32 minute read
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by nzlogger
Forestry exports on road to recovery
FORESTRY MINISTER, STUART NASH, SAYS
forestry exports are showing good signs of recovery. “Strong demand for logs from China and for sawn timber from the United States is driving recovery in our forestry exports,” he says.
“Exports are expected to increase by eight percent to almost $6 billion for the year ending June 2021. This reflects the resilience and hard work of our forestry sector, which should be commended,” he adds.
This is on the back of the latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report which overall reflects bright economic prospects for the primary sector despite the significant challenges from COVID-19, according to Agriculture, Trade and Export Growth Minister, Damien O’Connor.
“The latest SOPI report forecasts food and fibre export revenue of more than $47.5 billion for the year ending June 2021, and a record $49.2 billion the following year,” says Mr O’Connor.
“This strong performance is testament to the sector’s ability to adapt to keep businesses operating and workers in jobs. Producers are working to keep staff and communities safe from COVID, and provide the food and fibre products needed at home and abroad. Our primary sector can be proud of the way it has responded as part of our broader community.
A good performer this year included forestry’s cousin, the horticulture sector. “Its export revenue is forecast to hit nearly $7.1 billion, an increase of 8.9 percent from the previous year. It’s driven by successful harvests in early 2020 and continued strong demand for our fresh fruit and wine.
“Further increases in export revenue of 5.3 percent are expected for the arable sector for the year ending June 2021, on the back of a bumper 23 percent increase the previous year.”
Mr O’Connor says export revenue for some sectors is forecast to drop for the year to June 2021 but is expected to bounce back stronger the following year.
“Dairy export revenue is forecasted to decrease 4.6 percent to $19.2 billion for the year to June 2021, driven by weaker global dairy prices, as markets continue to deal with the impacts from COVID-19,” he says.
“However, this should be offset by high demand for our dairy products, particularly from China, to support strong sector profitability over the medium-term, with export revenue expected to reach $20.1 billion in the year ending June 2022.
“Meat and wool export revenue is expected to decrease 8 percent to $9.8 billion for the year ending June 2021, mostly due to food service closures from COVID-19, and competition from poultry and other lower priced proteins. It’s expected to rebound to almost $10.1 billion the following year.”
Oceans and Fisheries Minister, David Parker, says COVID-19 continues to affect seafood exports, but this is expected to be short-term.
“The seafood sector continues to bear significant impacts from the international downturn in hospitality, tourism and dining out due to lockdowns caused by COVID-19,” he says. Mr O’Connor says while the impacts from COVID-19 will be seen for some time, New Zealand is well placed to recover. “Our Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Recovery roadmap launched earlier this year will guide our recovery,” he says.
“It aims to add $44 billion in export earnings over the next decade through diversified, higher-value product offerings, with strong environmental credentials, which will also create jobs.
“In November New Zealand signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the largest free trade agreement in the world. It will reduce non-tariff barriers, make trade simpler and reduce compliance costs for our exporters. This should help to further boost our food and fibre exports and our bottom line. “New Zealand’s success in combatting COVID-19 – along with our solid elimination strategy – provides a good base from which to build back better than before,” he adds. NZL
Forestry Minister, Stuart Nash.
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE LEVY WAS INTRODUCED BY A
forest grower referendum in 2013, Directors of the Forest Growers Levy Trust (FGLT) have raised the rate on Harvested Wood Materials.
The Chair of the Levy Trust, Geoff Thompson, says clear support for the value of the investment led to the decision to raise the levy from 27 cents a tonne to 33 cents.
“We had overwhelming support in our levy referendum at the beginning of last year, from small- and large-scale foresters, even more than when the levy was first voted on,” he says.
The FGLT was set up under the Commodity Levies Act, where producers of a commodity can vote to impose a levy on production for commongood projects. It has raised about $10 million per year in recent years.
Geoff says levy income took a severe hit with the spread of Covid-19 and the lockdown in New Zealand, requiring a fresh look at how spending commitments could be met, and the prudence of replenishing reserves.
“Our main priority is research, to fund projects which increase forest productivity, whether in large forests or in farm woodlots. We fund major investments in harvesting technology, forest management and mechanisation.
“Another priority is the Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) and its projects to make forestry a safer place to work after the horror stories early in the decade. We still unfortunately aren’t at zero fatalities and serious injuries, which is the aim, but this year we’ve had the lowest fatality rate in six years,” he adds.
