Golden Loader Forestry Championship comes to New Zealand Rural Games in Palmerston North

A logging site at Stormy Point in Rangitīkei. Usually, only those who live near forestry blocks or work in the sector get to see this type of action. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand Rural Games will host the inaugural Golden Loader Forestry Championship in Palmerston North in March.

Competitors will race against each other and the clock to load and unload a truck-and-trailer unit in Te Marae o Hine – The Square.

Rural Games founder Steve Hollander says it has been a long-term ambition of the Rural Games to host a forestry championship.

“Forestry is a huge part of rural Aotearoa. It’s only fitting that we celebrate its role by creating a championship highlighting the skills required to drive forestry machinery.”

The forestry championship is funded by the Forestry Growers Levy Trust and organised by the Southern North Island Wood Council.

Wood Council chief executive Erica Kinder says the Rural Games provide forestry with an excellent opportunity to lift the sector’s profile.

Forestry contributes $6.6 billion to our economy and employs between 35,000-40,000 people, Ministry for Primary Industries statistics state.

“Forestry is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the food and fibre sector,” Kinder says.

“There are fewer exotic forests in New Zealand than a decade ago. However, with more being planted on highly erodible soils, adopting new technology, an increasing commitment to sustainability and higher returns, it is a buoyant sector that needs more skilled people.”

Tony Groome manages the Golden Loader Forestry Championship. He is a forestry manager with a long history in the sector.

“Two competitors will compete against each other and the clock to load and unload a truck-and-trailer unit,” Groome says.

“Only those who live near forestry blocks or work in the sector get to see this type of action, so it’s great to showcase it in the heart of Palmerston North and to the rest of the country through the Rural Games and TV3.”

Entries are limited to 24 and only those who currently work in the sector and have their loader ticket can participate.

The Golden Loader Forestry Championship will be run on Sunday, March 12 from 9am to 1.30pm.

The Southern North Island Wood Council is also taking the opportunity to highlight all the skills required to make a successful forestry career, Kinder says.

“We will be talking with rangatahi at Agri Futures careers day on March 10 about the new skill sets that we need across the sector. Everything from GIS and mapping skills through to computer analytics, drone operators, heavy machinery drivers, roading engineers, environmental scientists, and planners.”

There would be two modules in the Clash of the Colleges covering tree identification, log grading and operating a waratah simulator.

“The Clash of the Colleges provides young people with an invaluable hands-on opportunity to test their knowledge and learn new skills about forestry and other food and fibre sectors,” Kinder says.