Excellent stewardship by the Garlands: Conference 2007 field day
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| Bill
Garland describing his property |
New Zealand Tree
Grower May 2007
Harley Gray
Bill and Sue Garland have been farming this property since 1968,
although most of it has been in the family since 1946. The farming
operation has 365 hectares of grazing where the 5,500 stock units
produce a relatively high performance.
There are three QEII blocks on the property and a pest proof fence
along the boundary of the Maungatautari ecological reserve. Bill has
recently retired from nine years as a director of the QEII Trust.
In the 1970s floods, land slipping led to the development of a land
management plan with the Waikato Valley Authority. Poplar poles were
planted and bush areas fenced off. Bill and his brother were dissuaded
from a youthful enthusiasm for clearing and grazing. A far sighted
father said that the gully areas would need replanting in the future,
and water would become a scarce resource.
When
an adjoining block of 140 hectares was added, this included a 13
hectare area of low fertility, with steep contour, and a generous
covering of weeds including gorse, blackberry and ink weed. Options
included intensive farming, or mining the fertility until the gorse
took over and allow reversion to native bush. This was the most
economic option, but the preferred path was to retire the native areas
and develop the balance as forestry.
Forestry option
Forestry was chosen for aesthetic, environmental and recreational
purposes. However an economic return was particularly important for
Bill and Sue’s partners in the venture, Paul (Bill’s brother) and Lynn.
The potential benefits of carbon credits were a factor in the decision
to plant trees. The partnership meets the costs of forestry development
and owns the forestry rights. The company P F Olsen was contracted to
set out a development plan and gain the necessary consents. PF Olsen
now manages the planting and silviculture. This enables the partners to
continue their core businesses of farming and contracting activities
while being confident that the forestry operation will be properly run.
Roads were metalled to stop sediment runoff, and in adjacent areas
culverts were established to stop stock crossing streams and
endangering water purity. Gorse was cut by hand, and regeneration
encouraged before it was sprayed and burned. Fertiliser was applied and
the area sown in grass to suppress regrowth of gorse. Gorse now appears
only when trees are released. Six kilometres of fencing was subsidised
by the QEII Trust and Environment Waikato. The total area of this
forest is 15 hectares.
Planting guidelines
While the long term objective was to harvest for timber, aesthetics
were also very important. No trees were to be planted on the skyline,
species selected were to be in harmony with the landscape and adjacent
native bush, and edge plantings of natives were done to reduce the
visual impacts of woodlots, particularly after pruning and harvesting.
Long rotation species were preferred, and harvesting
would be staggered over time to reduce the visual impact. Planting took
place over between 2001 and 2003.
Species were located taking into consideration site fertility, shelter,
and appearance. Harvesting sequence was a crucial consideration.
Blackwood will be harvested in around 40 years, but for some of the
natives harvesting will not be for around 200 years. Access and
retrieval without damaging trees with a high long term capital
investment has to be well planned.
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| Considering
the finer points of kauri management |
Native plantings
Kahikatea, rimu and totara are the main species, although kauri and
tanekaha are also being grown. No nurse crop or interplanting with
another other species is being employed, but site selection has been
done with care. Many would suggest that an advantage could be gained by
providing a nurse for totara.
Most of the trees were about a metre high in PB5 or PB6 bags. Survival
and growth were impressive, particularly for the kauri, but the cost of
up to seven or eight dollars per tree would be a disincentive for some.
Releasing has been carried out at least annually.
The totara have responded well to form pruning. The proposed MAF
registration of native plantings for future milling will be a relevant
consideration for these trees.
 Exotic
species
The principal species are Cupressus
lusitanica and blackwood, Acacia
melanoxylon.
There has been some wind damage to the lusitanica in upper areas.
Toppling correction operations were completed by cutting off the main
leader and allowing a dominant branch to obtain apical dominance. Many,
but not all of these trees have done well. The stand established in
2001 has had two clear wood lifts to an average height of 2.4 metres
and a third prune is in progress. The stand of lusitanica planted in
2003 has had a first lift to 1.8 metres. Planting was at 1200 stems per
hectare. Cupressocyparis ovensii
planted at the same density have done well. In discussion it was noted
that in hindsight more of these hybrids would have been planted at the
expense of the lusitanica. Neither of the cypress species has developed
canker to date.
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Amongst
the blackwoods
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There are five hectares of blackwood established at 1600 stems per
hectare. Regular form pruning has been done to ensure a single dominant
leader. Ian Nicholas made a strong plea for gauge pruning removing all
branches greater than 30 mm. This regime ensures a single leader, means
that unskilled staff can be employed, and reduces the amount of clear
wood pruning required.
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| Richard Davies-Colley making a point about
eucalypts |
Other species included Eucalyptus
fastigata.
Richard Davies-Colley spoke up and explained that this area would be
very suitable for fastigata. For logs with a small end diameter over 60
cm the price would be very good as there is a shortage of top quality
logs. He implored everyone to have faith when growing trees as the
market will change over the years.
Water quality
The new plantings and the stock exclusion programme have significantly
reduced the sediment in streams, and there has been no flooding of the
adjacent public road since these measures were taken. However, it is
important to note that the water is still not potable because of high
coliform and campylobacter counts. Regulations and purity standards
will need to take local conditions into account. A one
size fits all approach does not seem to be feasible.
Excellent stewardship
Bill and Sue Garland have excellent stewardship plans for the property.
The new forest will significantly enhance the visual appeal, and great
care has been taken with species selection and siting. The use of a
professional forest manager for a planting which could be undertaken by
a farm owner ensures that forestry expertise is applied to the project,
and the partners can pursue their businesses.
Bill emphasised that it is rewarding to have a company which manages
the property as he would do himself and the forest is FSC certified
under the PF Olsen group scheme. The only note of caution is that with
the wide range of species grown, practices based on large scale
forestry activities could lead to management regimes which would differ
from a typical farm forester’s approach. Only the owner will be
familiar with the niche microclimates which will make a success of the
enterprise.
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