“Biosecurity is no less vital for us than for any other part of the primary sector. A biosecurity officer is now part of the FGLT Secretariat’s
The Leadership Capability Project in action.
Taking charge of leadership
THE FORESTRY AND WOOD PROCESSING
Workforce Council’s first project focusing on leadership capability has shown promising results. The Council was established in April 2020 to take the lead in the sector’s workforce development challenges.
“It will oversee the actions specific to developing workforce capability and capacity for forestry and wood processing,” says the Deputy Chair of the Council, Fiona Ewing. The Council is made up of representatives nominated by their industry body to represent the wide range of skills required in a thriving forestry sector, she adds.
Several projects are currently underway, the first of which is the Leadership Capability initiative. This project encourages excellent work practices and leadership capability which will raise professionalism and result in safer work practices and outcomes, says Fiona.
“FISC has been working to develop and deliver frontline leadership throughout our Frontline Leadership and Team Up training. These training courses have been developed by The Learning Wave in conjunction with FISC and have been successfully delivered to almost 500 forestry workers to date including Generation Programme cohorts in Gisborne,” she explains.
The leadership courses have been so successful that FISC has secured funding to deliver additional courses and to develop Phase 2 and 3 courses. Phase 2 will further coach and mentor individuals who have participated in the Phase 1 courses. Phase 3 supports participants from Phase 2 to coach and mentor others in the industry and communities. Twelve of these frontline leadership courses, originally developed by The Learning Wave, have been run since July 2020, involving more than 120 workers.
These courses encourage people to look at communication and leadership as a way to improve work and health and safety outcomes in their crews, says Fiona. They were developed specifically for the forestry industry.
The courses are very hands-on and help attendees learn how to: • Lead a high-performance team – focussed on key results (including safety). • Effectively communicate to people who are different from themselves. • Get workers involved in solving problems and making good safety decisions. • Hold people accountable without bullying. • Focus their teams on learning from things going right… not just waiting for things to go wrong.
Feedback from the 2020 courses has been positive: • 88% of participants rated the learning experience highly. • 79% of participants thought the training improved their ability to perform their job. • 89% of participants thought the training improved their confidence in leading a high-performance team. • 94% of participants said the course improved their ability to communicate more effectively with people who are different from themselves. • 91% of participants said the course would let them get workers more involved in making good health and safety decisions. • 77% thought the course would help them hold people more accountable without bullying. • 82% thought the course gave them confidence to improve leading the team to learn from things going right.
Course dates are set for Q1 2021 and details will be available on the Safetree website. Locations will be confirmed based on expressions of interest from the sector. Based on the success of this programme further funding has been sought for both forestry and other primary industries, Fiona says. NZL
staff. Projects like these allow leveraging of other funding from the Government sector. Our biosecurity funding is an additional eye-out for all the pests and diseases which may arrive in New Zealand and harm native trees or the horticulture industry.
“This is the first time the rate has been increased since the levy was brought in. In the following seven years inflation has chewed through its value, so half of the increase is just catching up to where we were before.”
Geoff says the decision followed close consultation with the Forest Owners Association (FOA) and the Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA). “We also surveyed owners of forests when we did the referendum last year. The consensus was that we had set the levy rate too low, and it should be about 35 cents a tonne, so more work could be done with it.
“The change will also meet new challenges in the industry, such as the political attacks on landowners’ right to prevent a land use choice of planting trees for harvest and carbon credits.
“But looking forward, we need to assist in the huge and vital area of research into new wood uses, such as resins which replace plastic, transparent timber sheets that can replace glass and biomass use for no-emission energy production. Trees are a huge part of the bioeconomy future.”
The Forest Industry Contractors’ Association’s (FICA) Prue Younger says though this doesn’t directly affect the sector, FICA does rely on this levy to support projects affecting the supply chain so “to have more dollars coming in will only be seen to be helping the industry as a whole and for that we are grateful”. NZL
Generation Programme gets funding boost
Generation #7 on a site visit to Waituna Forest with Logic Forest Solutions. From left: Pete Warioa, Damos Davis, Ashley Ward, Harli Campbell, Api Crawford, Siobhain Fyall (GP Manager), Mike Wikohika and Vaughan Peneha, all of CPM Logging.
