Mr Knight toured a sawmill and Forest Stewarship Council-certified forests during his visit to the 1,000ha estate.
Mr Knight said: “Woodfuel is a particularly promising area, and I am interested in investigating the full potential of this fuel source and building on the work being done here at Stourhead.”
Estate owner Nick Hoare told Mr Knight that timber sales proceeds help to secure the estate’s biodiversity, landscape and amenity objectives. But he also said markets were limited.
Stuart Goodall, ConFor’s head of policy, said: “I am glad the minister enjoyed his visit and that we were able to give him a real appreciation of the contribution woodlands and wood products make to society, and the challenges facing timber growers.”
