HB Today - Rural Focus March 2022

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RURAL

FOCUS Hawke’s Bay March 2022

Spotlight on our region’s rural sector

Rural Cartage Specialists Nick Agnew 027 583 7373 1445 Omahu Road Has!ngs


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Passion, positivity and plenty to learn at Expo

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here was plenty to love about the recent East Coast Farming Expo, but it seems one-on-one, personal interaction between those attending was the biggest winner.

The two day Wairoa-hosted Expo was well attended by exhibitors and visitors, and already there is lots of chatter around what will be on the programme for the 2023 event. Event manager Sue Wilson says the very focussed target for sheep and beef farmers from the East Coast melded with the driver to always bring the very best in speakers, innovation, exhibits and

information, makes the Expo a must-do for many.

home and looking sideways at their training sneakers.

She was “extremely pleased” with the numbers through the gate.

“We became known as ‘the little event that could’, as we pushed on to ensure our Expo ran under those ever-changing and challenging COVID rules and regulations,” said Mrs Wilson.

“The calibre of speakers who are willing to come to Wairoa has always been outstanding,” says Mrs Wilson. “They are always so positive and passionate about farming, and extremely keen to share their story.”

“Exhibitors and visitors relished a chance to connect and were only too happy to wear masks. It was so good to see younger farmers attending, and exhibitors like Growing Future Farmers and Telford, showcasing the options they provide for the next generation of farmers.”

“The highlight for so many was the chance to get face-to-face with the innovators of agribusiness.” Farmers hung on to every word from key note speaker Sir Ian Taylor, who along with entrepreneur Logan Williams had to present virtually. However the inspirational Shaz Dagg didn’t disappoint and would have seen many heading

Gillian Fenemor from Fenemor Innovations demonstrating how the Vetmarker docking cradle works.

Exhibitors and Expo attendees thrived on the opportunity to have quality conversations. We’re not about thousands through the gate. This is quality time with people who are making a difference and gaining knowledge that can help our sheep and beef farmers on the East Coast.”

Growing Future Farmers Wairoa liaison Taryn Helm left, with Laura Gavin and Tom Heavey.

Students from schools in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay headed to Wairoa to find out more for themselves. “Everyone was so appreciative the Expo actually went ahead. We will be listening to feedback and already have some great ideas to make 2023 even better.”

Rural Women New Zealand chair Sandra Matthews, Korokipo branch secretary Anne Finnie with inspirational speaker Shaz Dagg.

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The Right Team for Rural

Introducing the team

about horticulture and agriculture and has an extensive knowledge of fruit growing and management, with a comprehensive understanding of horticulture.

Tony Rasmussen

Monty Monteith – lifestyle, dairy and pastoral Growing up on a dairy farm in Hawkes Bay, Monty’s early career inevitably leant towards dairy farming. He worked as a dairy farmer for a decade before being recognised by the dairy industry in 2010 as New Zealand’s “Dairy Farm Manager of the Year.” More recently he has been a livestock agent specialising in dairy. Monty brings his knowledge, enthusiasm and understanding of the dairy industry together making him the ideal person to sell your farm.

Working hard to maximise the value of your rural property January heralded the formation of The Right Team for Rural, a new team of Bayleys rural real estate specialists servicing Hawke’s Bay. The Right Team for Rural offer a professional service for clients in all areas of rural real estate, with the team specialists having a wide knowledge and understanding of your property and how best to market it and achieve the best price possible. This team was established to give rural clients a point of difference, as the team covers all aspects of rural real estate making them “Altogether Better.”

John Pearce – lifestyle, pastoral and horticulture Tony is the team leader and he handles all rural sales in addition to working closely with each of the team members. Tony offers a straight and honest approach and total commitment to getting the desired result. His experience in the stock and station industry and rural banking has given him an in-depth understanding of horticulture, farming, finances and what drives the rural property market. With a 13 year real estate career covering the East Coast Tony has completed over 235 transactions and sold over $400 million in rural property.

Luke Dee – lifestyle and equestrian Luke grew up on a farm and as an International Equestrian he is passionate about lifestyle and equestrian properties. Since joining the Bayleys rural team he has enjoyed several successful sales and has a great number of clients still looking for that perfect lifestyle property.

