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Secretary: Fiona Lomax
913 Tuapeka Mouth Road
RD 4
Balclutha
9274
03 415 9569
fionaruthclark@hotmail.com
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South Otago Branch

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Branch member videos

  • Neil Cullen, Glen Omaru Valley, Balclutha, South Otago branch
    July 2014
    Neil Cullen describes his award-winning farm which includes sheep and beef enterprises, plantation forestry and native forest. Neil stresses the importance of good planning for successful forestry ventures, particularly thinking…
  • Eoin Garden, Avenel Station, Central Otago branch
    July 2014
    The Garden family farm this 2000 hectare hill to high country station, producing sheep, beef, and venison. Some 200 ha is now planted as shelterbelts and woodlots with shelter a…
  • Donald Gordon, Crofthead, Milton, South Otago branch
    July 2014
    Forty hectares of trees have been established on this Otago sheep and beef farm. Key species are radiata pine, macrocarpa and Douglas fir. The earliest plantings (planted in 1981) are…
  • Dennis Larsen, Clutha, South Otago branch
    July 2014
    Dennis Larsen describes his large-scale sheep and beef unit in South Otago. trees were originally planted for erosion control, shade and shelter, and then timber production - some 92 hectares…
  • Alan Roulston, Hillend, South Otago branch
    July 2014
    A 400-hectare rolling farm with sheep, cattle, outdoor pigs and cropping. Trees have been planted in riparian zones, for shelter, timber, wildlife, fruit and nuts, and aesthetics. Stock management, animal…
  • Ken Stephens, Balclutha, South Otago branch
    July 2014
    Ken Stephens describes how, as a second-generation farm forester, he has carried on where his father Vic left off. The Stephens are now harvesting continuously so receiving a steady income…
  • Bill Wise, Balclutha, South Otago branch
    July 2014
    Bill Wise has been planting trees for timber and shelter on his sheep and beef farm for 50 years on poorer, gorse-infested areas. He is now into the second rotation…

Articles and Reports

Tree Grower articles

  • South Island Farm Forester of the Year 2020 - Scott McKenzie (Access: unrestricted)
    February 2021
    It is Scott’s name on the award for farm forestry at Pineview in South Otago but it is very much a family enterprise. The farm is run by Colin and…
  • Husqvarna South Island Farm Foresters of the Year 2017 - Mark and Marjorie Hay (Access: unrestricted)
    May 2017
    Mark and Marjorie Hay and their son Isaac farm near Lawrence in South Otago. Their property, Glenayr, covers 893 hectares and is situated on the highest part of the surrounding countryside.…
  • Landcare Trust Award for Innovation in Sustainable Farm Forestry 2016 - David and Helen Vollweiler (Access: unrestricted)
    May 2016
    For David and Helen Vollweiler, running their 860 hectare property in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner has long been a key component of their management practice. In 2009 they…
  • Husqvarna South Island Farm Foresters of the Year 2015 - Graham and Pam Hunter (Access: unrestricted)
    Neil Cullen, May 2015
    When Graham and Pam Hunter took over their 484 hectare farm in 1997 it had 30 paddocks and the only exotic trees on the property were the old orchards and…
  • Developing a wood energy industry in Central Otago (Access: unrestricted)
    Rhys Millar, August 2014
    Wood energy for heating has been around for a long time and most New Zealanders will be familiar with drying and storing wood for winter, preparing and starting the fire,…
  • Bell Vue with Steve Robertson (Access: unrestricted)
    Doug Lane, February 2013
    This is one of the field day reports from the 2012 Balclutha conference. Alighting from the bus on the edge of Lawrence township we were reminded of the gold-mining history…
  • The gilded lily of Tuapeka West (Access: unrestricted)
    Dennys Guild, August 2012
    The road to Mark and Marjorie Hay’s farm, called Glenayr Farm, is very inappropriately called Athenaeum Road. Athenaeum is one of those odd words borrowed from the Romans by the…
  • Verterburn Station (Access: unrestricted)
    James Barton, August 2012
    On Friday 13 April four busloads of attendees of the conference visited Verterburn Station, where they were hosted by Robert, Jill and Andrew Reid. Located about 25 km west of…
  • Singing the Cullen song (Access: unrestricted)
    Nick Ledgard, August 2012
    While returning to Telford in the bus after a dinner during the recent conference in Balclutha, we sang songs and told jokes. With due respect to the fine voices of…
  • Conference visit to Chardale (Access: unrestricted)
    Chester Holmes, August 2012
    Chardale is a gem of a property at Hillend just north of Balclutha – and the South Pole. Owned by Allan Roulston, it has been in the family since 1919,…
  • Husqvarna South Island Farm Foresters of the Year 2012 - Dennis and Margaret Larsen (Access: unrestricted)
    Author not published, May 2012
    Farm foresters have a keen interest and love of trees, but plant them for various reasons. Many have small blocks of diverse species, which provide great environmental and amenity value…
  • Husqvarna South Island Farm Foresters of the Year 2011 - Neil and Pam Cullen (Access: unrestricted)
    Ian Jackson, May 2011
    New Zealand has numerous isolated valleys which are farmed to varying degrees, and have tremendous potential for forest development. One such valley is the Glenomaru Valley in South Otago, 25…
  • Nothing fancy, nothing wasted (Access: unrestricted)
    Neil Cullen, February 2011
    Ron and Carol Alderton, along with sons Bruce and David and his partner Paula, were the Supreme winners of the Ballance Environment Awards for Otago for 2010. The family were…
  • Calder Stewart Industries forestry (Access: unrestricted)
    Bruce Stewart, February 2011
    The forestry division of construction and development company Calder Stewart Industries is the largest private forest owner in the Otago region. As company co-founder I was keenly interested in farm…
  • Skilbister forest farm (Access: unrestricted)
    Graeme and Joy Flett, February 2011
    Skilbister, named after the Orkney Island farm where the family originate, was taken up by Henry Flett in 1877. The farm was expanded by Henry and son Robert to become…
  • South Otago Branch President A bit more than a farm forester (Access: unrestricted)
    Ken Jones, February 2011
    If you stop making a profit in any venture you undertake, you should make changes to arrest the decline or you should get out of the venture. This is one…
  • The forestry scene in Otago (Access: unrestricted)
    Mid Otago branch, February 2011
    Otago has a rich forestry history, dating back 160 years. As early as 1849 a water-powered mill was operating on the Leith Stream to provide timber for the newly established…
  • Hidden gems of the south (Access: unrestricted)
    Murray Harris, February 2011
    This is an overview of the people, the geography and production capabilities of the area south of Dunedin to west Otago and inland to central Otgao. The colonising movement in…
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