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Newsletter 124, January 2020

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New Zealand Farm Forestry Association
NZFFA
P.O. Box 10349
The Terrace
Wellington 6143
www.nzffa.org.nz

Farm Forestry Members Newsletter

   Newsletter 124, January 2020
In this issue

Small Grower Harvest Research workshops completed

Research trial: Late chemical thinning of cypress and Douglas fir on alluvial soils

Fire risk update for Farm Forestry

NZ Timber Design Awards

Consultation meetings on Reforming the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme: Proposed settings, 3 -13 February

Contacts

President
Hamish Levack hlevack@xtra.co.nz
-Wairarapa
-Wellington

Immediate Past President
Neil Cullen
cullen@farmside.co.nz
-North Otago
-Mid Otago
-South Otago
-Southland
-Sthn High Country (south)

Newsletter editor
Dean Satchell
dsatch@xtra.co.nz
-Far North
-Mid North

National Office
Liz Chamberlain
admin@nzffa.org.nz
Phone: 04 4720432

Executive
Graham West
-Waitomo
-Waikato
-Bay of Plenty

Angus Gordon angusg@xtra.co.nz
-Taupo & Districts
-Middle Districts
-Hawkes Bay
-Gisborne East Coast
-Taranaki

Michael Orchard
 orchards@xtra.co.nz
-West Coast
-Marlborough
-Nelson

Patrick Milne patrick@cypress.co.nz
-North Canterbury
-Central Canterbury
-Ashburton
-South Canterbury

Don Wallace
don@wallace.gen.nz
-Treasurer
-At large

Egon Guttke
egon.guttke@outlook.co.nz
-Wellington
-Wairarapa

Peter Berg - Co-opted
thebergs@ihug.co.nz
-Far North
-Mid North
-Lower North

Howard Moore - Co-opted
howard.moore@outlook.co.nz

Members

The members area of the NZFFA website can be accessed by using your email address and password to log in.

Your email address MUST be the address you have provided to NZFFA for your subscription (which happens to be the one this newsletter was sent to...).

If you don't have a password or can't remember it, you can get one very easily. Just follow the instructions here.

Any problems logging in then email me.

Dean Satchell, website administrator



e-Newsletter
If you are receiving this e-newsletter and don't want to, please notify NZFFA by replying.

 

Notices

Call for nominations for election of three Island representative members at the 2020 Invercargill Conference
Nominations are hereby invited for three Island Representative Executive Members.
Branches can nominate and/or vote for the vacancies in their particular island.
Special Interest Groups can choose to nominate for vacancies in either the North Island or the South Island (not both in the same election). Special Interest Groups can choose to vote in the elections for either island (not both) but if they have made a nomination they can only vote in the election for the island of their nomination.

Candidates must reside in the island they have been nominated for and be financial members of NZFFA. Vacancies are:

North Island:

  • One three-year term (Don Wallace retiring by rotation)
  • One one-year term (Angus Gordon standing down but available to represent the association in other capacities)

South Island:

  • One three-year term (Patrick Milne retiring by rotation)

Nominees must sign their consent and nominations must be received by Head Office, by 28 February 2020. More »


Events

For more information on these events, they are posted on the NZFFA website >>
Branch secretaries, please make sure you notify head office of any branch or action group events.

  • Restoration Ambassador 1 Billion Trees Program  Wednesday 29 January 2020 5pm GDC Chambers 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne Dr Adam Forbes, Restoration Ambassador for the 1 Billion Trees program will give a talk that will cover: The objectives of…
  • Wellington Branch Field Day - Stanton Park, reprise  Sunday 2nd February It's summer, things keep growing and anyone opposed to this irresponsible behaviour can join us on Sunday 2nd to take out their frustrations at Stanton Park. Using…
  • NZIF Hawke's Bay - Management of Fire in the Forest and Rural Landscape - Future Challenges  Monday 3 February 2020 5.30pm Water Bar, Ahuriri, Napier Presenter: Murray Dudfield Murray was an employee of the NZ Forest Service commencing in 1967 and finished in the role as a…
  • Combined Branch FFA Field Day - Waingaro  Forest Management Regimes 10.30am Saturday 15 February 2020.   5908 Highway 22 – shared driveway with Brooklands Park This is to invite you to a special Farm Forestry field day that…
  • Mid-North AGM & Field Day  Sleepy Hollow Saturday 15 February - 11 am This year we are holding the AGM and Kevin and Ruth Anderson’s place in Maunu, Whangarei. Originally called Sleepy Hollow this property was 100…
  • Wellington Branch AGM & Indigenous Planting  Sunday 23 February Grant Irving of The Greenery https://www.thegreenery.co.nz was the contractor who provided all of the native planting around the new subdivision of 140 houses in Crofton Downs. He’s willing…
  • Bioenergy Association Workshop  The Evidence for Delivering Wood Energy to New Zealand 25 February 2020 Copthorne Hotel Wellington Oriental Bay Government is developing policies relevant to the wood energy sector and seeks evidence of…
  • Cypress Action Weekend in 2020  Saturday 29 February & Sunday 1 March 2020 The Cypress Development Group is having an action weekend from Saturday 29 February to Monday 2 March 2020. Saturday Feb 29th: A full…
  • Free Workshop: Microbiology of Planted Forests  An introduction to microbial ecology and processes for planted forest owners When: 26th March, 9.30 am – 3.30 pm, Where: Scion, 49 Sala St, Rotorua. Background and objectives Radiata pine…
  • North Canterbury AGM  Thursday 26 March 2020 Please contact Laurie Bennett l.cbennett@xtra.co.nz for details
  • Tree Crops Association's National Conference  Auckland, 27-29 March 2020 Celebrating Diverse People, Crops and Food...  Providing Food Security in a Changing Climate Featured Speakers: Derek Craig - Forest Gardening Cherylle Prew - Soil Food Web Mark Christensen…
  • Oak Action Group Open Days April 2020  Saturday 25 April to Sunday 26 April 2020  Hackfalls Arboretum and Eastwoodhill Arboretum, the National Arboretum of New Zealand Join the Oak Action Group on Saturday 25 April to Sunday 26 April 2020 for a…

Blogs

NZFFA members can set up their own blogs on the NZFFA website. Email Dean.