John worked for 38-years in Rural Finance and alongside Bayleys for many years before deciding to add his vast experience and undiminished enthusiasm to Bayleys successful sales team. He has a wide level of experience in all types of farming and horticulture and brings an extensive network to the role with which to meet and achieve listings and sales.

Jeff Kevern – lifestyle and horticulture With 20 years-experience as an apple grower and more than 30 years in the technical advice field particularly supporting apple, summer fruit and grape growers in Hawke’s Bay, Jeff is passionate

The team has excellent administrative and marketing support from two team administrators in Moana and Ann and the backing of the regional marketing team. Whether you are looking to buy or sell, our experienced team have a specialist to cover your rural real estate needs.

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Monty Monteith

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Facial eczema – a costly and preventable disease By Dr Kathryn Sigvertsen, Vet Services Waipukurau

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acial eczema is a disease affecting sheep, cattle and alpacas, and is caused by a toxin called sporidesmin. Sporidesmin is produced by the spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum growing on pasture. The fungus grows in the base of pasture in warm moist conditions found at this time of year. When ingested the spores damage the animal’s liver which can result in poor reproductive performance, reduced growth rates and in dairy cows a noticeable drop in milk production. Not all animals will show clinical (visible) signs, but they can still be affected subclinically. Those with subclinical infections will have liver damage and the associated reduced performance but will look normal on the outside. Clinical signs include skin peeling, facial swelling, droopy ears (particularly sheep) and restlessness, while cows with white/pink teats will be painful to milk. All of these signs can cause pain and discomfort, contributing to the negative welfare impact this terrible disease has.

to show general trends of how many spores are out there. The more spores that are consumed, the more risk there is to the animal. As a general rule, spore counts over 30,000 spores per gram are considered risky. For information on the risk in a specific paddock, a spore count from that paddock will need to be taken as the counts can vary widely even between neighbouring paddocks. Using these spore counts, trigger levels can be decided on for when to apply further prevention. Prevention options include: • zinc bolus treatment (eg faceguard bolus for sheep and cattle) • zinc water treatment (for cattle, not suitable for sheep) • pasture spraying with fungicide while counts are still below 50,000 • grazing “safe” pasture (identified by spore counting or low risk pasture species such as chicory, plantain)

How do we prevent it?

• grazing to higher residuals to prevent stock eating the very base of the pasture (where spores are concentrated)

The spores that produce the sporidesmin toxin can be counted in a grass sample. Regular spore counting is done in our region from a selection of monitor farms,

Even exposure to low spore counts (as little as 20,000) over an extended period can cause significant damage. Long term it is possible to breed for tolerance to

facial eczema and there are accredited ram breeders working towards this. Treatment options for clinically affected stock are very limited. There are no good proven treatments for facial eczema and the long lasting effects of the liver damage mean that pregnant stock in particular often struggle in the following spring at lambing or calving, due to increased stress on them at that time.

Being vigilant and watching regional spore count trends will give you warning of when to start prevention. Each season is different and monitoring is the only way we can see what is happening right now. You can view Vet Services Facial Eczema Risk Monitor and the regions weekly results on www.vshb.co.nz

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Positive outlook for sheep Uncertainty around Covid-19 remains the dark cloud on the horizon and we just don’t know what impact on-going disruptions to international shipping will have on markets, or how the virus will impact on our supply chains and community. It is important that we all do our best to protect our supply chains and this means following on-farm Covid-19 protocols. These include ensuring everyone who comes on farm either signs in or uses the QR tracer app and that farmers continue to use this app off-farm. This is alongside the social distancing, mask wearing (where appropriate) and hygiene measures that have become second nature to us by now.

Along with the favourable weather, we have been enjoying strong returns for both sheep and beef and all signs suggest these buoyant prices, particularly for sheep meat, look set to continue.

As a sector, we’ve got to reach agreement on a pricing framework or the Government will simply put us in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which will be a bad outcome for farmers. Under He Waka Eke Noa, we have an opportunity to control the process and ensure that the levies generated are reinvested in science that will ultimately help farmers reduce their greenhouse emissions.

Another option is to work in a ‘Bubble of one’, so long as the individual has been vaccinated, free of symptoms and is distanced from anyone else in the workplace. Businesses operating as a ‘Bubble of one’ do not need to register.

Unlike the ETS, under the He Waka Eke Noa options we also have an opportunity to off-set our emissions through sequestration and support farmers as they continue to plant the right trees in the right places on their farms.

