Inventory and Decision Support Software
- Forecaster calculator
The Forecaster Calculator provides similar functionality to the Radiata Pine Calculator and the Douglas-fir Calculator. Growth and yield are predicted using the Forecaster desktop code-base, so outputs are consistent with…
- Radiata calculator
Radiata calculator version 4 (xls). Please note for the online calculator go to Forecaster calculator
- Kauri calculator
The Future Forests Research (FFR) Kauri Calculator is a web-based (online) tool for stand growth modelling and management of kauri plantations in New Zealand. The main purpose of the Calculator…
- Cypress calculator
The Cypress Calculator is a web-based (online) tool for stand growth modelling and management of Cypress plantations in New Zealand. The main purpose of the Cypress Calculator is to deliver scientific…
- Fastigata calculator
The Future Forests Research (FFR) Eucalyptus fastigata Calculator is a web-based (online) tool for stand growth modelling and management of E. fastigata plantations in New Zealand. The main purpose of…
- Redwood calculator
The redwood growth model is a spreadsheet download. Redwood growth model_v4.1 (xls)
- Species choice for afforestation of difficult sites New Zealand
This species selection system is built for people who have a specific area of land where they would like to establish trees. The aim is to recommend "best bet" species…
- Woodlot Analysis Tool
The Woodlot Analysis Tool has a focus on small forest growers in New Zealand, to provide an easy to use tool to estimate the net return from the harvesting of…
- TreeFarmer
TreeFarmer is a mapping tool for planning a forest, and for working out how best to harvest it. It uses the latest available map overlays to help you study your…
- TreeFarmer to help with woodlot harvest decisions (Access: unrestricted)
Graham West, May 2021
TreeFarmer is the latest of a series of levy-funded projects aimed at improving a small-scale forest grower’s woodlot harvesting experience. TreeFarmer does this by raising the grower’s awareness of the problems and decisions they…
- How to harvest and market your woodlot for profit (Access: unrestricted)
Glen Murphy and Harriet Palmer, May 2020
Always a hot topic, and offering plenty of puns to bright sparks, wildfire was been on people’s minds over the summer. Images of the extreme Australian bushfires filled our television screens and…
- Leith Knowles and the radiata calculator (Access: unrestricted)
Piers McLaren, November 2018
The radiata and Douglas-fir calculators were the brain-child of the late Forest Research Institute researcher, Leith Knowles. Many of us knew Leith well, as he was a great fan of…
- New radiata pine calculator (Access: unrestricted)
Harriet Palmer, August 2018
Farm foresters can now test out different management options for existing or planned radiata pine plantations with a new on-line calculator – the Forecaster Radiata Pine Calculator. This is a…
- Radiata pine for the next generation (Access: unrestricted)
Michael Watt and Harriet Palmer, February 2018
Finally, payday is approaching for many forest owners, as woodlots and forests planted in the 1990s reach harvest age. For growers planning to replant with radiata pine, and any new planters,…
- Improving small plantation and woodlot inventory using remote sensing - how you can help (Access: unrestricted)
Jonathan Dash and Michael Watt, May 2017
Small plantations and woodlots comprise around 36 per cent of the total New Zealand plantation estate. Growers of these woodlots include an estimated 14,000 small-scale and medium-scale forest owners and…
- Eyes in the Sky (Access: unrestricted)
Michelle Harnett and Jonathan Dash, May 2017
Lit up like a Christmas tree is a good description of a laser-generated image of a forest. Stunning images aside, research in New Zealand and overseas is showing that the…
- Keeping records of your woodlots - MyLand record system (Access: unrestricted)
Graham West, August 2014
MyLand Land Record System is a new NZFFA sponsored system which will help you locate your property on a map over the web. You will be able to draw around…
- Recognising site quality for forest productivity (Access: unrestricted)
Michael Orchard, November 2010
If we were a big organisation looking to buy the optimal piece of land for forestry production, we might go to the fertile pumice lands of the Bay of Plenty…
- Using Forecaster to maximise your forest investment (Access: unrestricted)
Jeremy Snook, May 2010
Forecaster is a software system used to estimate the value of tree crop returns based on predicted log out-turns. It works by modelling the effects of site, silviculture and genetics…
- Mapping the productivity of radiata pine (Access: unrestricted)
David Palmer, Michael Watt, Mark Kimberley, Barbara Höck, Tim Payn and David Low, May 2010
Forest owners, investors and policy makers all want to know the spread and productivity of New Zealand’s current and future radiata plantation. David Palmer, a geo-spatial analyst at Scion, has…
