Farm forestry
Farmers can undertake forestry for a number of reasons, including wood production, soil conservation, amenity and shelter. Production forestry involves the farmer either establishing small woodlots in areas of lower pasture productivity to grow timber, or integrating wood and pasture production. Most farm forests are on hill country sheep and cattle farms. Although farmers generally accept the need for more trees to improve soil conservation outcomes, there has historically been a preference for trees that can be established in the presence of livestock, and that do not impose a trade-off in terms of reduced pastoral production, for example, poplars and willows.
By careful site selection farmers can establish forestry enterprises without significantly reducing pastoral production. On most farms there are areas that can be established in planted forest which have minimal effect on pastoral production and yet offer considerable environmental benefits off-farm. Examples include south-facing hill faces, steep hill slopes and gullies. Although some refencing may be required to set these areas aside for forestry, there may also be some compensatory effects in terms of pastoral production as inputs are concentrated on the better land.
By way of example, inland hill country farms in the Gisborne East Coast district have an average size of 1,600 hectares. Based on land capability information, 420 hectares of the average farm property would best be planted or allowed to revert to natural forest. A reduction of 26% of the grazed area would lead to a decline of only 7% in stock numbers, whilst soil and water outcomes would be greatly improved. On many of these properties the present area in planted forest is minimal.
There is then, a better appreciation of the complementary nature of farming and forestry and the important roles trees can have on farms. These include providing shelter for crops and livestock, mitigating soil erosion, and enhancing general amenity, as well as producing a valuable crop. Other reasons for the growing interest of pastoral farmers in farm forestry in the 1990s include:
- increases in world market prices of forestry products;
- increases in farm incomes, which have moved sharply upwards since 1992, so enabling farmers to finance a range of investment options, including forestry; and
- the removal of subsidies on products such as meat and wool, highlighting the fact that forestry is a more appropriate and sustainable use for much marginal land.
Also important has been the facilitation of forestry joint ventures, by the Forestry Rights Registration Act 1983. Joint ventures involve the combining of resources such as land, capital and labour to make the best use of those resources for the benefit of all participating parties. In a typical forestry joint venture the landowner grants the investor the right to establish, manage and harvest a forest on his or her land, with the landowner retaining land ownership and use of the land compatible with the needs of the forest. A joint venture can also apply to an existing forest. Both the landowner and the investor contribute resources essential to the growing of trees and both are entitled to a beneficial interest in the trees and a share of harvest value. Both parties also share the risks of the forestry venture. Details of the arrangements negotiated between the parties are combined in an agreement, which is registered against the land title through the District Land Registrar. Large forestry corporations are also taking advantage of the forestry joint venture model to work with farmers in establishing and managing forest crops.
Pastoral farmers are thus increasingly seeing forestry as an alternative and often complementary farm crop, instead of a competing land use. However, pastoral farming in New Zealand is highly specialised and, in the past, farmers have not found it easy to wear "two hats", simultaneously managing both a pastoral enterprise and a wood-growing enterprise. Forest companies have had similar negative experiences when they have attempted diversification into pastoral livestock enterprises.
Farmers are increasingly accepting that land use change of this type is environmentally desirable, financially achievable and will contribute to diversification of financial risk. Provided that farm income levels are maintained into the medium term, it is likely that forest planting by pastoral farmer growers will account for an increasing proportion of total forest planting.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
Contact this person
