And rural property specialists believe there will be few immediate repercussions in the Green Triangle.

While this year's scheduled harvest is expected to be delayed for at least 12 months, the National Association of Forest Industries chief executive officer Allan Hansard says the sector is "strongly positioned for continued expansion".

"A report released last week by the Federal Government showed (that it) is actually bucking the trend by showing increased demand and prices for timber products," he said.

Meanwhile, key players in the Senate are set to jump all over MIS and the Federal Government tax incentives given to plantation schemes which rural opponents argue only drive up land prices and take it out of food production.

A new inquiry by the Senate Select Committee on agricultural and related industries, chaired by Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, will go ahead while Independent Sen Nick Xenophon is set to introduce a Private Members' Bill to have the incentives scrapped altogether.

But Landmark real estate specialist Mid South East Cameron Grundy says a lot of the land suitable for hardwood (blue gums) has been fully allocated.

"Western Victoria is active to some degree, but generally the companies reduced purchasing in the SE some time ago," he said.

"I guess they put floor in price in the market six to eight years ago and the farming community has stepped up to the plate at those higher levels.

"I doubt we'll see a reduction in land prices."

Great Southern, a Western Australian-based company, and Timbercorp - already in the hands of administrators - manage more than 85,000 hectares of plantation hardwood in the Lower SE and western districts of Victoria.

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, May 21 issue.