There is more information on the Beef + Lamb New Zealand website.

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Farmers can also pick up the phone and talk to their local B+LNZ Director. We are all happy to discuss the options with our levy payers.

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I strongly encourage all farmers to engage in this critically important process. There are on-line meetings and farmers can provide feedback through an on-line submission form which is on the B+LNZ website. We need your feedback.

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strongly advocate for science-based methane reduction targets that reflect the warming impact of methane – but this is a separate conversation to He Waka Eke Noa.

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t has been a good season in the Hawke’s Bay with recent welcome rain helping set farms up for autumn and winter.

Under phase 2 of the Omicron response, farms as critical businesses can be registered under the close contact exemption scheme. This means a worker, who has been a close contact, can continue to work if they have been vaccinated and return a negative Rapid Antigen Test at the start of each shift.

Outside of the farm gate the agricultural emissions pricing roadshow is well underway and overall feedback has been positive.

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By George Tatham Director Beef + Lamb New Zealand


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Boost in RSE numbers help Hawke’s Bay’s horticulture sector grow By Anna Lorck MP for Tukituki

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s a great supporter of the Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) scheme, which is critical to the ongoing success of our horticultural industry, I know that the Government’s record increase to 16,000 workers will have a positive impact for Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand. New Zealand’s RSE scheme was first established by the Labour-Government in 2007 and has become an integral part of supporting the growth and success of our horticultural industry.

The RSE scheme also plays a critical role in providing significant financial benefit to the Pacific Islands when workers return home, through supporting their families and communities along with investment into housing and schooling.

making good progress in improving wages and working conditions, and offering training. We are seeing more Kiwis entering the industry with fulltime employment opportunities and exciting career pathways.

Having worked for and represented the horticultural and primary sector throughout my career, I have built longstanding working relationships with industry. These relationships are now invaluable in the Government, enabling me to work closely with Ministers especially in advocating on the region’s behalf for more RSEs and the successful one-way travel Pacific bubble, which has played a critical role in protecting against Covid-19.

There has been record investment, especially in Hastings, into hundreds of new purpose-built RSE accommodation, which has helped reduce pressure on existing housing stock and we’ve also seen growers and employers providing

high standards of pastoral care for all their workforce. The industry has worked together to get through what has been an unprecedented challenging time in the face of Covid-19. Now, as we look ahead, the resilience of our region shows that we will keep building on our strengths, which is evident in the ongoing new horticultural development continuing across Hawke’s Bay, growing jobs and the economy.

The Government’s announcement on increasing the cap for the 2021/2022 season from 14,400 to 16,000 will provide employers in the horticulture and winegrowing sector access to more seasonal labour to help with planting, maintenance, harvesting, packing and winter pruning. It will also help set the sector up for the next season. I want to especially acknowledge the huge work of Hawke’s Bay employers who have led by example in making sure the RSE scheme is recognised as world class. Key to the Government’s decision has been seeing our horticultural sector

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Anna Lorck

Our Government has: Lifted RSE cap to record 16,000 workers

Your local MP for Tukituki Sign up to my newsletter: Lorcktalk@parliament.govt.nz

Signed a historical free trade deal with UK to increase NZ GDP by up to $1billion Made new plans for Right Tree, Right Place, Right Reason - Changing Overseas Investment Act to require investors to meet special benefit test for forestry conversion - Working on giving local communities the ability to decide on what trees are planted and where - Proposing for permanent forests to be native only - Determining benefits to plant native forests to calculate carbon returns

06 870 1470 anna.lorck@parliament.govt.nz /AnnaLorckMP

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Upskilling the workforce

By Chrys Ayley

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t the end of January the Horticulture Fruit Production/ Trainees Programme Coordinator, lecturer and Principal Academic Staff Member, Gordon Reid marked the end of his 19 year teaching career at EIT, and the beginning of his retirement. A former student of Gordon’s, Steven Hartley, who owns and manages Hartley’s Orchard in Fernhill, has taken on the position and is enthusiastic about working with students and industry employers. “I can see so much opportunity. I’m looking forward to meeting people in the industry, to chatting with employers and student visits,” he says. Steven hails from Scotland and has a degree in information management from

Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University College. He started his working life in investments and met his future wife Natalie when they both worked for the same investment company. Natalie, whose family own and operate Taylor Corporation Ltd here in Hawke’s Bay, was on her OE at the time. The couple returned to New Zealand fully intending to head for Auckland or Wellington but they were waylaid while visiting family in Hawke’s Bay and have been here ever since. Steven joined the Taylor family business and started his new fruit production career in quality control which he thoroughly enjoyed.