- Improving forest inventory for the woodlot owner (Access: unrestricted)
Chris Goulding and Marika Fritzsche, May 2010
Forestry is unusual compared with other crops in that planning should be carried out over the long term. The boom in new planting in the 1990's was carried out mainly by…
- GPS and mapping tools for farm forestry (Access: unrestricted)
Harriet Palmer, Don Wallace and Ross Browne, February 2008
Ever wondered where your property boundaries really are? This was the question facing Don and Lynne Wallace, Wellington Branch members, when they bought a steep Kapiti Coast block recently. The…
- Practical hints for measuring trees (Access: unrestricted)
Allan Laurie, February 2006
Fundamental to the future decision about harvest is the need to understand how the woodlot is performing in terms of annual tree growth. Growth performance is mainly expressed in height…
- Measuring radiata pine and forecasting yields (Access: unrestricted)
Dave Crawley, May 2007
Measuring radiata pine and forecasting yields has become a highly specialised area and there is now an increasing array of software and tools required to stay on the top of…
- Tree planter's record system (Access: unrestricted)
Euan Mason, May 2005
Tree planters record system (TPRS) software has been developed by the Farm Forestry Association with the support of the Sustainable Farming Fund. This software aids record keeping while ensuring that…
- MARVL pre-harvest inventory system (Access: unrestricted)
Jim Cooke & Rob Webster, May 2005
No, MARVL is not shorthand for one of the wonders of the world but something much more prosaic. MARVL is an acronym for ‘method of assessment of recoverable volume by…
- Version 2 Calculators: Upgrading the business of farm forestry (Access: unrestricted)
Piers Maclaren & Leith Knowles, May 2005
Download the Radiata calculator version 4 (NZFFA members only) » Is farm forestry a business or is it just a hobby? These days livestock farmers go to considerable trouble to…
- GIS and indigenous forest management (Access: unrestricted)
Roger May, February 2005
A geographical information system (GIS) is a computerised mapping system which can be used for map production, operational planning, spatial analysis and record-keeping. The advantages of GIS The use of…
- New free online forest productivity calculator for small growers March 2018
A new online calculator for radiata pine and Douglas-fir productivity is now available, free of charge. The Forecaster Calculator was built for owners and advisors of small forests, who…
- How much wood has my woodlot got? May 2015
Scion seeks small woodlot owners to help test a new tool that will provide simple recommendations to assist management of small-scale forest stands. Decision support tools that provide management recommendations…
- Research at Scion - The changing face of forest monitoring April 2015
Preliminary results demonstrate the potential for unmanned aerial vehicles to greatly improve our understanding of the health and productivity of New Zealand forests. The sight of drones flying over New…
- How to create good kmz (google earth) files November 2013
On this page: [Create a polygon in Google Earth] [Saving your .kmz file] [Editing a .kmz polygon in Google Earth] Print this page Create a polygon in Google Earth 1.…
- A dynamic framework for spatial modelling Pinus radiata soil water balance (SWatBal) across New Zealand
FRI Bulletin No. 234, Palmer, D. J., M. S. Watt, B. K. Höck, D. J. Lowe and T. W. Payn (2009).
- How Much Wood Has Your Woodlot Got?
Forest Research Bulletin No. 217, Maclaren, J. P. (2000)
Practical guide to woodlot inventory, aimed at farm foresters. Somewhat dated (eg excludes use of electronic technology such as GPS and Vertex).
- Field guide for sample plots in New Zealand forests
FRI Bulletin No. 186, Ellis, J. C. and J. D. Hayes (1997).
- A three-dimensional formula for coniferous log volumes in New Zealand
FRI Bulletin No. 20, Ellis, J. C. (1982).
- Predicting final branch size in thinned radiata pine stands
FRI Bulletin No. 3, Inglis, C. S. and M. R. Cleland (1982).
- Stand assessment by log grades using MARVL
FRI Bulletin No. 132, Manley, B. R., C. J. Goulding and M. E. Lawrence (1987).
- Sampling and measuring procedure for tree volume and taper equation construction and testing
FRI Bulletin No. 138, Gordon, A. and J. Penman (1987).
- Simple experimental design for forestry trials
FRI Bulletin No. 71, Andrew, I. (1986).
- Log volume tables for tapers of 0.4cm/m to 2.2cm/m
FRI Bulletin No. 20 Supplement, Ellis, J. C. (1982).
- Inventory Practice for Managed Forests
Goulding, C. J., & Lawrence, M. E. (1992). FRI Bulletin No. 171 (pp. 50). Rotorua, NZ: NZ Forest Research Institute.
Handbook aimed at professional foresters. Could still be of value to farm foresters keen on accurate forest inventory. Somewhat dated (eg excludes use of electronic technology such as GPS and Vertex).
