Farm Forestry New Zealand

Newsletter 153, October 2024

Register now (free):
Forest Growers Research conference, Dunedin, 22 -24 October

Like to attend the Forest Growers Research conference in Dunedin for nothing? There are 15 free conference registrations for NZFFA members this year, courtesy of Paul Adams of Forest Growers Research Ltd. Members from Otago, Southland and South Canterbury are especially welcome.

The three-day event will cover a range of topics and activities, including presentations from over 40 speakers, Panel Q&A sessions, and an Otago Forest field trip. There will be plenty of networking and engagement opportunities as well as the Annual Science Awards Dinner on the evening of Day 1. For full details see this link. 

If you’d like a free registration please contact Amanda Brake. Registrations close either this Monday 7 October or on Wednesday 9 October depending on who you listen to. Either way, sorry for the late notice.

Apply now:
Grant applications – closing 13 October

This year the process for applying to levy committees for grants is late, on-line and with a very small window closing on the 13th.  From the website, they say find the funding application worksheet that has been developed as a template. Use this to work out your project details and shape the proposal offline.  This is an editable PDF that also links to a WORD document version.

Copy the information from the worksheet into the online form when you are ready to submit the request. The FGLT will notify applicants of the outcome of their funding request by 31 December 2024.

Be aware that levy income is likely to reduce again in 2025, so projects should deliver the most value for money and early, strong outcomes for growers. Additionally, applications should address the following strategic priorities:

1. Industry promotion and advocacy to improve forestry's reputation and trust and reduce the risk from ill-informed criticism;
2. Identifying and reducing wasteful compliance and unjustified regulatory burdens - including improving resource management law;
3. Encouraging early up-take of gene editing opportunities; 
4. Maintaining and enhancing biosecurity; and 
5. Advancing industry resilience, including initiatives to improve forestry preparedness to adapt to adverse climate, market and other changes. 

The on-line application form is here.

Vote now:
Renewing the levy – vote closing 31 October

As you know, voting on whether or not to renew the Forest Growers Levy opened on 1st October and will close at the end of the month. If you are eligible to vote, please do. The necessary information is here.

The levy system was set up in favour of large growers and has been running that way since 2013. This year some of us saw the referendum as an opportunity for change, and over the last 6 months we’ve been noisily seeking to make the system more transparent for small growers, and decision making more inclusive.  Of course this hasn’t earned us a lot of friends amongst the levy Board, Secretariat or Forest Owners Association but to be fair, they have acknowledged some of our arguments. They’ve also bristled over others, which suggests they have some sensitive points. Interesting.

Of course we are broadly in accord with the large growers and civil to one another.  It’s at the margins that our visions differ over the future of commercial forestry in NZ: we naturally see the levy as a means of helping to achieve our vision, while they see it as a tool for achieving theirs. It’s at those points we complain about the balance of power and argue over how the money should be spent, by whom and when.

The balance of power is important. The large growers want the biggest say because they pay most of the levy; and the levy Trust and the Board structure have been set up to protect their investment and defend them against any radical predation by small growers.

Of course apart from the NZFFA most small growers aren’t radical, don’t care and are not organised anyway; and the NZFFA itself is largely funded by members and run by volunteers, very few of whom are predators. By contrast, the levy Board and Secretariat - who are employees of the Forest Owners Association - are funded by the levy for 6 years at a time, and run by paid staff.

In sum, we are small, powerless and underpaid. Naturally that makes us uncomfortable and hence our arguments for a better deal, but we have to be aware of the limits. We might be safe as the forest growers’ Jiminy Cricket, but if we misbehave there is no Blue Fairy to save us.

So don't be naughty, boys!

Too late now:
Combined Action Groups weekend in Taranaki, 18 - 20 October.

The Taranaki Action Weekend is a sell out. It had to be postponed from late last year but is due to take place later this month.

There are 38 registered visitors and 18 locals who have booked to attend. We will be hosted by Paul Silcock with able assistance from Jeremy Thomson. If you didn’t receive an invitation to attend this event, it can only mean that you are not an Action Group Member or a Taranaki Branch member.  We would love to have you next time.

We will be focusing on indigenous afforestation on the first day, with a trip to Pukeiti high on Mount Taranaki to see the Rhododendrons in full bloom, then a sumptuous meal at the Autolodge for our meet and greet evening. On Saturday we will visit the farm of Jeremy Thomson and later the portable sawmill setup of Nick Kowalewski. Later our evening meal is at The Plymouth. On Sunday we will head inland to visit oaks and redwoods on the Kingheim estate at Whangamomona.

Nick Kowalewski's portable mill

There will be a full report in the Tree Grower on the completion of the weekend. If you have missed out this time, then please join an action group, so that you can receive information and invitations as they arise.

Swamp cypress, Brooklands Park

Vaughan Kearns, Action Group Coordinator

Editor: Whangamomona is of course celebrated in the classic verse

     I never thought would come the day
     I’d stand in Whangamomona and say
     I rather like it here, don’t you?
     Maybe we’ll see an oak or two.

Help now:
Landowner partnerships with Te Uru Rākau — New Zealand Forest Service

Te Uru Rākau is looking for landowners to become research partners to help with a range of projects in native and exotic forestry, measuring woody biomass and carbon storage. The intention is to better understand:

• How to plant native trees more efficiently in a range of environments, for carbon reduction and biodiversity.
• How carbon storage works in our native and exotic forests.
• Whether purpose grown woody biomass forests can supply bioenergy demand.
• How to harvest forests for woody biomass and include recovery of woody residues from forestry activities.

They need help with land access for forest measurements, planting of natives to trial the success of different techniques, growing trial woody biomass forests, and even harvesting some of your existing forest for bio energy. Some site preparation and maintenance might be required, and this is likely to be a multi-year programme.

Detailed information on the partnership opportunity to support each individual research programme is available on the MPI website in the Expression of Interest (EOI) forms.  Could be fun?

MPI is happy to answer questions emailed to: ForestryInsights@mpi.govt.nz

Well now:
A cold dose of land use change

Anyone motoring in Taranaki will drive past abandoned halls, dairy factories and freezing works which once supported settlements like Kakaramea and Kaupokonui. And apart from a few shelter belts, they’ll see very few pine trees, suggesting that forestry was never to blame for the change. It’s good to finally have that recognised in print by a farming correspondent. If you haven’t read this copy of Farmers Weekly, check out the story. 

Not now:
Council meeting 20 November

We are scheduling a Council meeting for all branch and action group councillors in Wellington on 20 November, with a Zoom option. With any luck we’ll have another newsletter out before then with more information, but it’s reasonable to assume we’ll be talking about the levy renewal, grant applications and next year’s conference as well as the usual management things.

That’s it for now:

Howard Moore
NZFFA
5 October 2024