He was promoted to foreman and was keen to learn more so he started a horticultural apprenticeship at EIT. This was three years part-time study along with full time work. He says “It filled in the little details” he needed to know. The apprenticeship led to Steven gaining NZ Certificates in Horticulture (Fruit Production) L3 and L4.

and the knowledge gained filled in the other gaps he needed to be an effective manager. During all his studies it was Gordon Reid who taught and oversaw Steve’s progress.

In 2013 Steven and Natalie bought 12ha in Fernhill and with help from family planted the block in Galaxy and New Zealand Queen apples. Recently Steven employed Alister Withers , a former fitness instructor, who shows great potential and will run the day to day orchard operations while Steven teaches. Alister is undertaking the EIT L3 apprenticeship programme.

Steven then went on to set up training courses at Taylors which involved assessing orchard workers individually and then giving them one-on-one tuition which included people skills.

Steven was promoted to a managerial position at Taylors and it wasn’t long before he wanted to learn more about the industry, in particular management and leadership. He returned to EIT to study for the NZ Diploma in Horticulture (Fruit Production). This was two years part-time

Then last year Gordon mentioned to Steven that he was retiring and that he thought Steven might like to apply for the job. Steven’s answer was “no, I’m too busy”. Fast forward a couple of months and a second conversation took place between Steven, Gordon and Clare Buckner, another horticultural tutor at EIT. Steven listened to their rationale for suggesting he apply for the position: they were seeking a person with industry experience who had climbed the career ladder, was known in the industry and would be good at the job. Steven started the new job at EIT in January, although he took holidays in February to help with harvesting the apples at his orchard. “EIT has been very supportive and I’ll study for a teaching qualification - NZCATT this year.” Having been a student recently Steven feels he can relate to the apprentices and he realises that these days horticultural students come from all walks of life. Now students are both rural and urban dwellers who all have different levels of knowledge. He enjoys tapping into their psyche to help them learn faster. Newcomers to the industry don’t necessarily understand orchard lingo either and it’s important that messages are interpreted correctly. He uses the example “can you bin out the orchard please,” to illustrate how instructions can be misconstrued by newcomers. He intends getting down to basics to ensure that communication is clear, effective and understood. Today the industry need staff who can climb the career ladder, be foremen and managers. For this they need role models and staff who know what a true leader is. Steven will encourage this in his teaching too through education, discussion and practice.


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Resilient Hawke’s Bay As we look ahead to what 2022 might bring, ANZ Agricultural Economist Susan Kilsby writes that Hawke’s Bay is showing strong resilience, helped along by its diverse economy, and spending by locals and tourists alike.

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espite many major events being scaled back or cancelled, some for the second year running, domestic tourists are coming to Hawke’s Bay, and they are spending. This, along with the diverse economic base, is helping balance out the impacts of the pandemic, and the local economy is showing strong resilience. In 2021, domestic tourists spent 19 per cent more in Hawke’s Bay than they did in 2019, before anyone of us had heard of Covid-19. Spending did dip in 2020, but shot up last year with particularly strong spending in the food and beverage sector – both in services (restaurants and cafes) and goods (including food and alcohol). This is a trend we’ve seen in other parts of regional New Zealand, which are benefitting from city dwellers taking the opportunity to visit other parts of New Zealand, rather than heading overseas. The data indicates domestic tourists haven’t been so keen to visit Auckland or Wellington! But it is not just tourists that are spending more. ANZ card spending data indicates Hawke’s Bay locals are also spending more, with a surge in spending in the second half of 2021. While it is normal to see a surge in the lead up to Christmas, in 2021 the lift in spending occurred at a much stronger rate than the national average.

Agriculture driving spending Hawke’s Bay gets about 10 per cent of its income directly from agriculture and some of this spending will have been driven by the farming sector.