EASTLAND WOOD COUNCIL’S (EWC)
Generation Programme has received a huge boost from Te Uru Rākau (Forestry New Zealand) which has topped up the coffers by $441,000 through its One Billion Trees Programme.
EWC Chief Executive, Kim Holland, says the funding has secured the future of the programme for the next two years. “It is fantastic to strengthen our relationship with Te Uru Rākau through this kind of support and to see them invest in forest industry training like this,” she says.
“It means we can continue to develop the programme to ensure it meets industry needs. This recognises the success of our Generation Programme in providing skills and people to our industry work-ready. The industry and contractors are snapping up our trainees – that says so much.”
At the heart of the programme is health and safety, ongoing training and plenty of mentoring to give candidates the best possible chance of success in the future, she says.
Annie Hindle, Acting Director of Forest Development, Grants, and Partnerships, Te Uru Rākau adds: “The forestry industry is a significant employer on the East Coast and there is an ongoing demand for skilled and trained forestry workers. To ensure there are trained people, ready to go and aware of the hazards of their work, sound training programmes, such as the Generation Programme, are required.”
“We are proud to support the EWC in their efforts to provide contractors with ‘work-ready’ employees by investing in the training and upskilling of our forestry workforce.”
Kim says COVID has meant a particularly tough year for so many, but Te Uru Rākau stepped in to support when it was needed.
“Our programme has had to adapt as things rolled out. We established online learning during COVID Alert Levels 3 and 4, and made sure our trainees were all safe when returning to the new normal.”
There are currently 14 contractors working with the Generation Programme, all of whom contract to EWC member companies.
“The success of this programme comes through our ability to continue to recruit, even in a very challenging year,” says Kim, who also tipped her hat to programme manager Siobhain Fyall.
The programme is now in its third year, and the current intake is its seventh.
“It is great we have the continuity of both the programme and the ability to retain the likes of Siobhain and continue to grow the forestry industry relationship with Taūranga Ararau whose pastoral care involvement has been crucial to success for a number of candidates,” says Kim.
There has been an impressive list of achievements this year, with several gaining level 3 qualifications as well as head breaker out tickets, licences, first aid certificates and wheel, tracks and rollers completions.
“We have interest in the programme from far and wide, with trainees moving to Gisborne to train with us and then work in local forestry,” she adds.
“We have been blown away by the number of women who are stepping up to take part in the programme. It is great to see and it is making such a difference to people’s lives.”
Over the three years, there have been over 60 trainees, with 33 trainees – men and women – continuously employed in forestry and 14 more moving into other industries.
“Candidates see there is massive opportunity within the industry to not only earn good money but also for the career opportunities – the world really is your oyster,” she says.
Next year the programme will accept rolling enrolments, allowing people to tap into the training as they are looking for work. “It also means we can place trainees into employment on a rolling basis so the contractors don’t have to wait for the end of a cohort.”
The practice has already been successfully trialled with trainees who entered the programme with experience but needing to gain tickets.
The newly-formed Central North Island Wood Council is in the throes of establishing its own Generation Programme in Tokoroa where it will follow the Tairāwhiti blue-print but tailor it to meet the requirements of the industry in its region. NZL
Logging crew gives falcon nest a wide berth
AN EMPTY NEST BEARS TESTIMONY TO THE
heart and dedication of a team of Gisborne loggers. A pair of Karearea/New Zealand native falcons were found by the Stubbs Contracting logging crew mid-November, within five metres of their cable logging operation, and left in peace for the eggs to hatch.
It was decided that area of forest where the birds were found, 25 kilometres up Waimata Valley Road, would not be harvested until the eggs had hatched and the chicks were old enough to fly away – even though the timber would have devalued by that time (an estimated 450 tonnes of pruned trees were sap stained and devalued while protecting the area).
“It was for a good cause,” says Aratu Forests harvest planning manager, Andy Costello – the Karearea being the country’s most threatened, and fastest, bird of prey with around 4000 breeding pairs left in New Zealand.
The nesting pair and their eggs were found by a team of breaker-outs from the Stubbs Contracting Log 4 crew when the decision was made to move logging operations away from the area.
“As additional security we put predator traps around the nest to give the chicks the best chance of survival,” says Andy.
“We often see Karearea in our forest. Usually we see them hunting or passing overhead. This time, however, they established a nest within five metres of a cable logging operation, during operations.
