Farm Forestry New Zealand
Trees for Biomass/Energy
- Consequences of the current fall in energy prices
Wink Sutton, May 2015
On 17 December 2014 the New Zealand ethical investment company Prometheus collapsed and was put into receivership. The company invested in renewable energy areas such as bioenergy, solar and wind…
- The need for fuel wood
Wink Sutton, November 2014
On a recent cruise we visited several countries in the Middle East including India and Egypt. As a forester I was well aware of the absence of trees but very…
- Developing a wood energy industry in Central Otago
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,…
- Realising the opportunities for biofuels and bioproducts
Peter Morgan, August 2012
The one-day conference I attended was mainly about bringing together as many existing and potential stakeholders in all areas of bio-activity as they relate to the forest industry sector. Presentations…
- Bioenergy demonstration planting, Bay of Plenty
Ian Nicholas and Kevin Snowdon, May 2011
As part of a Sustainable Farming Fund project evaluating willow as a feedstock for ethanol production in the Taupo area, a demonstration planting was established in 2006 on Whakapoungakau Lands…
- Hardwood in effluent schemes
Ian Nicholas, Angus Gordon, Stephen Pearce and Marie Heaphy, November 2010
The treatment of waste water is of increasing value to land managers, local councils and small communities in New Zealand. Trees have been used for waste water treatment at various…
- Willow biomass in the Taupo region
Ian Nicholas, Kevin Snowdon and Ian McIvor, November 2010
The growth of shrub willows have been investigated for bioenergy and as a biopolymer resource in the Taupo area since 2004. Background information and some results have been presented in…
- Energy farming with willow near Taupo
Ian McIvor, Ian Nicholas and Kevin Snowdon, February 2009
The end of cheap oil now is a reality and there is growing evidence of the connection between climate change and carbon emissions’, wrote David Wright, chairman of the New…
- Forest residues for bioenergy
Peter Hall, November 2007
After forest harvesting there is inevitably material left behind that is not suitable for selling as logs. Rather than leave this to rot, there are a number of ways in…
- Short rotation coppice willow as low carbon bioenergy farming
Ian McIvor, November 2007
Bioenergy is not new. Before the invention of the steam engine and internal combustion engine society was dependent on horsepower of a different kind − the real horsepower. Horses needed biofuel…
- Biofuel from biomass – a future opportunity?
Rick Swan, November 2006
Apart from a brief respite in the price of oil in recent months, the price has generally been escalating. There is reason to believe that peak oil production has been…
- Biomass as energy: Rik Deaton's Blog, September 05, 2016
I have a strong interest in the biomass-as-energy-source sector of renewable energy generation and I see it as inevitable that this country’s incomprehensible barriers to uptake will shortly be torn…
- New strategies for expansion of the bioenergy and biofuels market: Brian Cox's Blog, August 17, 2016
Recent work to identify the amount of greenhouse gas emission reductions that the bioenergy sector could contribute to achievement of the Paris climate change emission reduction targets has shown that…
- Bioenergy opportunities for New Zealand's future energy needs
Bioenergy Association (Press release),
September 2010 (Access: unrestricted)
Within 30 years, more than a quarter of New Zealand's energy needs and nearly a third of our transport fuels could come from energy crops and materials that are currently…
- Govt now needs to focus on its Energy Efficiency Strategy June 2017
The Bioenergy Association says it’s pleased the Government’s refresh of the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NZEECS) focuses on the heat and transport opportunities available across New Zealand…
- Energy from wood is good for NZ and the climate
Scion, August 2018
- Bioenergy options for New Zealand: Research and development strategy
Jack, M. and P. Hall (2009).
- Wood energy, EECA business
- Energy Farming with Willow in New Zealand
Snowdon, K., McIvor, I., & Nicholas, I. (2010).
SFF project report reviewing the potential for willow grown for biomass as a farm crop, especially around Lake Taupo.
- Bioenergy from sustainable forestry: Principles and practice. Proceedings of IEA Bioenergy Task 18 Workshop, 16-20 October, 2000, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
FRI Bulletin No. 223, Richardson, J., R. Bjorheden, P. Hakkila, A. T. Lowe and C. T. Smith (2000)
- Developing systems for integrating bioenergy into environmentally sustainable forestry: Proceedings of the International Energy Agency, Bioenergy Agreement Task 18, 7-11 September 1998, Nokia, Finland
FRI Bulletin No. 211, Lowe, A. T. and C. T. Smith (1999).
