Fiona Ramsden said pine trees could be seen in most directions in Pongaroa. Photo / Vicky Simpson ER Imaging Photography
She said a lot of the land in the area planted into pine trees was “good hill country farms”, and the sight was “distressing and devastating”.
Ramsden said trees had been planted not just for harvest, but also to take advantage of the carbon farming economy.
In New Zealand, carbon credits are supplied by the government through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). They are awarded to landowners who have eligible forests.
Ramsden said she noticed an increase in the planting about 10 years ago. A decade on, she feared for the community and the people left.
Fiona Ramsden said the community of Pongaroa was being swallowed by pine trees. Photo / Vicky Simpson ER Imaging Photography
She said pines had pushed people out, and were having a butterfly effect on employment, local services, and contractors.
“The pine trees are taking over, there is not much farmland left.
“It will have a huge impact on people’s lives, not only us as a community but other people in the towns that rely on people coming in and purchasing farm gear, and the vets.”
She said there was a big difference between the work required for farming, compared to the work required to grow pine trees, and many had looked at the bottom line to make their businesses viable.
Ramsden said she now feared fire in summer and said with a gale-force wind and no break in the blanket plantings, fire could potentially travel from the “ranges out to the coast”.
Herbertville farmer: There has been a shift in the community
Herbertville farmer Mark Speedy’s family established Pipi Banks Station in 1856.
Speedy farms sheep and beef but also has production pines on the 1100ha property on the coast.
He said over time the face of the land has changed and evolved.
“Over the decades it’s changed from a farming-based village to bach owners and holiday makers.”
He planted the pines in 1992 which were harvested and replanted and said he now borders farms that have also planted pines on their land.
Speedy said he was“all for production forestry, but I’m not for carbon forestry”.
“Carbon forestry is a one-way street, once you plant and walk away that’s it.”
Mark Speedy has planted production pines that will be harvested.
He said production forestry was harvested and replanted and his fears lay in the land that was being planted into pine trees for carbon credits.
“It is a concern in the future because there is such a large amount of forestry out here ... a fire could rage in amongst these forests.”
He said farming had become “difficult in today’s climate”, and that was reflected in farmers’ decisions to sell land to pine trees.
“A lot of the young aren’t going into farming and there is quite a stigma around it.”
Speedy said there was a place for pine trees, particularly for shelter and for “marginal land”, and in his time farming carbon prices had raised the value of the land.
Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick said he was aware of the significant changes, and the challenges the issue had created for rural communities.
He said their concerns were warranted.
“To a degree, what has happened has happened, but I think the key thing has been the emissions reduction plan.”
He said the National government implemented new rules to limit the amount of full farm-to-forestry conversions on December 4, 2024.
“Effectively it will level the playing field and take away the financial advantage that forestry did have over other land owners.
“I’m certainly aware of the increased fire risk but the important thing is the significant focus on growing the economy and getting the rules right for the farming sector.”
Butterick said there was a space in New Zealand for farming and forestry to co-exist, and there were still discussions to be had around which trees should be where - the right tree in the right place.
“There is a place for everything in New Zealand and it’s making sure the settings are right and that they don’t create unintended consequences.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
