scheme.

Minister Healy-Rae continued: “We want to make it easier for every forest owner to engage with planning and certification.

"Opening focus area B to all participants gives more owners a clear pathway to better management standards and stronger market opportunities."

The department said that "recognising that forest owners may be unable to attend some meetings, the scheme also provides flexibility to ensure continued participation".

Participants in this scheme may nominate a family member or joint owner to attend meetings on their behalf.

"The new focus areas and the option to nominate someone to attend on your behalf ensures that nobody misses out on the opportunity to build skills and knowledge on managing your forests," Minister Healy-Rae added.

KTG participation

Each KTG can have a maximum of 20 participants, and each participant will need to attend seven meetings or outdoor events in order to complete the programme.  

KTG payments are broken down as follows:

 A total of seven meetings and events will be organised per KTG.

The maximum payment to each participant is €560.