- The firewood venture: Planning, execution, evaluation
FRI Bulletin No. 137. Shula, R. G., A. E. Hay and G. L. Tarlton, 1993
Farm Forestry - Headlines
- Plantation forestry ranks best for land use
Thursday, April 15, 2021
The just released Ministry for the Environment’s latest environmental report scores exotic forestry highly for its low impact on soils. The MfE report identified exotic forests as the land use by far…
- The NZIF Foundation Awards & Scholarship Applications Now Open
Thursday, April 15, 2021
The NZIF Foundation is offering the following awards in 2021: Future Forest Scholarship for post graduate research of up to $10,000 Up to two scholarships available Otago Southland Award One or…
- Foresters celebrate scooping primary industry awards
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The Forest Owners Association says taking out three of the four category prizes in the Primary Industries’ Good Employer Awards this week is a sign the forest sector has come…
- Log supply not the cause of timber shortage
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Forest organisations have joined to reject statements that the current shortage of framing timber is caused by foresters selling logs to China and not leaving enough timber to be processed…
- Farm Foresters fired up to play a role in land use issues.
Monday, March 29, 2021
Farm foresters are now excited and fully informed to play a role in helping role solve NZ land use issues says the incoming association president, Graham West. They have just…
- Wairoa foresters forced to subsidise local meatworks
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Foresters in the Wairoa District are appalled that a part of their recent rate increase will go to propping up the local meatworks. Wairoa District Council disclosed at a meeting…
- Foresters say pines to be relied on to meet climate targets
Monday, February 01, 2021
The Forest Owners Association says the Climate Change Commission has endorsed the crucial role exotic forestry will carry out in meeting New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emission targets in 2030…
- Forest Growers Levy rate to increase for the first time in seven years
Thursday, December 03, 2020
Directors of the Forest Growers Levy Trust have raised the rate on Harvested Wood Materials, for the first time since the levy was introduced by a forest grower referendum in…
- Forest Growers Levy Board increases Levy to 33 cents per tonne
Thursday, November 26, 2020
The Board of the Forest Growers Levy Trust has increased the Levy rate to 33 cents per tonne of harvested wood materials, the first increase in the Levy rate since…
- Minister's Roots In Forestry
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
The Minister of Forestry, Stuart Nash when speaking at the annual Farm Forestry Awards last Tuesday, announced he had started his career in farm forestry and as a student pruned trees…
- Forest industry says main political parties abandon forest industry
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Forest industry says main political parties abandon forest industry at economic and environmental cost The Labour and National parties’ policies on forestry, leading into the election, are disappointing to forest…
- Taxpayers to pick up carbon cost if production forests are restricted
Friday, September 18, 2020
The Forest Owners Association says taxpayers are likely to have to pay billions of dollars for imported carbon credits, if planting production forests is to be restricted with the idea…
- Forest industry says government wood preference policy good for economy and environment
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Forest owners say the government’s announcement of a policy to give preference to low greenhouse gas emission materials in government construction will be good for both the environment and for…
- Election forestry policy unnecessary
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Right now, we are in a Covid-19 recovery phase and an election year. Farmers feel good about keeping the economy going, but are challenged by climate change, freshwater regulations and…
- New construction policy will deliver more timber use
Monday, July 06, 2020
The Forest Owners Association says the MBIE announcement of ‘Building for Climate Change’ will mean more timber is used in New Zealand construction. FOA President Phil Taylor says he’s been…
- Feds telling their members they can’t sell land for forestry
Sunday, July 05, 2020
The Forest Owners Association is startled that the new Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chair is asking the government to restrict the right of farmer members to plant trees or…
- New business agreement with ForestX
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
NZFFA has negotiated a Referral and Collaboration Agreement with ForestX NZ Ltd, who provide transaction support for the sales of forests, land and standing timber. The seller pays a listing…
- Promised forest limit trashes zero carbon goals by at least 30,000 hectares a year
Monday, June 22, 2020
The Forest Owners Association says New Zealand’s carbon zero goal is seriously in doubt after a statement by the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, that the government would ‘need to…
- Better options than Log Bill
Thursday, June 04, 2020
The Forest Owners Association says more exports of processed timber products from New Zealand looks a good prospect on paper, but Shane Jones’ current Log Bill is not going to…
- Farm Foresters recommend action in Wood Sector
Friday, May 22, 2020
In conjunction with other sector associations, the NZ Farm Forestry Association has made five important post Covid-19 recommendations to the Ministers of Forestry and Agriculture for specific actions in the…
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