Farm Forestry New ZealandNewsletter 106, February 2018
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 New Zealand Farm Forestry Association |
NZFFA P.O. Box 10349 The Terrace Wellington 6143 www.nzffa.org.nz
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| Newsletter 106, February 2018 | |||||
Crown Forestry is looking for land New Zealand’s ETS now put on hold Forestry Work in the Modern Age An alternative to clear-felling for radiata pine
President Executive
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NoticesELECTIONS FOR NATIONAL EXECUTIVE North Island Executive Member One nomination has been received: Angus Gordon (Middle Districts) South Island Executive Member One nomination has been received: Michael Orchard (West Coast) Both Angus and Michael are the retiring Island Representative Members by rotation. As the number of nominations is the same as the vacancies, the election of Angus and Michael as Island Representative Executive Members, will be confirmed at the Council Meeting and AGM at the Nelson Conference. AGENDA ITEMS AND NOTICES OF MOTION FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING AND AGM AT NELSON CONFERENCE Branches and Special Interest Groups can propose Remits, Agenda Items and Notices of Motion for the Council Meeting and AGM at conference. Acceptance of these is subject to the approval of the National Executive. Remits, Agenda Items and Notices of Motion must be received by National Office by 9 April, 2018. CONFERENCE Notice to upcoming NZFFA AGM delegates: Annual Report Document Deadlines 16 April for the Special Interest Group, Research, Forest Health, etc. reports we usually bind in with our Annual Report document EventsFor more information on these events, they are posted on the NZFFA website >>
Headlines
Crown Forestry is looking for landCrown Forestry is looking for land to plant as part of the Government’s One Billion Trees programme. We want to talk to landowners considering commercial radiata pine planting and who have blocks of land that:
Crown Forestry, a business unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries, would lease the land or enter into a forestry joint venture for a one rotation (30 year) term. The Crown would pay for all establishment and management costs over the lifetime of the crop and pay a negotiated rent to the landowner. Rents will reflect the quality of the land, proximity to ports or wood processing plants and the costs Crown Forestry expect to pay over the lifetime of the crop. The landowner would retain all rights to any carbon credits. Any areas of regenerating native forest within the block would be left as they are as unplanted enclaves within the forest. Crown Forestry will carry out a brief screening of nominated land. If it appears suitable we will prepare a forestry feasibility study that will include a full financial report. This information will be shared with the landowner and will form the basis of a lease or forestry joint venture proposal for the landowners to consider. Proposals will be tailored to reflect local issues. Once an agreement has been reached Crown Forestry will commence forestry operations on the land. If you are interested please contact Crown Forestry immediately: General Manager Assets Manager New Zealand's ETS now put on holdAny further changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) – including getting rid of free credits to heavy emitters and changing forestry rules – will not be made until the end of next year, the NZ Government says. Climate minister James Shaw has told his Cabinet colleagues that changes are required, but first he wants to get the big picture in place, including passing the Zero Carbon Act and appointing a climate commission. Shaw has already doubled New Zealand’s long-term emissions reduction target by promising the country will be carbon-neutral by 2050. In a Cabinet briefing paper, he says that means changes to the nine-year-old scheme, but not yet. “The Climate Change Response Act 2002 establishes the NZ ETS,” he said. “I intend that any amendments be made through a Climate Change Response Amendment Bill by the end of 2019. “Ideally, these changes would follow the commencement of the Zero Carbon Act and the commission’s consideration of the role of agriculture in climate change policy.” Shaw says he’s got officials at the Ministry for the Environment working on the forestry issue. They are also looking at possible changes to forestry rules, and Shaw says these are unlikely to go through until the end of next year. That’s likely to upset forest owners, who say that changes are needed to encourage the level of planting needed for New Zealand to meet its international emissions reduction commitments. Planting rates have fallen off so much in recent years that officials say that by 2030, the country will be able to count on storing just four million tonnes of carbon in trees, down from 30 million tonnes in 1990. Source: Carbon News 2018 Forestry Work in the Modern AgeUpdate from Forest Growers Research Ltd on the new Primary Growth Partnership programme “Forestry Work in the Modern Age”. PDF >> The goal is that by 2025 all harvesting operations will be fully mechanised, and at least 10% of operations will be automated, using products developed in this programme. The following products will be commercialised for domestic and export sale:
An alternative to clear-felling for radiata pineWellington and Wairarapa Branches of the NZ Farm Forestry Association have received a Sustainable Farming Fund grant of $52,140 for a feasibility study to evaluate the potential for a continuous cover forestry system in small-scale radiata pine plantations. Congrats Wellington and Wairarapa branches, we look forward to your results!
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