Farm Forestry New ZealandNewsletter 124, January 2020
Click here to view this page in your browser | Newsletter archive
 New Zealand Farm Forestry Association |
NZFFA P.O. Box 10349 The Terrace Wellington 6143 www.nzffa.org.nz
|
||||
| Newsletter 124, January 2020 | |||||
Small Grower Harvest Research workshops completed Research trial: Late chemical thinning of cypress and Douglas fir on alluvial soils Fire risk update for Farm Forestry
President Executive
The members area of the NZFFA website can be accessed by using your email address and password to log in. Your email address MUST be the address you have provided to NZFFA for your subscription (which happens to be the one this newsletter was sent to...). If you don't have a password or can't remember it, you can get one very easily. Just follow the instructions here. Any problems logging in then email me. Dean Satchell, website administrator e-Newsletter If you are receiving this e-newsletter and don't want to, please notify NZFFA by replying. |
NoticesCall for nominations for election of three Island representative members at the 2020 Invercargill Conference Candidates must reside in the island they have been nominated for and be financial members of NZFFA. Vacancies are: North Island:
South Island:
Nominees must sign their consent and nominations must be received by Head Office, by 28 February 2020. More » EventsFor more information on these events, they are posted on the NZFFA website >>
Blogs
NZFFA members can set up their own blogs on the NZFFA website. Email Dean. Headlines
Reports (Members Area)
Small Grower Harvest Research workshops completedFFA members will benefit from the recent allocation of levy funds via the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Committee’s good work in recent months. The six regional Harvesting Innovation workshops that some of you enthusiastically contributed to, have resulted in two projects being successful for funding this year. A Harvest Planning tool will be developed by a team led by Graham West and three new pieces of harvesting equipment will be evaluated in Production Studies led by John Schrider. The Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) has also been successful (with SME Committee support) to secure some funding toward an update of the Business Management for Logging handbook (BMOL). In total the SME Committee secured $132,450 for next year, a great effort considering the large number of applications made to the Forest Growers Levy Board. For presentations and a summary of the regional harvesting innovation workshops click here. Research trial: Late chemical thinning of cypress and Douglas fir on alluvial soilsChemical thinning of trees has some advantages over manual felling. There is less work and time involved, none of the dangers of manual felling operations and the trees die slowly and cause less disturbance to the canopy, and therefore less risk of windthrow. In addition, the felled trees do not get in the way of the operator undertaking the thinning operation, adding to the cost-efficiency improvement. The risk with chemical thinning is that unintended injury or death of residual crop tress can occur if the dose used to kill adjacent trees is too high. Trees root-graft and roots can carry translocatable herbicides from one tree to another. This reseach provides dosing information to foresters who wish to thin their production stands using glyphosate to poison target trees. Fire risk update for Farm ForestryFire is an ever-present risk for forest owners and managers, and especially so over the summer period. Fire and Emergency New Zealand recognises that plantation forest wildfires have significant economic, social and environmental consequences. With the arrival of summer, it is vital we all take responsibility for doing what we can to prevent wildfire. The 2019/20 Fire and Emergency summer wildfire prevention campaign focuses on raising the awareness of the increased risk of unwanted fire among New Zealanders and international visitors. A key campaign message focusses on getting those living in the urban/rural to check how to reduce the risk, and check if a permit is needed, before doing any work on their land. During the past 10 years, chainsaws and harvesting hauler lines contributed to 20% and 17% respectively of the total area of plantation fire burnt (7500 hectares). Emphasising that it only takes a spark to cause a devastating wildfire – it isn’t worth the risk! The stars of the campaign are three of our most loved native birds – the kiwi, the tui and the pīwakawaka (fantail), chosen because they represent the threat of destruction of habitats and wildlife through fire. Over the next four months you’ll see the campaign featured in newspapers, on social media, on the back of trucks, at visitor centres, camp grounds, service stations, as well as Fire Danger reports on TVNZ and MetService. To support the campaign, Fire and Emergency have also launched a new public educational website checkitsalright.nz, which also recognises the importance and encourages the use of the Forest Owners Association and NZ Farm Forestry Associations ‘Forest Fire Risk Management Guidelines’. These guidelines provide a process that any forest owner can follow to manage the risk a wildfire damaging their investment. For free advice from a wildfire specialist call your Fire and Emergency Regional Office. Kimberley Standen NZ Timber Design AwardsNZFFA sponsors the NZ Specialty Timber Award: For the use of NZ grown alternative species (excludes Douglas Fir and Radiata Pine). The finalists this year are: James Hay Theatre Timber Floor - Christchurch Town Hall CSO Centre, Christchurch Town Hall - Ron Ball Studio Cloud of Witnesses 2020 NZ Wood Resene Timber Design Awards Gala Presentation Dinner, Thursday, 26th March 2020 Consultation meetings on Reforming the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme: Proposed settings, 3 -13 FebruaryThe New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is the Government’s main tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The government plans to improve the current scheme by introducing a ‘cap’ on emissions covered by the scheme. The cap will reduce over time and help set Aotearoa New Zealand on a trajectory towards meeting our emissions reduction targets. You can read about our proposals on the consultation website. We are keen for feedback on the specific NZ ETS settings that are being proposed, including unit supply and price controls, that will be set through regulations in mid-2020. Please see details below on consultation meetings we are holding. Auckland Rotorua Wellington Christchurch Online Webinar Agenda A light morning / afternoon tea will be provided. Please register for these meetings no later than 3 February. Ngā mihi nui Matthew Cowie
|
||||
NZFFA on facebook