Pine - Blogs
- Why pruning/clearwood is one of our major competitive advantages: Denis Hocking's blog, June 14, 2022
Most members will be only too aware of this, but sometimes I feel it is worth restating and discussing the obvious. I will start by pointing out that knot free…
- Why I became, and remain, a clearwood advocate: Wink Sutton's Blog, October 04, 2019
Only recently have I become aware of the concept of unique special product or proposal. However, I now realise that for most of my forestry life I have been seeking…
- Too understood to merit a mention?: John Purey-Cust Ponders, December 01, 2018
In my present abode I don’t see much of trees, but a few days ago I had a chance for a short walk under my beech plantings. Now over 20…
- Live radiata pine stem needles must be removed at pruning: Wink Sutton's Blog, November 28, 2018
On a recent Bay of Plenty field day, questions were asked about the need to remove live stem needles at the time of pruning. If live stem needles are not…
- Is there a case for timely pruning?: Wink Sutton's Blog, May 29, 2018
Two principles have emerged from a lifetime of plantation management research − That the size and the quality of trees at harvest are determined by the decisions at the time of…
- How Should We Manage Our Radiata Pine?: Denis Hocking's blog, May 21, 2017
At a couple of recent conferences we have had speakers urging higher stocking rates to increase total recoverable volume and returns from plantations. A recent paper by John Moore &…
- Forests take little from the soil: Wink Sutton's Blog, February 27, 2017
Particularly since the conversion or trashing of second or third rotation radiata stands to make room for dairy farming, we no longer hear claims along the lines that stands of…
- Plantations can be very productive: Wink Sutton's Blog, November 29, 2016
On a visit to Poland in 2006 one of my Polish forester hosts was adamant that plantations of non-indigenous trees could not be as productive as plantations of indigenous trees.…
- Monocultures are natural: Wink Sutton's Blog, August 29, 2016
Some environmentalists have criticised plantations because they are almost always monocultures. Monocultures are claimed to be unnatural. Are they? Is there evidence that monocultures do not occur in nature. This…
- We need intensively managed plantations: Wink Sutton's Blog, May 29, 2016
Wood is the world’s only environmentally friendly and sustainable raw material. There are current global proposals for a significant increase in wood use such as in the manufacture of biofuels and…
- Radiata pine wood quality: Denis Hocking's blog, June 20, 2014
Radiata pine may be an easy and productive timber species for us to grow, but it has long been recognised that the timber does have a number of quality problems.…
- Radiata pine not Pinus radiata: Wink Sutton's Blog, November 29, 2013
When I first joined forestry in the late fifties, radiata pine was regularly called either insignis pine or by its botanical name, Pinus insignis. It was not uncommon for the…
- A question about log exports: Wink Sutton's Blog, August 30, 2011
During the business section of the 2011 AGM in Masterton earlier this year Allan Laurie asked a very relevant question. Allan’s question was along the lines ‘what are we doing…
- Initial spacing in radiata pine: Wink Sutton's Blog, May 29, 2007
Recent silvicultural improvements, such as seed source – almost all seed now comes from seed orchards – nursery practice, tree handling, planting methods, weed control and the adoption of regimes…
Farm Forestry - Headlines
Article archive »
- Update to the Forest Owners Association Road Engineering Manual: Forest Road Design for HPMVs.
