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Growing confidence in forestry's future research programme
Scion Connections newsletter, September 2017
Obituary - Benjamin Lee
President
Neil Cullen
cullen@farmside.co.nz
-North Otago
-Mid Otago
-South Otago
-Southland
-Sthn High Country (south)
Immediate Past President & Newsletter editor
Dean Satchell
dsatch@gmail.com
-Far North
-Mid North
National Office
Phone: 04 4720432
Executive
Angus Gordon angusg@xtra.co.nz
-Taupo & Districts
-Middle Districts
-Hawkes Bay
-Gisborne East Coast
-Taranaki
Michael Orchard
orchards@xtra.co.nz
-West Coast
-Marlborough
-Nelson
Hamish Levack hlevack@xtra.co.nz
-Wairarapa
-Wellington
Patrick Milne patrick@cypress.co.nz
-North Canterbury
-Central Canterbury
-Ashburton
-South Canterbury
Peter Berg
thebergs@ihug.co.nz
-Lower North
-Waitomo
-Waikato
-Bay of Plenty
Don Wallace
don@wallace.gen.nz
-At large
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Notices
NZFFA Council Meeting will be held on 3 November at the Miramar Links Clubhouse, near the Wellington Airport. More detailed information is about to be sent to branch officers.
Action Group Weekend will be held on 4-5 November, Wairarapa. The Action Group Weekend is being hosted by the Indigenous Section and the Wairarapa Branch. More information to follow.
Call for Nominations for Farm Forestry Awards
Nominations can be submitted to NZFFA National office at any time, but must be received by 1 November (to allow time for judging) to be eligible for presentation at the ensuing Conference (next = Nelson in May 2018). Nominations received after 1 November are held over for judging for a subsequent Conference. Note that nominations are submitted by branches, and so if you know of a worthy recipient, contact your branch officers. Nomination forms are available on the NZFFA website or may be requested from National Office.
Husqvarna Farm Forester of the Year North Island and South Island: Our two prestigious awards for farm forestry achievement. Prizes are a Husqvarna chainsaw and custody of the engraved plaque for a year. Recipients must be present at Conference. Judging criteria include personal effort in tree planting and results, service to community, depth and spread of knowledge, and service to NZFFA.
NZ Landcare Trust Award for Innovation in Sustainable Farm Forestry: Awarded by NZ Landcare Trust for innovation as in the title. Prize is $2,000. Usually awarded to a recipient residing in the same island as the Conference is being held (to facilitate the recipient being able to attend to receive the prize).
Michael Hay Award: Awarded by the Michael Hay Trust to a younger farm forester who is actively planting trees. Prize is $5,000 to be spent on further plantings. The award is judged by an independent panel and the initial assessment is on a desktop basis – hence the importance of descriptive documentation and photographs in support of the nomination.
For more information on these events, they are posted on the NZFFA website >>
Branch secretaries, please make sure you notify head office of any branch or action group events.
- North Canterbury branch field day Coastal pines & urban native forest Tuhaitara Coastal Park, sand-dune pines and Matawai Park When & where: Thurs, Sept 28. Starts Woodend beach at 10am Thursday, Sept 28 will be a varied…
- Gisborne East Coast field day Farm Forestry visit to Donald Gordon's house, Gaddum's Hill. When: Sunday 1st October 2 p.m. Where: Drive to the top of Gaddum's hill (off De-Latour road, Kaiti). Just past the top,turn hard left into Kauri…
- Bay of Plenty branch field day Bioenergy and biotech space When: Friday 13th October, 10am to 2.00pm Where: Scion, 49 Sala Street, Rotorua We are happy for you to bring along a friend or two. Please confirm numbers with…
- Forest Growers Research Conference 2017 Day 1: Tuesday, 17th October 2017 - Conference - Dinner and Science Awards Day 2: Wednesday, 18th October…
- Canterbury cypress workshop and field days, 27th and 28th October 2017 If you're interested in the future of cypress as a plantation forestry species, then come along and participate in this important industry workshop in Canterbury, organised by the Cypress Development…
- Action Groups Weekend 2017, Wairarapa When: Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th November Where: It will be based in Masterton in the Wairarapa starting at 10.00 am on the Saturday. More details can be obtained from…
- South Otago branch event Mark and Marjorie Hay's Glenayr Farm Winners of the 2017 Husqvarna South Island Farm Foresters of The Year When: 17 November 2017, 1.30 pm Where: 560 Athenaeum Rd. Sign posted from SH8 at…
- ForestWood 2018 Conference When: Wednesday 21 March 2018 Where: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington Website: www.forestwood.org.nz ForestWood 2018 is the 5th in the conference series, jointly hosted by Forest Owners…
- Forestry and a capital gains tax Wink Sutton's Blog, September, 2017. Both the Labour and the Green political parties are considering a capital gains tax. Calculating the capital gains on property, shares or other products may appear to be relatively simple.…
NZFFA members can set up their own blogs on the NZFFA website. Email Dean.
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Will the application of plant hormones to trees improve wood quality?
