Planting in New Brunswick (Irving, etc.)

[Jean in Western Canada]

i just stumbled over your website...we probably crossed each other's path along the way since i began planting in 1989...anyway, my family and i are relocatig this spring to New Brunswick for the fall and i was wondering if you know if there's any small planting contracts in NB???"

[Scooter]

I've done some digging, and talked to a couple people with experience planting in both New Brunswick and over the border in Nova Scotia. The general concensus is "don't do it." Here are some of the problems that were identified:

- Low Tree Prices: Very low - 5 to 6 cents is basically what you've got to work with. Maximum.
- Short Days: This can be an advantage, in that there are no bush camps and you get to go home to family at the end of each day. However, it cuts into the amount of time you have to try to earn that precious cash.
- Team Orientation: You don't get rewarded quite the same way for working hard. So far as I can tell, almost exclusively the crew works as a team, which unfortunately has translated to "line up because we are working together, at the same speed, and everybody makes the same amount." Which in effect means, you all make the same as your slowest planter or weakest link. There may be contracts out there that reward quality on a team-basis but production on an individual basis, the same way that Alberta and BC function, but I think this is probably quite rare, from what I've heard.

If you can talk directly to someone who has planted in the Maritimes, I think you'll get a better feel for their attitudes. Remember, this is only secondhand information from me, as I haven't planted here myself.

[nbplanter]

having planted for two years in New Brunswick i would not recomend it to anyone who is used to planting elsewhere. there are some small contracts but these are hard to find and generally are pretty short. Irving woodlands runs planting operations from may until mid augest in NB. these are pretty much as scooter described, the crew meets at 4 am, drives 1-3 hours to a block, plants around 2100 trees and then leaves for home. pay is per Ha, and is around 130 dollars, quality is almost non-existant. living at home is the real advantage of NB planting, the ground and prep is usually pretty sweet. in my opinion it's a tolerable job, but having planted elsewhere i can appreciate the extext to which the employee is ripped off. all the same, i'd rather walk trough nice muddy trenchs with friends than sit in a stuffy office

[Scooter]

Here's a link to Irving's recruitment website. Irving plants the majority of trees in New Brunswick, usually between 30-35 million per year:

http://www.irvingplantstrees.com/cms_tree/default.aspx

[RedBaron]

Pulled this off the site,

There are 15 planters in a full planting crew, often including students who have the strength and maturity to last through the season of heavy work. The crew works five days a week, Monday to Friday, and is paid as a team for the number of hectares they plant that week and for the quality of their planting.

Working hours can vary, but typically a tree planter works from 5 am to mid-afternoon, 5 days a week, planting trees individually. Each planter will walk over 45 hectares in that week in rhythm with the crew. A crew of 15 planters is expected to plant 100,000 trees in a week. Pay is according to the quality and quantity of planting done by the whole team in one week. An experienced planter earns $500 to $700 per week.

I truly feel sorry for these planters, at least most of them probably dont know any better. They are expected to plant 1333 trees a day. Experienced planters can make 100-140 a day. I guess this makes sense when I see all these planters buying plane tickets to come plant in B.C. They would still finish the season with allot more cash even after the cost of the plane ticket. Makes me appreciate how good we have it in B.C

[showlieau]

i feel sorry for everyone that has planted in new brunwick, 140 bucks a day?? and your up at 4? thank you, no

[SwampDonkey]

There is also tree planting on private woodlots in NB, where they plant 3-5 Million a year through the government silviculture program. This is done through contractors and NB forest products marketing board management (woodlot owner groups). Comparing any silviculture to Irving's rates is the lowest of any scale you can use. Irving likes to keep the serfs poor. But still $140/day is about double the pay on a farm in NB. Fraser Papers also does tree planting and I can bet the pay is a bit better. With the big forest companies and Irving, most tree planting is on crown lands where they are supplied free trees and $$ to site prep and put them in the ground by the government.

[SwampDonkey]

One thing I have to mention in here about rates/tree. The contractors I know have been paying 0.12-0.15 per tree. Also, factor in the fact that we plant trees tighter here than in BC. Our spacing is 5-6 feet for 1000-1200 trees per acre, which is probably about twice as many trees with a lot fewer steps to put them in the ground. Many planters plant an acre and a half per day. Pay may not be as much as out west, but why bother taking more than top stamp and paying all that extra tax. As of January '10 your only getting $914 every two weeks on EI, which works out to $830 gross per week. Your up early if you want to stay home, some folks stay in forestry camps. I think camp board is $50 a week and you get trucked to the sites. You can't live home cheaper than that and travel.