Thursday, September 19, 2024
The NZFOA/NZFFA Transport and Logistics committee is pleased to announce the release of a new appendix to the New Zealand Forest Owners Road Engineering Manual, titled Forest Roads for High…
- Emissions Trading Scheme fee review a relief for cost-struck foresters
Thursday, February 29, 2024
The New Zealand Forest Owners Association says the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fees is a relief for foresters facing excessive costs and loss of climate change action. …
- Planting trees on pasture can have a positive impact on soil health
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Rather than damaging soil in New Zealand, planting trees on pasture restores soil to be similar to its original condition. A recent news story highlighting changes in soils from converting…
- Forest plantation soils have benefits too
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
The Forest Owners Association (FOA) says the fact that soils under plantation forests are similar to soils under native trees, does not make them damaged, as a recent Newshub report has claimed.…
- Wilding Conifers - A legacy issue that needs continued, collaborative management
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Forest owners welcome the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s (PCE) acknowledgement that the presence of wilding conifers across New Zealand is largely a legacy issue, but caution against placing costs…
- Stock take of the commercially viable alternatives to Pinus radiata
Tuesday, October 03, 2023
Scion has published a “Stock Take of the Commercially Viable Alternatives to Pinus Radiata” for MPI, which reviews alternative species, their expected growth rates, climatic range, resilience to pests or…
- SNA regulations 'confusing ecological naivety'
Thursday, July 06, 2023
Forest Owners say the just released National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB) is a classic bureaucratic formula of confusing ecological naivety which will not help rare species and likely…
- Primary sector leadership not addressing economics as the real climate change issue
Tuesday, July 04, 2023
The immediate past president of the Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) says the leaders of the primary sector and government are ineffectively tinkering with lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Graham West says the…
- Forest Owners hail ‘Biosecurity Hero’
Monday, May 22, 2023
The Forest Owners Association and Scion want more people to report suspicious imported wood products which might be infested with introduced wood and forest pests. FOA Biosecurity Manager, Brendan Gould,…
- Ministerial inquiry could have widespread implications for Tairawhiti community
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
The New Zealand Institute of Forestry says the just announced Tairawhiti land use inquiry is recommending measures which will stop the very activities which are vital for the region’s recovery.…
- Tairawhiti land use inquiry not addressing wider issues
Sunday, May 14, 2023
The Forest Owners Association says the Ministerial Inquiry into landuse in Tarawhiti has a core of practical recommendations, but has not addressed some more difficult and fundamental issues. President, Grant…
- Forest Owners say carbon-only forestry should be kept off productive land
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
The Forest Owners Association would like to see production forestry and farming on productive land – rather than this land used for carbon-only forests. It says this should be a…
- Opportunities from Trees Workshops - NZ Wide
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
The NZ Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) is running 18 extension workshops in May and June with a target audience of landowners, or people with access to land, who are potential tree…
- Forest Owners back more trees for Tairawhiti
Sunday, April 16, 2023
The Forest Owners Association has told the Ministerial Inquiry into land use in Tairāwhiti, that the region’s future has to include more trees for land stability. But it appreciates forest…
- Small scale woodlot owners have their say in Tairawhiti Land use Inquiry
Sunday, April 02, 2023
he outgoing President of the Farm Forestry Association says it has been vital for farm foresters to directly address the Ministerial Inquiry into forestry and other land use in Tairāwhiti.…
- Future forests need to be multifunctional to meet climate change in Tairawhiti
Thursday, March 16, 2023
The Farm Forestry Association says the just convened Ministerial Inquiry, into land-use across Tairāwhiti, needs to look closely at the tree options for shoring up vulnerable farm and former forest land in…
- Hill country farming campaign shows they think climate change is someone else’s problem
Thursday, March 09, 2023
The Forest Owners Association says the latest campaign against forestry, led by Beef+Lamb New Zealand and 50 Shades of Green, is climate change responsibility denial, and is dangerous in the…
- Forest Owners says two months too brief to look into the complex land issues in Tairawhiti.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
The Forest Owners Association says the two month long inquiry into land use in Tairāwhiti doesn’t give enough time or depth to find solutions. The Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins has…
- Forest Owners want genetic technology approved
Thursday, February 16, 2023
The Forest Owners Organisation says New Zealand needs to concentrate on the safety of genetic technology on a case-by-case basis rather than persisting with blanket bans. The FOA wants approval…
- Fieldays Forestry Hub to demonstrate that forestry is a solution
Monday, November 28, 2022
A range of solutions to farmers’ current problems will be on display in the Fieldays Forestry Hub near Hamilton between 30 November and 3 December, says Farm Forestry Association president,…