Headlines


Reports (Members Area)


Small Grower Harvest Research workshops completed

FFA members will benefit from the recent allocation of levy funds via the  Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Committee’s good work in recent months. The six regional Harvesting Innovation workshops that some of you enthusiastically contributed to, have resulted in two projects being successful for funding this year. A Harvest Planning tool will be developed by a team led by Graham West and three new pieces of harvesting equipment will be evaluated in Production Studies led by John Schrider. The Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) has also been successful (with SME Committee support) to secure some funding toward an update of the Business Management for Logging handbook (BMOL). In total the SME Committee secured $132,450 for next year, a great effort considering the large number of applications made to the Forest Growers Levy Board.

For presentations and a summary of the regional harvesting innovation workshops click here.

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Research trial: Late chemical thinning of cypress and Douglas fir on alluvial soils

Chemical thinning of trees has some advantages over manual felling. There is less work and time involved, none of the dangers of manual felling operations and the trees die slowly and cause less disturbance to the canopy, and therefore less risk of windthrow. In addition, the felled trees do not get in the way of the operator undertaking the thinning operation, adding to the cost-efficiency improvement.

The risk with chemical thinning is that unintended injury or death of residual crop tress can occur if the dose used to kill adjacent trees is too high. Trees root-graft and roots can carry translocatable herbicides from one tree to another.

This reseach provides dosing information to foresters who wish to thin their production stands using glyphosate to poison target trees.

More »

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Fire risk update for Farm Forestry

Fire is an ever-present risk for forest owners and managers, and especially so over the summer period. Fire and Emergency New Zealand recognises that plantation forest wildfires have significant economic, social and environmental consequences.

With the arrival of summer, it is vital we all take responsibility for doing what we can to prevent wildfire. The 2019/20 Fire and Emergency summer wildfire prevention campaign focuses on raising the awareness of the increased risk of unwanted fire among New Zealanders and international visitors. 

A key campaign message focusses on getting those living in the urban/rural to check how to reduce the risk, and check if a permit is needed, before doing any work on their land. During the past 10 years, chainsaws and harvesting hauler lines contributed to 20% and 17% respectively of the total area of plantation fire burnt (7500 hectares). Emphasising that it only takes a spark to cause a devastating wildfire – it isn’t worth the risk!

The stars of the campaign are three of our most loved native birds – the kiwi, the tui and the pīwakawaka (fantail), chosen because they represent the threat of destruction of habitats and wildlife through fire. Over the next four months you’ll see the campaign featured in newspapers, on social media, on the back of trucks, at visitor centres, camp grounds, service stations, as well as Fire Danger reports on TVNZ and MetService.

To support the campaign, Fire and Emergency have also launched a new public educational website checkitsalright.nz, which also recognises the importance and encourages the use of the Forest Owners Association and NZ Farm Forestry Associations ‘Forest Fire Risk Management Guidelines’. These guidelines provide a process that any forest owner can follow to manage the risk a wildfire damaging their investment. 

For free advice from a wildfire specialist call your Fire and Emergency Regional Office.

Kimberley Standen
kimberley.standen@fireandemergency.nz
www.fireandemergency.nz

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NZ Timber Design Awards

NZFFA sponsors the NZ Specialty Timber Award: For the use of NZ grown alternative species (excludes Douglas Fir and Radiata Pine). The finalists this year are:

James Hay Theatre Timber Floor - Christchurch Town Hall
Timbers of NZ

CSO Centre, Christchurch Town Hall - Ron Ball Studio
Warren & Mahoney

Cloud of Witnesses
Andrew Barrie Lab.

2020 NZ Wood Resene Timber Design Awards Gala Presentation Dinner, Thursday, 26th March 2020

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Consultation meetings on Reforming the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme: Proposed settings, 3 -13 February

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is the Government’s main tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The government plans to improve the current scheme by introducing a ‘cap’ on emissions covered by the scheme. The cap will reduce over time and help set Aotearoa New Zealand on a trajectory towards meeting our emissions reduction targets.

You can read about our proposals on the consultation website.

We are keen for feedback on the specific NZ ETS settings that are being proposed, including unit supply and price controls, that will be set through regulations in mid-2020. Please see details below on consultation meetings we are holding.

Auckland
Monday 3 February, 1.00pm – 4.00pm.
Register here

Rotorua
Tuesday 4 February, 10.00am – 1.00pm.
Register here

Wellington
Tuesday 11 February, 1.00pm – 4.00pm.
Register here

Christchurch
Wednesday 12 February, 1.00pm – 4.00pm.
Register here

Online Webinar
For those who are unable to attend in person, we will be holding a webinar on Thursday, 13 February from 5.00pm – 7.00pm.  
Register here

Agenda
An agenda will be forwarded to registrants prior to the meeting.
Officials will be available after the session to answer questions.

A light morning / afternoon tea will be provided.

Please register for these meetings no later than 3 February. 

Ngā mihi nui

Matthew Cowie
Manager, NZ ETS Policy
Ministry for the Environment

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Disclaimer: Personal views expressed in this newsletter are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the NZ Farm Forestry Association.

 

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