20 FEATURE SUPPLEMENT
Thursday, June 16, 2022 Wairarapa Times-Age
FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 21
www.age.co.nz Thursday, June 16, 2022
FORESTRY IN WAIRARAPA Good reasons for Plantation Forestry still apply A Rangit˜kei farmer believes production forestry, rather than permanent carbon credit pine forests, will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide jobs and economic value. Many farms in New Zealand have been converted to forestry in recent years due to rising carbon prices, but the Government recently proposed to remove exotic forests, which include pine forests, from the Emissions Trading Scheme from next year. Denis Hocking farms sand dune country near Bulls, about 50% in sheep and beef, and 50% in forestry. A forestry advocate, he believed there was too much anti-forestry sentiment. Rural communities have feared for the loss of farms and workers due to farmland being turned into long-term carbon credit pine forests. Hocking said forestry had been a more productive earner than sheep and beef
forestenterprises.co.nz 0800 746 346 Timber milled on his farm is used for building fences. Denis Hocking shows how it works.
farming for decades on “poorer” land, production forestry was a better mitigator of greenhouse gas emissions than permanent carbon forests, wood was a valuable resource and low-energy alternative to steel, and there was labour demand for production forestry. “You can get a bloody good income without actually doing anything. I would suggest Government policy should be directed to trying to persuade people [into production forestry], which will generate a lot more export value.” He said forestry, not planted on prime pastoral land, earned twice the amount per hectare per year than sheep and beef farming. Production forestry still o° set carbon emissions and the timber could be used as a substitute for fossil-fuelintensive materials, with overseas processors keen on New Zealand timber. “I do not like the idea of building up forestry sinks,
Creating wealth. Naturally. Since 1972. For fifty years, we’ve been helping kiwis grow their wealth by investing in sustainable forestry. The forests we manage in Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne are among the most productive in the country. Harvest is underway and investors are seeing their returns.
contained about 300 tonnes of carbon, but if those trees were cut down and the land planted with pinus radiata, it contained about 180 tonnes.
Denis Hocking shows students around his farm forestry for a ÿ eld trip
just plant and build up all the carbon we can and just bugger o° . I think we are leaving a liability for the future generations. “Production forestry makes a lot more sense for emissions than permanent sinks. Wood can play a follow-up role to that carbon storage.” He believed no-shear sheep were
likely to lead to more job losses in rural centres than forestry, and having farming cadets learn forestry skills would restore jobs. Massey University emeritus professor of sustainable energy and climate mitigation Ralph Sims had a similar attitude to Hocking. “If it’s managed properly, it’s far better to do that than just
plant trees, let them absorb carbon and walk away and get paid for the carbon, which is the concern for farmers.” He said production forestry had three products: logs, biomass for fuel and carbon credits for reducing emissions. Ralph said a hectare of land which had been in native bush for thousands of years
By cutting it down and replanting it, over a decade it would average about 90 tonnes of carbon, while replanting in native bush would take about 150 years to get back to 300 tonnes. He said native forestry had its place, particularly in hill country that should never have been deforested. It depended on the type of land where
forestry should be planted – not ˛ at arable land – but there was a need for more timber.
As we replant each forest, we aim to inspire the next generation of forestry investors. To grow your wealth, contact us.
“Timber has got to take the place of steel and concrete in our building because it locks up carbon in relatively low emissions compared with cement.” He said a third of every tree, the tops and the branches, had value as biomass that could be used for fuel to run power plants, which is done in Europe, while the logs could also be sold.
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