Farm Forestry New ZealandNewsletter 60, March 2013
Newsletter 60, March 2013
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NZFFA P.O. Box 10349 The Terrace Wellington 6143 www.nzffa.org.nz
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| March 2013 No. 60 | ||||
The Forest Referendum is on New series of Eucalypt trials Woodscape study completed Research the key to profitable forests
President Ian Jackson ijacko@xtra.co.nz -Ashburton -South Canterbury -North Otago -Sthn High Country (north) Vice President Dean Satchell dsatch@gmail.com -Far North -Mid North -Lower North Newsletter editor Dean Satchell dsatch@gmail.com National Executive Angus Gordon angusg@xtra.co.nz -Waitomo -Waikato -Taupo & Districts -Middle Districts -Taranaki -Hawkes Bay Neil Cullen cullen@farmside.co.nz -Mid Otago -South Otago -Southland -Men of Trees -Sthn High Country (south) Hamish Levack hlevack@xtra.co.nz -Bay of Plenty -Gisborne East Coast -Wairarapa -Wellington Patrick Milne patrick@cypress.co.nz -West Coast -Central Canterbury -North Canterbury -Marlborough -Nelson |
 New Zealand Farm Forestry Association (Inc) 57th Annual Conference "Back to our Roots - Growing a forestry future on a soundly based foundation". To our fellow farm foresters around NZ, we would be delighted to be able to welcome you to the 2013 FFA Conference at Orewa in April. The weather will be warm and now we have finally had some rain the grass should be greener - hopefully you have also had the odd sprinkle and can finally relax a little. During your time with us we will show you where the Association came from and some of the changes the last 60 years have wrought in our branch, but mostly we want to talk about the future with the sector's development strategy and research programme a particular consideration....results of the present referendum on a forestry levy will be known and updates on the wide ranging "Seascape" strategy report which is expected to set the scene for industry development should also be available. Being very close to Auckland City some particular pressures are influencing forestry activity, many of which will ultimately be impacting all of us before too long. We have a generation's experience with alternative species, while our conference venue is only a couple of hundred meters from one of the area's most popular east coast beaches. Just down the road are some of the country's earliest settlements, along with our biggest retail shopping centre. A quick trip on the ferry will take you to Tiritiri Island where a spectacularly successful restoration programme has enabled the release of some of our rarest wildlife. Conference delegates will travel (more than once) over the Puhoi Eco-highway (the Puhoi toll motorway) where extensive use of bridges and tunnels has minimised the impact of motorway construction on the natural environment. And we will take you to Gibbs Farm, once the property of NZFFA founder Neil Barr and now a spectacular sculpture park, where we will meet some of Neil's family and view some of the most impressive outdoor sculpture to be seen anywhere. The massive arches illustrated below and visible over huge distances are part of that display. So we really hope you will take this opportunity to join with us and partake of the fun, fraternity and forestry that we have organised for you. There is now just a month left to register, good accommodation is still available and our programme includes three fully catered dinners....come and help us make this a special occasion. Saturday 20 April - Tuesday 23 April 2013 The conference will be held at The Orewa Arts and Events Centre, Riverside Road, Orewa. Accommodation will be in Hotels, Motels and B&Bs in Orewa and adjacent areas and details are set out in the registration information. Don't forget to Register for Conference. Registration forms are in your Treegrower, or register online. For more information click here or download the flyer for this event. THE FOREST REFERENDUM IS ON VOTING IS OPEN UNTIL 5pm 29 March The proposed Plantation Forestry Work Plan 2013 - 2019 is now available from the Forest Voice website. You can download the work plan as a pdf. This work plan indicates what will be funded by the levy if there is a 'yes' vote in the referendum. Activities supported:
