Environmental issues of the day will be the focus of this year’s New Zealand Farm Forestry Association annual conference.
Up to 250 members of the NZFFA are expected to attend the five-day conference in Timaru, from March 30 to April 3. Nationally, the association has about 1500 members, down from its heyday in the mid 1990s, when numbers topped 4500.
Convener Ian Jackson said the conference theme of “The new normal: opportunity or threat?” is aimed at facilitating discussion of the environmental issues facing forestry. Carbon and the implications of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for farm foresters would be a focus as would national environmental standards for plantation forestry and practical ways to apply them.
The event will look at the “threats posed, but also the opportunity as well”.
The NZFFA was formed in 1957 and membership is spread over 25 branches throughout the country. The organisation was established for those with small forestry blocks, whether they be farmers, foresters, investors, growers or managers.
Members, who are encouraged to practise sustainable land management, own or manage an estimated 100,000ha of forests, and influence the management of a similar area. The forests consist of radiata pine, cypress, eucalypts, redwood, blackwood, other exotic species and managed indigenous forests.
“Our focus over the years hasn’t really changed,” Jackson said. “Our major ethos is, you could have 10% of farm land in trees and not impact on production.”
Jackson, who has 25ha of forestry on his sheep and beef farm at Waimate, said the ETS is a “misunderstood beast” and the conference will provide an opportunity to discuss current regulations.
“This is a chance to learn a few things but also there is a social aspect to it.”
The conference, which was last held in Timaru in 2002, will include field trips to farms in Timaru, the Mackenzie Basin and Mt Cook station, and a look at riparian planting aimed at improving water quality on a dairy farm in Geraldine. It is hoped that Forestry Minister Stuart Nash will also be able to address the group.
Jackson said farm conversion to forestry is currently a hot topic and many considering planting forestry, or selling for forestry, have copped flak from some quarters. However, he believed it is up to farmers to determine what is best for them and their land.
“There are a million hectares of erodible hill country in New Zealand. People talk about sustainability but that’s not sustainable as pastoral land.
“Land is better under trees if it’s highly erodible.”
Jackson said recent criticism of the industry, after forestry waste contributed to heavy flooding on the East Coast, is also likely to be discussed during the conference.
