“However, the latest revised data shows that figure to be more than 63,000ha, a 66 per cent increase on 2020 and up from 7000ha in 2017.”
Uncertainty over policy changes led to a decrease to 36,000ha in 2022, but McIvor said this figure was likely to increase due to a backlog of applications sitting with the Overseas Investment Office.
“This takes the total to more than 200,000ha of sheep and beef farms bought over the last five years, which is a significant concern for the sheep and beef sector and rural communities.”
McIvor said the scale of change was far more than what the Climate Change Commission recommended and would have a negative impact on rural communities, food production and export income, which would affect all New Zealanders.
“New Zealand is one of the only countries in the world that allows fossil fuel emitters to offset 100 per cent of their emissions.”
The Government was currently consulting on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, and it needed to act, he said.
Beef + Lamb NZ was not “anti-forestry”, as there was a place for it, as well as offsetting, McIvor said.
“We know many farmers are interested in integrating trees into their farms, but there is a need for some balance.
“Though less than the sheep and beef industry, forestry does create jobs and export revenue. In contrast, carbon farming doesn’t create jobs or add export returns.”
McIvor said production forestry, in combination with carbon forestry, could often be integrated into sheep and beef farms without loss of food production.
Beef + Lamb NZ also recognised the unique circumstances of some Māori landowners who could never sell their land, he said.
“This is a legitimate instance where carbon credits from offsetting should be available.”
McIvor said the impact of land use change was now reflected in livestock numbers, with Statistics New Zealand’s 2022 Ag Census data showing the national sheep flock to be 25.3 million as of June 2022.
This was a drop of 400,000 from the previous year, with numbers likely to fall further due to new plantings.
The Ministry for Primary Industries’ Afforestation and Deforestation report, which focuses on larger-scale planting, supported Beef + Lamb NZ’s findings.
“While whole farm sales seemed to have slowed last year, new plantings continued at pace, with another 64,000ha of new forestry planted in 2022,” McIvor said.
“MPI has also surveyed foresters’ intentions for 2023 and estimates a further 88,000ha of new planting in 2023.”
He said this data reinforced how quickly farms were being converted.
“The Government must urgently work with the sector to implement limits before it’s too late.”
