22 Apr 2010
An exciting future for forestry on farms is foreseen by new Farm Forestry Association president John Dermer.
"A 20 per cent-plus lift in log prices over the last year, with the prospect of more to come, the ability to sell carbon and government support for new planting add up to an exciting future", he says.
"Now is a very good time to consider planting trees".
Dermer has taken over from former president Patrick Milne, a North Canterbury forestry consultant and nurseryman who held the presidency for three years. He and his wife Diny run a 186 ha mixed cropping, finishing and farm forestry operation, "Waipiko" near Feilding in the Manawatu.
They also have off-farm forestry interests and have been involved in forestry for 28 years. They were winners of the 2009 Balance Farm Environment Awards "Trees on Farms" award and have hosted a number of farm forestry field days on the property. Along with broad interests in trees, Dermer is on the board of Ducks Unlimited and has created several interesting dams and wetlands on the property.
For the last five years he has been judge for the North Island farm forestry awards. Dermer believes the Farm Forestry Association has an important role helping farmers intelligently integrate trees and forestry with other land uses. Increasing demand for more sustainable and lower environmental impact farming practices, concerns about animal welfare, improving returns for logs and the possibility, now reality for some, of significant returns from carbon all point to the need for more trees on farms. John says he is confident these trends will continue. "The Government's Afforestation Grants Scheme (AGS) is well worth investigating," he says.
"The grower receives an up-front payment of approximately $2000/ha in exchange for the first 10 year's carbon and this has to be one of the best incentives the government has ever come up with. The NZFFA will be lobbying for more funds to be put into this excellent scheme.There is plenty of eroding hill country which desperately needs tree cover so a good, hard look at this scheme is a must for any farmer with serious erosion problems."
The scheme is not limited to radiata pine and as John points out, "Farm foresters are the acknowledged experts in growing and processing alternative species such as poplars, cypresses, eucalypts and redwoods
"There are other exciting prospects for wood too, such as biofuel," according to Dermer. "Indeed, you could summarise the case by saying that in a world of rising energy costs and pressure to constrain carbon emissions, low energy, carbon sequestering wood has to be a winner. The sooner the trees are planted the better the prospects for the land owner."
Other changes on the NZ Farm Forestry Association national executive include the election of Taihape farmer and farm forester, Angus Gordon, and Wellington forester Hamish Levack, while Bulls farmer and farm forester Denis Hocking has stepped down.
Source: NZFFA media release. Contact John Dermer, tel 06 328 9740, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