E D F SA OSE E L G C A EN OR ST

Lamb and beef farmers are receiving record prices for the stock and this additional revenue makes its way through the local economy. When returns are high farmers tend to update machinery and invest in farm infrastructure which benefits local suppliers. However, while farmgate prices are high at the moment, farmers do have other challenges to deal with. Input prices have risen sharply, with fuel, labour and fertiliser prices all ballooning this year, meaning there may not be a lot left once additional costs are factored in. There are also fears that current delays getting stock processed may be exacerbated by outbreaks of Omicron hitting the workforce. At present there are already delays getting stock away, and there are more lambs left to process than normal due to slower growth rates earlier in the year. Recent rain is both a blessing and a curse - the region is green again, with pasture growth rates back, but the rains have played havoc with grape production, and cropping farmers have endured severe damage. As we are seeing right across New Zealand, the tight labour market is causing major issues – particularly in the primary sectors. Securing skilled and unskilled workers has become a real challenge.

Labour shortage is the largest economic constraint for the region. If the apples and grapes don’t get picked they simply can’t be sold. While this isn’t unique

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to Hawke’s Bay, the region does have a greater need for seasonal labour than many other regions. Orchardists and food processing facilities are really struggling to find sufficient workers, as many of these seasonal workers now have ample opportunity to secure more permanent employment. There are also very few foreign workers available to fill the gaping hole in the seasonal workforce. Our horticultural industry has become increasingly reliant on temporary workers from the Pacific Islands and backpackers.

Spending in Hawke’s Bay by domestic tourists

While, in theory, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme should have allowed more workers to enter NZ this year, the practicalities of securing flights and getting through border restrictions means there will be fewer workers available for picking apples this season. Meanwhile, many of the foreign backpackers that enjoy the benefits of seasonal employment have now gone home. Initially, some of these backpackers extended their stay in New Zealand, as it was considered a safe-haven as the pandemic spread its tentacles globally. But many who initially stuck it out have now headed back home, and very few are prepared to chance entering New Zealand, even if they had the means.

Tough decisions ahead This means orchardists now face some tough decisions as to which apples won’t be picked this season. The good news is that border restrictions are now easing, but we expect it will take time for new visas to be processed, and the typical inflow of immigrants to get back to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, we may initially see more Kiwis heading offshore, which could shrink the workforce further. All this means as we look to the year ahead it is a real mixed bag, with parts of the local economy doing well and other parts struggling. But overall the region is showing strong resilience, helped along by its diverse economy, and spending in the region by locals and tourists alike.

Data Source: Tourism Electronic Card Transactions (TECTs), Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

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Championing sustainable and profitable farming By Chrys Ayley

“We believe farming in Hawke’s Bay can be the best anywhere resilient, profitable and environmentally sound.”

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hair of the Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust Liz Krawczyk is pleased to announce that Bayleys Country and Napier Port recently signed up as anchor sponsors for the coming year. Both are strongly supportive of the Trust’s aim to lift the bar for Hawke’s Bay farming and growing, ensuring both environmental and economic viability into the future.

“Both Bayleys and the Napier Port are key enablers for Hawke’s Bay agribusiness and our farmers and growers. We are thrilled to see them endorse the aspirations and work of the Trust. Their support will help the Trust identify, develop and communicate leading edge practices here in Hawke’s Bay that will help our region’s primary producers achieve financial and environmental sustainability,” Liz says. The Future Farming Initiative was adopted and funded in the Hawke’s Bay Regional council’s 2018 Long Term Plan. HBRC’s intent was to establish an independent voice to champion sustainable agriculture in Hawke’s Bay.

Siobhan Griffin, seen here at Waipukurau, explaining alternative pasture and grazing systems that can regenerate better soils and build soil carbon.

Chair of Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust Liz Krawczyk.

A working party fleshed out the details for the organisation structure and anticipated programme and the Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust was established in September 2019, governed by a board of trustees including one HBRC designated member.

Trustees include local experts John van der Linden, Phillip Schofield, Scott Lawson, Will Foley, Tim Aitken and Tom Belford who between them bring extensive and practical knowledge and experience to the trust. The Trust received launch funding from the HBRC and has been further supported in-kind by BM Accounting and Tuki Vineyard, along with new sponsors Bayley’s and Napier Port.

The scope of activities is broad but covers expanding knowledge in Hawke’s Bay with the focus on innovation, science insights and new technology. This embraces sponsorship of on-farm demonstrations, along with outcome measurement and focussed interventions such as improving soil biology to optimal farming systems. “Farmers tend to look for “real world” hand-on evidence of what works better and the closer to home the better,” says Liz.