Farm Forestry - Headlines
Article archive »
- RECOGNITION FOR FORESTRY’S HIGHEST ACHIEVERS IN 2022
Sunday, September 18, 2022
This week at an awards dinner held in Auckland the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) announced the winners of its three most prestigious awards. The 2022 recipients are acknowledged…
- Wooden cities key to cutting worldwide carbon emissions to combat climate change
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
The Forest Owners Association President is predicting massive increases in the worldwide demand for engineered timber construction. Grant Dodson has told delegates at the Forest Institute Conference in Auckland today…
- Forestry Transformation Plan could be ‘game changer’
Sunday, August 21, 2022
Forestry Transformation Plan could be ‘game changer’ for New Zealand economy and for combating climate change The Forest Owners Association says the Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan has…
- New campaign launches to attract more people into forestry careers
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
A new recruitment campaign called ‘Find Your Fit In Forestry’ aims to draw attention to the varied career opportunities available in the growing forestry industry. A sector-wide initiative, the campaign…
- Trees on Your Farm – Pilot Workshops
Friday, July 01, 2022
In May, members of the NZFFA held three pilot workshops in the lower North Island aimed at encouraging hill country farmers to grow more trees. The format was a day…
- Federated Farmers struggling with both the law and arithmetic
Thursday, June 30, 2022
The Forest Owners Association says Federated Farmers have got their sums wrong on the rate of forest planting and don’t understand the law on overseas investment either. FOA is responding…
- New Zealand Future Foresters part of the launch of Global Network for Forestry Young Professionals
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Future Foresters New Zealand is supporting a global effort to unite forestry young professionals to promote, grow, and raise awareness of the importance and opportunities of the forest sector. The…
- Forest Owners say native trees are nice but won’t solve the Climate Emergency
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
The Forest Owners Association says the just released Emissions Reduction Plan is a welcome and unprecedented blueprint for reducing New Zealand’s gross emissions. But the Association is warning that a…
- ‘Smart spade’ one of new technologies for forest silviculture project
Thursday, May 05, 2022
A ‘smart spade’ which identifies exactly where to plant a tree seedling is just one of the new technologies in the seven-year $25.5 million Precision Silviculture development project. The newly…
- Forest Owners call for forest trade mission to India
Monday, April 11, 2022
Forest Owners call for forest trade mission to India following approval of new fumigant for log exports The Forest Owners Association wants a delegation of government ministers to urgently go to…
- Forest Owners and Federated Farmers mourn passing of former Chief Executive of both organisations
Sunday, April 03, 2022
The pastoral and forest industries are mourning the recent passing of Rob McLagan, who served as Chief Executive of both Federated Farmers and the Forest Owners Association. Rob was CE…
- Joint efforts under way after unwanted pest detected in Tauranga
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Biosecurity New Zealand is working with primary sector and Te Tiriti partners after a single confirmed egg mass belonging to the moth pest the fall armyworm was found in Tauranga.…
- Forest Biosecurity update March 2022
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Check out the latest Biosecurity newsletter which gives an update on the biosecurity surveillance system, pitch pine canker, red needle cast, tortoise beetles, a new ladybird (always good) and the…
- Forest Owners says IPCC doesn't back Anne Salmond
Wednesday, March 02, 2022
The Forest Owners Association says highly qualified reservations in the latest International Panel on Climate Change report, do not back anthropologist Anne Salmond’s claims that New Zealand should switch exclusively…
- Forest Owners puzzled at overseas investment reform
Thursday, February 24, 2022
The Forest Owners Association is asking why the government needs to reintroduce more process around overseas investment for conversions from pasture to plantation forests. The Associate Minister of Finance, David…
- Forest Owners tell government to look across the Tasman
Monday, February 21, 2022
The Forest Owners Association is telling the government that Australia’s support of plantation forestry is in sharp contrast to the increasingly restrictive measures being promised in New Zealand by our…
- The folly of the native forest carbon solution
Monday, February 21, 2022
The Farm Forestry Association says anthropologist Dame Anne Salmond’s recently publicised views, that planting native forests offer the best solution to the climate crisis, is misinformed and misleading. Association President Graham West says the overwhelming…
- Forestry Minister has strategic leadership opportunity in farm forestry
Friday, February 04, 2022
The Farm Forestry Association says Forestry Minister, Stuart Nash, should incentivise farmers to plant more trees to combat climate change. Association President Graham West asks, “Why isn’t the government working…
- Forest Owners challenge Federated Farmers to prove misleading carbon farming claims
Tuesday, February 01, 2022
The Forest Owners Association is telling Federated Farmers that it needs to educate itself about how the Overseas Investment Act works before making any more false claims about non-existent overseas…
- Further tax changes possible
Monday, January 17, 2022
Changes are possible to the ‘cost of standing timber’ provisions of the Income Tax Act. Farm Forestry members have been working to help willing owners aggregate their forests for economies…
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