Forestry on rise with attractive prices
Forestry is in a good space with attractive prices for all log grades and could be a good earner for hard-pressed farmers, says a farm forester.
Bulls farmer and farm forester, Denis Hocking said forestry returns, net of harvest, of up to $40,000 and even $50,000 per hectare had been quoted, for 25-30 year old stands of radiata pine on poorer land.
He said many farmers had financially benefited from the harvesting of farm woodlots.
Feilding is the site of the national farm forestry conference next month and the theme of the challenge of diverse land forms will cover the roles of trees on land ranging from high value terrace country round Feilding to the coastal sand country and the highly erosion-prone west Pohangina hill country.
A business session on April 6 would feature talks by experts, including KPMG’S Ian Proudfoot. He will be followed by two American mycologists talking about the vital role of mycorrhizal fungi (truffle fungi) in forests and other ecosystems.
Other speakers would include Professor Allison Stewart, manager of Scion’s research programme, the manager of Horizon’s Regional Council Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI), and its dealings with the highly erosion-prone hill country, and forest industry business from the manager of the Forest Growers Levy Trust.
Speakers will provide a progress report on growing and using the many ‘‘alternative’’ timber species that farm foresters are researching.
Hocking said the topics were relevant to present day efforts to improve farm profitability, while reducing farming’s environmental impact.
‘‘Forestry is recognised as the most effective way of protecting water bodies from both sediment and excess nutrient.’’
Farm foresters will attend field trips looking at farm forestry, commercial forests, protected reserves and erosion-prone land.