“We think the falcons built the nest while we were operating in the vicinity, in doing so evading our annual Karearea nest monitoring programme.”
As part of Aratu’s internal environmental systems, all staff have an awareness of rare, threatened and endangered species, he adds.
Whether or not these particular chicks survived despite all efforts, remains uncertain: “We thought we saw a chick on 23 December but when we got back on 5 January we found the nest had been vacated. We’ve been unable to determine if the chick fledged successfully or if a predator disturbed the nest over the break. We didn’t see any signs of a struggle and are hoping for the former. The falcons are still flying around the area but they no longer act aggressively when we get close to the nest.
The crew started logging the area again on 7 January. “An ecologist confirmed that as the falcons were no longer being aggressive around the nest, we would do no harm if we resumed operations in the area,” says Andy.
The Karearea is an endemic bird with an “at risk/recovering” status. They are capable of flying at speeds of over 100 km/h. A typical clutch consists of two to four eggs which take about 33 days to hatch. Nestlings are fed by both parents but the male does most of the hunting, with the female guarding the nest until the nestlings are close to fledging, which occurs between 31 and 45 days after hatching. NZL The pair of Karearea guarding their nest.
These two Karearea eggs were given the best chance of survival by the logging crew.
New Forests takes on new CFO
“THE 2020’s WILL BE A DECADE WHERE
high standards and action are needed. Being at the heart of this change is a challenge I am looking forward to with much anticipation,” says Adrian Williams, Sydneybased investment management firm New Forests’ newly appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
New Forests’ Chief Executive Officer, David Brand, says Adrian will bring a wealth of knowledge to the company’s senior leadership team as it prepares to grow over the coming decade.
“We are really pleased to have Adrian join us. He has tremendous experience and capacity in supporting the growth of an asset management business like New Forests.
“He is also strongly aligned to our aspirations related to sustainability and expanding the role of forests in helping address climate change, supporting the transition to a circular bioeconomy, and supporting economic development in rural communities,” he adds.
Throughout his career, Adrian has led large finance teams with a focus on team development. He has significant experience in strategy, systems change, and sustainability, and is also actively involved in supporting Indigenous employment and the arts.
As CFO of New Forests, Adrian will oversee fund management accounting, corporate accounting, strategic planning, and business management.
“I am excited to be joining New Forests and feel a strong sense of alignment with the business and its vision and mission for the forestry sector,” says Adrian.
“There are significant opportunities for investment and growth as the world adapts to a low carbon future, and I believe that New Forests is uniquely positioned to play an important role in both shaping and contributing to this change.
“For myself, New Forests represents an opportunity to ‘join the dots’ on my corporate experience, community involvement, and social impact endeavours.”
A Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), Adrian, has over 30 years of experience in finance and accounting in both Australian and international organisations. He was most recently Acting Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of AMP Capital, where he oversaw $200 billion of real assets and listed investment portfolios.
New Forests manages approximately $6.6 billion in funds across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and the United States on behalf of a range of institutional investment clients. The firm specialises in sustainable forestry, conservation, and rural land investments and has grown substantially over the past 15 years since it was founded. NZL
New Forests CFO, Adrian Williams.
Summer wildfire prevention takes priority
UNDERSTANDING FIRE RISK CONDITIONS WILL NOW BE CLEARER
and simpler, thanks to a new online tool launched by the Minister in charge of Fire and Emergency, Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti.
The new mobile-friendly tool on Fire and Emergency’s checkitsalright.nz website makes it easier for people to understand fire danger conditions across the country and helps make informed decisions about lighting outdoor fires this summer.
“Climate change means that fires present a growing threat to communities here and overseas. As we enter a hot, dry summer, it is important people understand the risks and act accordingly,” says Mr Tinetti.
“This year, the wildfire season has started earlier. We’ve already had two significant fires, with 3500 hectares devastated at Aoraki/Mt Cook; and 5000 hectares with 48 buildings, melted water tanks, and destroyed power and water systems at Lake Ōhau.
“In New Zealand, 99% of wildfires are started by people – it only takes a spark. Our actions make all the difference, especially when the fire danger is heightened over summer,” he says.
““No-one wants their property destroyed or their life disrupted by fire, but many of us don’t realise just how risky some common activities are,” he adds.
“New Zealanders can check local fire danger and fire season status, and get clear guidance on whether they need a permit to light a fire or not.”
