Dr Lisa Harper
With new Government policy expected, the complex issues around forestry and its place in the hill country may get greater focus.
Forestry is one of our largest primary sectors, with logs, wood, pulp and paper generating nearly $5 billion in export earnings in the year to June 2017. This eclipses earnings from sheep meat (about $3.3b) and wool ($523 million).
The Ministry for Primary Industries' forecast for forestry export earnings is bright, rising 2 per cent to $6.3b by 2020. But this is due to the amount of trees planted in the 1990s.
The overall plantation area has declined by 5 per cent in the last decade and there is growing concern about the supply of wood beyond 2030.
"In particular, more marginal farmland planted in trees could sequest carbon and help the nation meet our Paris Agreement climate change commitments."
Many farmers are already engaged in plantation forestry and more could be interested, given the right signals and regulatory environment. In particular, more marginal farmland planted in trees could sequest carbon and help the nation meet our Paris Agreement climate change commitments.
A variety of commentators - from retired Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright to the authors of the Vivid Economics report Net Zero in NZ - have said planting more trees can earn us breathing space until anticipated methane inhibitors, vaccines and similar science break-throughs to offset livestock greenhouse gas emissions are delivered.
But like most things, forestry has challenges and downsides.
It requires good transport infrastructure, especially roading; country roads are often not maintained to the level needed to deal with heavy logging trucks at harvest.
Some rural people are also wary of large-scale forestry plantations, as they can have unforeseen consequences on the social fabric of communities; local employment opportunities may dwindle if forestry contractors from outside the area come in for planting, trimming and harvest, and there are long periods when little work is available.
Young sheep and beef farmers, for whom buying a marginal piece of land represents the first rung on the ladder to farm ownership, can also be outcompeted by large forestry companies looking to purchase parcels of land for conversion.
Despite these fish hooks, the positives of forestry are well recognised. Farmers have been planting or retiring steep hillsides into trees for decades, to control erosion, reduce sedimentation and now help with nutrient filtration.
There could also be benefits for native wildlife. Native plantation forestry is a small player in the sector, due to technical challenges, costs of establishment and times to harvest being far higher than pines. But further research and policy work might help this.
Federated Farmers has called for greater investment in research to support the adaptation of agriculture in a changing and more volatile climate. Forestry (if managed well) presents an ideal opportunity to combat climate change, while helping biodiversity, water and rural communities at the same time.