Chatham Biotec Ltd 2005 Canada yew has been

Canada yew has been pruned since 1996 and is now becoming an established and recognized new industry. Annual harvesting has gone from a few thousand pounds to over ten million. Chatham Biotec Ltd. (CBL) is the largest of the all the harvesting companies and is the only one who operates under the guidelines adopted by the Canada Yew Association (CYA). CBL is also the only harvesting company that uses third party auditing and is working towards having all product certified. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

In the late nineties the Canadian Forestry Services (CFS) began to develop sustainable pruning guidelines for Canada yew. The initial guidelines allowed for a maximum of 12 inches off the terminal and most vigorous lateral branches leaving every 5 th stem uncut. The site was not to be repruned for 4 to 5 years. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005 Each arrow represents a year of growth. 12’’

Recently the PEI Provincial Forestry has released information stating that the old 12 inch guidelines are “not sustainable”. They have found that there is little to no regrowth from plants that were cut four years ago using the old guidelines. 2 inch regrowth from a plant pruned in 1999. Picture taken from W. M. Glen & P. B. Mc. Knight presentation © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

This Chart shows the average annual growth of a site harvested at Northam, P. E. I. in the fall/winter of 1999 following the old guidelines. From the chart we can see the average regular growth for 3 years was 8. 6 inches compared to the regrowth which was 2. 1 inches. At the current rate of regrowth it would take at least 7 to 8 years before another harvest could take place. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

In 2005 CYA officially adopted the newly revised guidelines of 6 to 8 inch Canada yew tips. CBL had already been using the new guidelines since 2002. Using the new guidelines it is possible to harvest again in 3 to 4 years after pruning which is half that of the old guidelines. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

CFS has been the research leader when it comes to sustainable pruning of Canada yew. They have been collecting data for over 5 years from five different test sites. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

Each site was pruned using 3 different methods at different seasons and severity. 3 types of “harvest” simulated: New CYA guidelines (6 - 8’’) (3 yr growth) Old guidelines (12”) (5 yr growth) Severe (24’’) (7 yr growth) © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

Financial Returns Using Different Pruning Methods The following chart compares the revenue of a woodlot a 20 year Using the recommended CYA guidelines gives twice theover return period using new CYA guidelines vs. a Severe pruning. Prices are compared to the a severe pruning. based on $0. 80 per pound for CYA guidelines and $0. 45 per pound for severe pruning. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005

Summery Based on all the current research that has been done by CFS and PEI Provincial Forestry, it is clear that the CYA guidelines of 6 to 8 inches are the most sustainable and profitable. Do not let others fool you into using other pruning methods. The old guidelines have not been found to be sustainable and a severe pruning will decrease a woodlots overall potential for earnings. © Chatham Biotec Ltd. 2005 Destructive harvesting using brush saws in Mindon, ON. (2004)