Further to these efforts, an outdoor instructor, a forester, a beekeeper and a paramedic were among 28 new recruits who graduated as firefighters recently at Fire and Emergency’s National Training Centre in Rotorua.
During the ceremony the group demonstrated a number of firefighting scenario exercises for their family and friends, displaying the skills they have learnt.
The current group of graduates represents an increasingly diverse range of people who want to become career firefighters. They range in age from 18 to 45 years and include six Maori, and four people from countries other than New Zealand.
Deployed around the country, the recruits can now put away their green trainee helmets and take their new yellow operational helmets to their fire stations – ready to put their new skills to use in the community. NZL
Pine camo Kiwi style
Tree faller, Jarred Henderson, tries out the new pine camo.
“MY GARMENT DESIGNS COMBINE NEW ZEALAND FOREST
Owners Association (NZFOA) approved Hi Vis with a camo that represents the forestry worker and hunter. Now instead of wearing unapproved blaze camo for Hi Vis, workers can wear the hunting gear they like to work, and be within the PPE rules,” says Julian Verstegen, Harvest Supervisor at IFS Growth.
This idea for a camouflage mimicking Radiata pine first came to him about five years ago. While hunting in a pine forest around Gisborne, Julian noticed his mates both had “camouflage that mimicked American oak trees and a pond vegetation type pattern designed for duck shooting”.
“During my research on camouflage, it dawned on me that in NZ our style of hunting does not actually require the hunter to be camouflaged. Shooting from the ute or bike, chasing pigs with dogs and thermalling/ spotlighting hardly requires camo, yet it is still hugely popular on all garments. So why do we buy camouflage when the majority of hunters do not actively use it in the bush to blend in and conceal themselves from their target?” Julian asks.
With his background in forestry and currently managing and buying forests on behalf of New Zealand clients, and fuelled by this revelation, he “half-heartedly” set about designing his own camouflage “which was harder than I thought”.
“I didn’t know what the pattern was going to look like, so it was hard getting a designer to create something from an idea. After two designers I finally started working with Josh from Southpaw Creative in Rotorua who was a bit more open-minded, and we started slowly building the pattern and formed a process which worked,” says Julian.
He says he planned to copy the business model of the big camo brands and licence his pattern to established hunting brands. But pitching his idea to a large NZ brand, he was quickly brought back to reality, “getting told ‘thanks, great idea but no thanks’”. With high competition for rack space in retail stores and with digicamo “the new thing” he was told mimicry camo was a thing of the past.
“I decided that my pattern needed to have more value to a large established hunting brand before they would consider using it. So, I started work on designing my own shirts and hoodies and eventually placed an order for custom-designed clothing featuring my pine camouflage pattern.”
Belongcamo.com was born and Julian now has an online store with a small range of products, with plans to expand into women’s and kids’ sizes and also to orange and blue pine camo, he says.
“I think people buy camouflage because they associate it with hunting. It represents hunting to others and it does look good. My pattern is aimed at the people who work and hunt in the ever-increasing pine forests. The pine tree is one of the most recognisable trees in the country. They now have a camouflage that represents them and where they spend their time. In the near future I hope loggers can kit their families out with pine camo and pine hunters can do the same.” NZL
Let’s show drivers our appreciation
THIS MONTH SEES THE RETURN OF THE
annual Truck Driver Appreciation Week (TDAW) – with various events around the country from February 22 to 28.
The team at NZ Truck & Driver is busy coordinating the week’s activities, alongside the Road Transport Forum (RTF) and Association partners.
Thanks to the RTF for its contribution and support for TDAW – along with a number of industry suppliers who have also already committed to supporting the event.
The team is working towards events around the country where they will be handing out appreciative gift bags to as many drivers as possible.
Check the Facebook page or website for details: https://nztruckanddriver.co.nz/promotions/truckdriver-appreciation-week
As part of this year’s Truck Driver Appreciation Week there has also been a significant investment in a nationwide media campaign aimed at achieving some appreciation in the wider community of what it is truck drivers do for all New Zealanders every day – by delivering everything and anything they need.
We ask that all operators do their bit during the week to look after their own drivers by making them feel appreciated.
If you wish to be a part of Truck Driver Appreciation Week please contact Olivia Beauchamp at NZ Truck & Driver, either by emailing olivia@trucker.co.nz or call 027 6855066. NZL
N A T I O N A L Truck Driver
Appreciati Week
A race to the bottom?