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Spreading knowledge is another key aim including the promotion of Hawke’s Bay’s best practices, practitioners and champions along with conducting education and extension facilities for all farming sectors in collaboration with sector groups. The Trust is tasked with establishing ambitious goals for superior performance by the primary sector on soil health, clean waters, food quality, animal welfare, biosecurity and profitability. The key expectation of all practices the Trust encourages is that they restore or regenerate financial, natural and social capital. Events and workshops such as Siobhan Griffin’s presentations have attracted considerable interest. Siobhan coaches farmers to build topsoil working with their livestock, grazing deep-rooted and diverse pastures to build and regenerate soil carbon on New Zealand sheep/beef and dairy farms. The Trust held a Farming Soil Carbon field day in late November 2021 at Incline and Ruamati dairy farms at Patoka. Owner John Kamp talked to a crowd of 40 attendees who ranged from conventional and regen farmers, ag professionals and other sectors such as apple growers. All were interested to hear about the journey John has taken over the last 12 years. He was backed up by soil scientists Dr Philip Schofield and Paul Smith who also

Farming Soil Carbon field day hosted by John Kamp.

brought many years of experience and knowledge to the discussions. John has prepared sites on both farms – Incline, which has been regen farmed for 12 years and Raumati, which has more recently started on the journey.

the depth of moisture in the two soils and the increase in soil carbon at the Incline farm. There was much healthy conversation and debate from the crowd with farmers picking up ways to enhance their own operations.

With no irrigation and only using natural fertilisers it was easy to compare the depth of dark microbio activity, the depth of plant roots and

Regular newsletters and details about events and workshops can be found at www.hbfuturefarming.org/ or see their Facebook page.

John Kamp, left, and Phil Schofield drilling the soil samples.

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Is it time to put the brakes on forestry? By Keith Dolman CEO Hawke’s Bay Forestry Group

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overnment seems to think so. It’s changing the rules under the Overseas Investment Act to ease concerns that too much farmland is being converted to forestry. The fact is that the Special Forestry Test does not allow applications for carboncredits-only farming. It is compulsory for overseas investors to operate a harvest regime.

If the government does bring in measures to clip the heels of carbon farming it will calm those who see this having no place on land which can be used to produce timber or livestock. HBFG agrees that carbon farming does not make sense on productive land, as it employs few people and without silviculture, predisposes others to fire, pest, and disease risk. We see a place for it on land which is remote, difficult, or too unstable for farming or fibre forestry. Moreover, we think a rush to curtail carbon farming could hurt some

Exotic tree plantations offer the most and viable option for New Zealand to reach international carbon sequestration goal.

Hawke’s Bay Forestry

• Competitive, profitable adding investment choice • Committed to responsible environmental outcomes • Third largest export industry

landowners and ultimately all of us if it limits our capacity to meet international greenhouse gas reduction goals. Many farmers have adopted a ‘plant and leave’ approach for the toughest parts of their farms. Now, with a market for carbon, they can expect material reward for doing the ‘right thing’. Good as this is, the science is clear: planting exotics on scale, as carbon sequestration offsets, provides the only affordable solution for New Zealand to reach its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target. We do not have 100+ years for kowhai and rata to lock up appreciable volumes of carbon. Even if we did, native trees would require a far greater land area and an eye-watering spend. It is too late to wait for a ‘natural’ solution. The climate change issues are far more urgent than that.

We sit at the bottom of the world and are dependent on maintaining market access for our primary products. When the world speaks, we need to listen. And the message is clear, ‘we need to lock-up extra carbon dioxide and quickly’. Production forests can do it, but the government intentions to restrict their expansion will mean carbon forestry, in the right place, will be critical. We have unproductive land in rugged and degraded areas outside the conservation estate in our back country. This could be converted to carbon farms, return a dividend to the owners, and help avoid global sanctions. Production forestry and carbon farming, each in their place, may be the only way to reach our international carbon targets. We can only hope that any new legislation leaves the door open for that.

Carbon farming is an option for locking-up carbon dioxide on land too remote, difficult, or unstable for farming or fibre forestry.

• Varied and attractive job opportunities • Easiest way to achieve zero carbon goal by 2050

www.hbforestrygroup.co.nz


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