Forest Talk

Morepork Forest Harvesting’s Harvestline Mk 4, combined with a Sany SY415 Pro, is the focus of the Iron Test in October’s NZ Logger.

When Morepork co-director Brad Merwood first considered a Harvestline, he was a bit worried about it. More familiar with big swing yarder, it was quite a shift to the Mk4. However, he was quickly impressed.

“It's a new generation really, a lot faster than the first examples of yoders that I had heard abou..... more

An exploration of integrated clean energy, forestry biomass and infrastructure opportunities for next generation bio-industrial precincts in the Bay of Plenty could be on the cards.

Energy Estate, Kākāriki Renewables and NZ Bio Forestry have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to investigate opportunities that combine renewable energy, forestry biomass and enabling infrastructure within integrated bio-industrial precincts.

The agreement ..... more

Federated Farmers is backed Labour’s plans to tackle the incentives driving productive farmland into forestry, but it has serious questions about wider plans for the Emissions Trading Scheme.  

Federated Farmers climate spokesperson Richard Dawkins says that stance, plus Labour leader Chris Hipkins saying the party will not campaign on taxing agricultural emissions, show the party has listened to farmers’ views, looked at the evidence, and been ..... more

New Zealand’s forest owners are having a huge impact on the country’s pest control.  A new survey shows almost $4 million was spent by large forest companies controlling over 160,000 pest animals across 1.4 million hectares of plantation forest in 2025, with activity reported across 77% of the national forest estate.

The New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA) says the sector’s contribution is often overlooked in the national debate about ..... more

The Northland forestry industry will celebrate the nominees and crown the winners this week at its gala awards night.

The 2026 Northland Forestry Awards will take place tomorrow at McKay Stadium, Whangarei, with hundreds of forestry professionals and supporters from around the region gathering to network and acknowledge those exceptional companies and individuals who continue to demonstrate innovation, leadership and best practice across all aspects ..... more

A fatal incident near Dannevirke has resulted in prosecution and a reminder of the obligations of forestry businesses.

Trevor Beale was prosecuted by WorkSafe New Zealand after his employee Tejay Alan Debenham died while felling trees at a rural property on Weber Rd on 17 November 2023.

Mr Debenham was working alone and unsupervised when a tree limb struck him, causing him to fall off a nearby cliff. The site contained multiple high-risk hazard..... more