Forest Talk

Along with a New Zealand Timber feature this month, we take a trip back in time with Ross Lockyer to his Ecological Survey days as a Forest Ranger back in 1964. Ross writes:

“In our third year training in 1964 when we were based at the Forestry Training Centre in Rotorua, we got involved in some serious bushwacking in the native bush, known as Ecological  Survey or just Eco. 

“It was early spring and the weather was wet most of the ti..... more

In research published earlier this year, the Bioeconomy Science Institute released the first height-diameter model for tōtara (Podocarpus totara). To date there have been no growth or yield models available for any individual indigenous tree species in New Zealand.

As an endemic, high-value indigenous conifer species of great cultural significance, Tōtara can be found throughout New Zealand. It has naturally durable heartwood and can grow in a w..... more

Entries are now open for the Competenz Most Valuable Coach (MVC) award - a new nationwide search to honour the mentors, trainers, and workplace legends who go the extra mile for apprentices and trainees.

Every skilled trainee or apprentice has had someone teaching, backing, or inspiring them - the coach who has quietly shaped their success in the forestry sector. 

“These are the people who inspire, teach, and back our learners ev..... more

When it comes to bunching grapples, big is good and tough is even better. The new Duxson BX1100 is both. It’s hooked up to a John Deere 2156G XD LC at Nathan Taylor’s Mechanised Cable Harvesting (MCH) windthrow salvage operation near Nelson. 

First impressions when our Iron Test team arrives are that this grapple is an armoured vehicle.

Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman continues: “Having used and accidentally abused a few bunching grapples i..... more

New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) has kicked-off a multi-million-dollar project to upgrade a key rural road.

When it is finished, about five kilometres of Tarata Road between Inglewood and the Purangi Saddle will have been rebuilt, with the work concentrating on high-risk areas.

“Tarata Road is a significant regional and economic road but it’s under a lot of pressure from an increasing volume of logging trucks – it wasn’t built to withstand ..... more

A 10% U.S. tariff on all softwood lumber and timber imported from New Zealand will have significant financial repercussions on New Zealand’s forest growing industry, says the New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA).

Announced by United States President Donald Trump at the end of September, the tariff was the outcome of the Section 232 Investigation aimed at determining the effect imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products..... more