IMAGINE YOU WERE APPLYING FOR A JOB.
You had all the right qualifications and had just received an email saying you’d made it to the shortlist. But the email went on to say that the successful candidate would be the one willing to work for the least money – and how low were you prepared to go?
Would you want to take that job or to work for that company?
That was the question posed by David Langford, Group Manager Planning and Infrastructure at New Plymouth District Council, at the Safetree Conference in November. That scenario describes the way most contracts are given, says David, who has overseen a transformation in the way the New Plymouth District Council works with contractors.
It is also the way many contracts are awarded in forestry – which is why the Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) asked David to speak at the Safetree Conference.
“The problem with the ‘lowest cost’ approach to contracting is that it creates “a race to the bottom”, David says.
Reduced profit margins lead to short-term planning and investment horizons, which lead to low investment in staff, training and equipment, poor quality control and high levels of re-work, and create working conditions that don’t support good health and safety outcomes. Ultimately this lowest cost approach creates an unhealthy tension between safety and profit, he says.
In 2019 the New Plymouth District Council implemented a new approach to procurement when tendering for its annual roading maintenance contract – doing things very differently.
This included swapping from a ‘Lowest Price Conforming’ approach to a ‘Weightedattribute’ system that put the biggest weighting on how the contractor would invest in its current and future workforce.
The Council extended the terms of the contract from three years to 10 years, enabling those tendering to have certainty over their work for a significantly longer period and to make long-term investments in equipment and people. It also capped the number of hours that contractors could work each week.
David says the benefits of the new approach are already showing – and include improved safety and quality, plus long-term cost savings for the Council.
“For example, moving to a 10-year contract gave the winner of the maintenance contract, Downer, confidence to invest in machinery that eliminates the need for reversing trucks while building roads – a leading cause of worker deaths in New Zealand. This equipment is also more efficient, and will lead to long-term cost savings,” he says.
David says the requirement to invest in workforce development has led to the creation of a ‘talent pipeline’ in New Plymouth that is encouraging people into the construction industry and giving them training. This is important because currently, much like forestry, construction has an ageing workforce and low training levels – 81% of construction labourers have no vocational training. David points out that good training is essential, not just for quality, but to ensure workers know how to do their job safely.
The cap on working hours is also important, he says, because construction has the highest suicide rate of any New Zealand industry, and ensuring people aren’t over-worked is one way to protect their mental wellbeing.
While David’s story relates to the construction industry, virtually all the issues he identifies around procurement are also present in forestry. So, there is much the forestry industry can learn from the Council’s experiences.
FISC plans to review its Charter next year, and this will include looking at how forest owners, managers and contractors could work differently to support better health and safety outcomes in forestry.
More information about this review process will be available in early 2021. If you are interested in getting involved, contact info@ safetree.nz. NZL
HarvestTECH 2021
Don’t miss HarvestTECH 2021
IF YOU’RE INVOLVED IN WOOD
harvesting, you’ll remember well the major logging event, HarvestTECH 2019 that ran a couple of years ago in Rotorua, with close to 500 logging contractors, harvest planners, forestry managers and equipment and technology suppliers attending.
Roll on two years. HarvestTECH 2021 is being planned, with the two-day event running again in Rotorua on 13-14 April. The conference programme is already full with registrations now live and exhibition spaces sold out. After the major disruptions of 2020 – bush fires, a slowdown through excess log inventories in Chinese ports at the beginning of the year, COVID-19 lock-downs and then a halt on log exports out of some Australian States into China towards the end of the year – it will be welcomed.
“A few extras have also been added to the event this year for those attending,” says Brent Apthorp, Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA) Director. “Topics like mechanised harvesting on steeper slopes, integrating automation and robotics into wood harvesting operations, and best practices around ensuring the environmental sustainability (roading, stream crossings and harvest residue management) of logging operations will be covered. With a raft of new technologies being developed and adopted by leading companies, the 2021 event will also be outlining new log scaling and measurement technologies, log docketing options through the wood supply chain, wood flow logistics and log transport innovations.
“As an added bonus, the ever popular forestry safety event, Forest Safety & Technology 2021, is being held at the same venue on the first day,” says Brent. This will enable delegates from both events to network during the breaks and also capitalise on the large number of trade exhibitions that will be set up over the two days for those attending, he says.
