Farm Forestry New ZealandPresident's Comment, August 2024
Neil Cullen, from New Zealand Tree Grower
The NZFFA had a strong presence again in the Forestry Hub at the National Fieldays.There was a lot of involvement with the public and not just because of the succulent sausages served up by Vaughan from the barbeque. Many visitors wanted to find out more about the different species options and were delighted to get free seedlings as well as advice. More than 30 new members were signed up.
Forestry Minister McLay in his address suggested that the industry should construct a permanent building at Mystery Creek to house the Forestry Hub. That is no easy task with the current downturn in prices but is a challenge which is being followed up.The Waikato Branch, which ensured the NZFFA presence at Mystery Creek over many years, has also had their own building there in the past which has since been disposed of.
The contract with the Ministry for Primary Industries to hold at least 20 alternative species workshops around the country has been fulfilled. From the feedback forms filled in by participants we can see that more than 60 per cent were farmers with a mixture of consultants, local body officials and tradespeople making up the balance.There was a high degree of satisfaction reported with the format and sites.There was also general satisfaction with the information provided, with the highest number of requests asking for more information on carbon credits, native trees, planning and consents.This information will help us when considering future workshops. Our thanks to the branches and individuals who hosted these events.
It has become increasingly apparent that almost the whole country has an out of control wild deer population which is causing havoc in native and plantation forests. In many areas they are making planting natives an even more difficult challenge than normal. At a recent field day at our South Otago branch we were shown the extra top-up fencing that was required to keep out deer predators, with mobs of 200 having been shot on neighbouring farms. Other introduced mammals such as goats and pigs are also more than abundant and possum numbers are back to the levels reached in the 1990s.
Mark Belton, who spoke at our conference, estimates that the combined effect of all those browsers is a 25 per cent reduction in sequestration of carbon dioxide by our seven million hectares of native forests.With international recognition now of improved sequestration in pre 1990 forests, Mark believes there is a good opportunity for a comprehensive national pest control scheme being financed and encouraged by carbon credits.Work is being carried out by the Department of Conservation and others to verify the effects of that browsing.
This issue of Tree Grower has the Forest Growers’ Levy as a feature and this reflects the importance of the levy for the forest industry. The different articles highlight what the levy has achieved since inception in 2014 and how we think it could and should be improved.We are not alone in the view that the levy could work better, with NZ Institute of Forestry and Maori forestry group Nga Pou a Tane making similar arguments. Our efforts on behalf of small-scale growers will continue over the next two months.
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