Forest Talk

The first thing we notice about Conan Hemsworth’s Weiler H457 harvester is the staunch, oversized, heavy-duty undercarriage with a discreet zero tail cab and a long 9.91 metre reach, says Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman. Built for thinnings, that undercarriage is going to be a broad and stable base in amongst the spot mounds. 

Tim continues: “And Conan has spread his logging career across a broad base as well, starting in Wales manually harvestin..... more

Gisborne District Council was on the ground last month at Porangahau Station in Te Karaka, sharing practical insights and supporting landowners at Beef + Lamb NZ and Te Uru Rākau’s ‘Planting for Profit Field Day’.

The event brought together farmers, land managers, and forestry advisors for a farm tour and a series of workshops focused on land management.

Sessions covered practical topics such as carbon forestry 101, how to navigate the Emission..... more

The first reading of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme—Forestry Conversions) Amendment Bill received strong support in Parliament late last month.

“This Bill is about protecting our most valuable land that grows food for export and sustains rural communities,” says Forestry Minister, Todd McClay.

“For too long, ETS incentives have driven the wrong outcomes for our rural sector.

“Once farms are planted in trees as a res..... more

Scion programmes aimed at Increasing water flow in New Zealand, as well as wildfire knowledge and preparedness, have received a second round of government funding for collaborative research with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Some $2.35 million from the government’s Catalyst fund will enable Scion to undertake three-year research programmes into observing water flows through forests and investigating wildfire and drought ri..... more

Selwyn is considering a policy of “replacing one tree with at least two” after Rolleston was shown to have one of the lowest numbers of trees for a town in the country.

This comes a week after a study was released by the University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry, led by Professor Justin Morgenroth and Dr Ning Ye.

It showed Rolleston’s tree canopy cover was 7.9%, ranking it 77 out of 78 cities and towns in the study.

Other Canterbury t..... more

The fifth annual John Deere Technician of the Year Awards honour the essential work technicians do every day to support industries critical to New Zealand’s economy and rural and regional communities.

A trailblazing female apprentice, a part-time farmer, an accomplished linguist, and a technician who prides himself on his ‘Kiwi ingenuity’ are the four New Zealand John Deere technicians who have earned their place in this year’s prestigious Technician..... more