With the uncertainty still surrounding travel and border restrictions that may or may not exist in April 2021 because of COVID-19, for the first time live links from the New Zealand event will be set up for those unable to travel into Rotorua.
“We had in 2019 a large contingent of forestry companies and contractors come into New Zealand from Australia and North America. This means the full two-day event can be viewed in
From data to drones
Dave Herries, GM, Interpine and Robin Hartley, Manager UAV Operations, Scion, presenting at the conference.
DESPITE COVID-19, COUNTRY BORDER
restrictions, tight health and safety requirements for running physical events and a minor scare in Auckland the week before the event, ForestTECH 2020 ran in Rotorua late last year – a muchneeded tonic
Well over 300 establishment foresters, tree crop supervisors and planners, silvicultural foresters, resource managers, remote sensing, GIS and mapping specialists and inventory foresters were involved. Workshops, meetings, field demonstrations and a two-day technology conference and trade exhibitions all ran for the wider industry during the week. Delegates from 20 different countries were for the first time involved as part of the online streaming of the event.
For the first time in 13 years since it has been running, ForestTECH 2020 was split into two main technology streams:
Remote sensing, data capture and inventory management
The conference provided insights into new data collection technologies that have been developed and are being used operationally out
Outside exhibit at HarvestTECH 2019.
real time, or if delegates are going to be tied up in the forest during the two days, each recorded presentation will be able to be viewed at a later date,” says Brent.
Full details on the programme along with registration information can be found on the HarvestTECH website. NZL in the forest along with advances in processing and better interpreting the big data streams now routinely being collected. Updates on disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, IOT, machine and deep learning, robotics, automation, daily satellite imagery, UAV’s and the use of virtual and augmented reality and how they’re being integrated into day-to-day operations of forestry companies, were covered by international and national presenters.
Forest establishment, mechanised planting and silviculture
ForestTECH 2020 also included a full day on technologies around forest establishment, mechanised planting and silviculture. A significant number of presentations covered research and trials being undertaken on planting with drones, seedling deliveries from drones onto more remote planting sites and tree seedling survival counts using satellites, hyperspectral and multispectral imagery and deep learning. As these new remote sensing technologies are being rolled out, there is an obvious crossover between forest data collection, remote sensing and cutting-edge research and trials around tree crop management.
There has been a resurgence of interest by forestry companies in Australasia in mechanised or automated operations for planting and silviculture. The economics are starting to stack up and the technology, in part, can address the growing issue of labour shortages being faced over the planting season. Mechanised or machine planting is already successfully being used across Scandinavia and in South America.
Operational trials were undertaken in the central
North Island of New Zealand last planting season, with more extensive plantings using the mechanical planting systems undertaken on several larger forests this year as reported in
NZ Logger.
Aside from addressing the shortage of planters this year because of COVID-19 restrictions, some of the advantages of mechanised planting using planting heads mounted on an excavator are better soil cultivation (ripping and mounding) for the young trees and greater consistency in the quality of the tree planting. Fertiliser granules can also be integrated into the planting process, along with herbicides or insecticides if required.
In drier climates or at the end of the planting season, tree planting can also be extended by the application of water (or slow release irrigation using gels) at the time of planting. This feature, particularly with eucalyptus plantings in countries like Chile, Brazil, South Africa, China and Indonesia, has been used successfully and is being trialled this season in northern NSW, Australia.
As well as on-ground mechanised planting, aerial planting systems using swarms of drones are also now fully operational. DroneSeed out of the US spoke at ForestTECH 2020. It has been employing swarms of UAV’s (or drones) to automate tree planting and spraying operations for a number of major North American forest management companies. Late last year, it also started commercial trials for planting in New Zealand. The technology is capable of planting out at six times the speed of the human planter, and in some pretty tight and tough terrain. This year the company provided an update on its planting trials as well as its projects on reforestation and rehabilitation.
Another company with local ties, AirSeed Technologies, has also devised its own system, allowing drones to plant large numbers of seeds in minutes using a pneumatic firing module. It can fire out two seeds per second at velocities of anywhere between 150 and 300 metres per second into the soil. The module, called a Podder, can be attached to the bottom of most popular drone models and a team of two, flying two drones, can plant up to 40,000 seeds into the ground in a day. NZL
High-tech drone on display.