Official enquiries The Forest Growers Levy Trust Research New Zealand P O Box 10 617 Wellington 614 Freephone: 0800 500 168 Free fax: 0800 284 028 For more information visit: www.forestvoice.org.nz/ New series of Eucalypt Trials The NZFFA Eucalyptus Action Group has begun a new series of eucalypt trials with planting packs available from this winter. The EAG is focussing on stringybark eucalypts because of success with these species right around New Zealand in our "Trial packs" planted ten years ago. Stringybarks have excellent timber properties for high value end-uses such as flooring and outdoor decking where good durability, strength and hardness are required. If you want to be involved please contact Angus Gordon (06)3881571 or Dean Satchell (09)4075525. (top) Woodscape study completed WOOD COUNCIL OF NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE 7 March 2013 For more information, please phone Doug Ducker, Tel 021 474 708 WoodScape, an economic evaluation of wood processing opportunities, has been completed by Crown Research Institute Scion. The study is a financial analysis and market review of 39 traditional and emerging wood processing technologies. It identifies pathways the wood processing sector could take toward achieving its strategic goal of doubling the value of forest sector exports to around $12 billion by 2022. Wood Council chair Doug Ducker says the council must now examine the study’s findings and integrate them into its action plan. A date for public release of the study has not yet been set. The study was commissioned by the Wood Council as one of the key steps in its Strategic Action Plan released last year. Funded by the council, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise and Crown Research Institute Scion, the study began in July 2012 and was delivered to the council on 28 February 2013. Background The Wood Council of New Zealand is a pan-industry body that represents the common interests of the forest and wood processing sectors. Members are the Forest Owners, Wood Processors, Pine Manufacturers, Farm Forestry and Forest Industry Contractors Associations. The Council's Strategic Action Plan can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/R1R1GA Trevor Walton Wood Council communications Tel 021 381 465 (top) Research the key to profitable forests FOREST GROWERS LEVY TRUST INC. MEDIA RELEASE 11 March 2013 For more information, contact Rob van Rossen, Tel 0275 990 444 or Geoff Thompson, Tel 04 499 3280 Forest owners and scientists believe forest growing can be made much more profitable. But to make it happen, growers need to invest in well-targeted research. The Forest Industry Science & Innovation Plan says there is the potential to double the production of quality wood from each hectare of forest, from trees that have increased resistance to pests and diseases. "To achieve this we need all forest owners on board, helping fund the research, and being part of the information loop that drives progress and innovation," says forest industry research chair Rob van Rossen. He strongly supports the proposed commodity levy that is the focus of the Forest Voice referendum now underway. At least half the funds raised by the levy are expected to be used to fund research that will benefit all growers. On top of this, forest owners – acting as individuals or in coalitions – will invest in other research projects that mesh with their own priorities. He expects several of these projects to continue once a levy is in place. "Grower funding of forest research has always been voluntary. While this voluntary commitment is positive, it means that each major research area has had its own funding collective," Mr van Rossen says. "A downside of this has been a perceived fragmentation of the research effort. Also when forests change hands, there can be a sudden loss of funding if the new owner no longer wants to be involved. "Under a commodity levy most pan-industry research will come under a single umbrella. There will also be an overall increase in grower funding with a stable core coming from the levy. "This means the industry will be able to plan and fund its research programme with confidence. Research providers like Scion will be able to recruit and retain scientists with specialist skills secure in the knowledge that funding is assured during the six-year life of the levy." Until a levy is in place, a committee of forest owners, farm foresters and science experts has been set-up to perform the research co-ordination role. Mr van Rossen, who chairs this committee, says total funding for forest growing research is currently about $21 million a year. Of this, about $3 m is sourced from growers and $18 m from government. The high ratio of government to industry funding, which reflects the public good component of much forest research, is unlikely to continue. The Forest Voice referendum opened on 1 March and closes on 29 March. The organisers, the Forest Growers Levy Trust, say forestry is one of the few primary industries not to have a compulsory levy to fund research and other industry-good activities. Trust chair Geoff Thompson strongly urges every eligible grower to vote. Potential voters need to go to the Forest Voice website or phone the organisers to check their eligibility and register as a voter. Votes may be cast on the Forest Voice website or in the traditional way, on a ballot paper which may be posted or faxed. For details, visit www.forestvoice.org.nz or phone 0800 500 168. To download the Forest Industry Science & Innovation Plan >> Trevor Walton Forest Voice communications Tel 021 381 465
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