The GCFF team is investigating the effects of different plant hormone concentrations on cambial growth and the formation of earlywood and latewood to see if wood quality (density) can be improved without sacrificing wood volume. More >>
Predicting the optimal post-thinning stand density for radiata pine in New Zealand forests using productivity indices
Research recently published describes how growth and yield models have been used to predict the optimal final crop stocking rate that maximises the commercial value of radiata pine stands. If trees are grown too closely together they can be tall and spindly whereas excessively wide spacing encourages branch growth and underutilisation of site resources. Somewhere in between lies an optimal final crop stand density that allows forest managers to maximise the volume and value of the logs produced. More >>
Shedding new light on wood formation in radiata pine
Wood is produced in the cambium. Fundamental knowledge on the cambium activity, and its mechanisms of action, allows us to control the wood formation process in order to try to maximise productivity without compromising wood quality. More >>
Erosion: mapping, measuring and mitigating
New Zealand is one of the most erodible countries in the world. Erosion is one of the major challenges that faces our primary industries and is likely to worsen as climate change brings more frequent and intense storms to our shores. More >>
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A future of tall timber
The international building design industry is in the midst of a wood revolution according to Scion’s Sustainable Architect Andrea Stocchero. Wood and engineered wood products are delivering superior performance in structural, earthquake, fire, thermal, aesthetic and environmental properties, allowing bigger, higher, safer timber buildings that are more sustainable and also look great. More >>
Ensuring a line of sight for impact
Almost two years ago the Government released a National Statement of Science Investment 2015-2025 (NSSI) that presents its long-term vision and 10-year strategic direction for the New Zealand science system. More >>
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions on Maori-owned farms
The pastoral farming sector (livestock farming and dairying) is New Zealand’s largest export sector and it plays a vital role in growing the Maori economy. The sector also accounts for 49 per cent of the nation’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Following our commitment under the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, pressure has been building on pastoral farmers to reduce their GHG emissions. The challenge is to reduce farm GHGs while limiting the economic impact on the sector and on the economy. More >>
Going bio: the next frontier in 3D and 4D printing
The worlds of 3D printing and biopolymers, such as protein, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and so on, are colliding, bringing about a new evolution of additive manufacturing where 3D objects are created by adding material layer on layer. 4D printing is an emerging additive manufacturing technology that will allow us to print objects that can reshape themselves or self-assemble over time. New Zealand is in a strong a position to make 3D and 4D printing of biopolymers and composites our speciality, with our abundant source of feedstocks that could be converted into biobased filaments. More >>
Ecosystem regeneration: a picture of resilience
Freshwater ecosystems may be more resilient than we think, according to the findings of a recently completed five-year study. More >>
New Chair for Sustainable Forestry
Scion’s Dr Tim Payn, is the first Chair of Sustainable Forestry for the Bay of Plenty and South Waikato regions. This new role is the product of a forestry science and education partnership in the central North Island between Scion and Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology. More >>
Red Needle Cast FAQ
Red needle cast (RNC) is a disease that infects pine trees and Douglas-fir needles. Infected needles turn yellow then red and are cast or blown off the trees a few months after symptoms appear.
It is caused by the algae-like organism Phytophthora pluvialis.
Infected trees show symptoms between March and September, usually peaking from July onwards. More >>
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In early July Benjamin Lee, well-known and longstanding NZFFA member died suddenly at his home in Reporoa.
 Having taken over the 187 hectare ex-Lands & Survey farm on the edge of the Kaiangaroa Plateau from his parents Alan and Dorothy Lee (both founding members of the NZFFA themselves), he and wife Sylvia spent the next couple of decades establishing 32 hectares of woodlots while converting the block to a high performing dairy unit. While a lot of logs left the farm and headed to the port as export during Ben’s time he seemed most proud of that wood which he was able to grow and use himself…….poplar for cattle yard posts, macrocarpa for his brothers housebuild, redwood and douglas fir for farm building projects and eucalyptus for their new kitchen floor.
Ben has been a rock of the Taupo and Districts Branch for many years having held just about every position going. He was president for a number of years, newsletter editor and councillor. On a national level he chaired the Cypress Action Group. Back in 2005 the Taupo Branch held the National Conference and once again Ben took on the leading role as convenor and made it a great success showcasing farm forestry on the Volcanic Plateau. That same year he and Sylvia were awarded the Innovation in Sustainable Farm Forestry Award. This was for the successful incorporation of forestry, shade trees and shelterbelts into a dairy operation.
Over the years Ben and Sylvia would head off to attend the national conference and it never ceased to amaze us the spots this took them. It seemed like they had just about been up every gravel backcountry road in both the North and the South looking at farms and trees. Whether it was helicopter logging native on the West Coast or converting a run-down sheep station into a redwood forest at Conway Flat, they had a story to tell about every farming district in NZ it seemed.
Benjamin Lee…..respected farmer and forester. Passionate, intelligent, very matter-of-factly and well worth listening to………‘A good buggar’.
Kyle Brennan, on behalf of the Taupo and District Branch Committee.
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| Disclaimer: Personal views expressed in this newsletter are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the NZ Farm Forestry Association. |
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