Beef + Lamb NZ Northland workshop urges farmers to put right tree in right place

Tree plantings at Laurie Copland's Broadwood beef farm. Photo / Supplied

The right tree in the right place is important for farming sustainability, according to Broadwood beef farmer Laurie Copland.

His farm is part of a workshop being held next week by Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ).

Speakers at the Farms, Trees and Carbon Workshop include the Northland Regional Council on Sustainable Hill Country and Regional Priority funding, Forest 360 on smart carbon planning and Kathryne Easton from Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group on the Kaipara Remediation Package and what it means for Northland farmers.

Climate change affects everybody and everybody has their part to play, according to B+LNZ. The earlier farmers understand the drivers of climate change and what is contributing to it, the sooner they can adapt and make changes to their farm systems.

To assist farmers in making the most of the One Billion Trees Fund, B+LNZ is running the workshops to help farmers identify suitable opportunities for their businesses and introduce key climate science and policy issues.

Copland said the workshop aimed to help farmers make good business decisions.

He said a lot of money was being put into schemes to encourage tree planting, including the Government's Billion Trees Fund.

At the same time Silver Fern Farms, which is where Copland supplies his animals, has been urging farmers toward a low carbon supply chain.

The company, which has developed a Sustainable Chain of Care programme, highlights that sheep and beef farmers across New Zealand already host close to a quarter of New Zealand's indigenous vegetation on their farms, all of which is absorbing greenhouse gases.

Collectively they have increased their efficiency, producing the same amount of red meat from a much smaller GHG footprint than they did in the early 1990s.

SFF supplier farms are being encouraged to plant the right trees in the right places to help build a base where farmers are at, or close to, net zero carbon emissions.

For Copland, this entails taking a whole-of-farm system approach to reduce carbon on his farm and to enhance the natural, biodiverse, farming environment.

He has looked at what works on his farm and hopes his experience will help other farmers.

Copland's farm covers 250ha, of which about 50ha is planted in native trees.

Researchers from Canterbury University had looked at the biodiversity on his farm and had found more than 100 different species of native plants in his remnant native forest.

"Out in the paddocks, there are just a few survivors. These are mainly totara, taraire and kahikatea.

"I'm finding a lot of these isolated trees are dying and I'm not sure why.''

Copland said he had found planting a mixture of native trees and deciduous trees worked best on his farm.

"I'm wanting shelter for my animals but the trees need to be behind a fence so that the cattle don't damage them. I'm planting deciduous along fence lines next to pasture,'' he said.

"I've already fenced off my waterways and planted these in native plants.''

Broadwood beef farmer Laurie Copland. Photo / John Stone

Copland said key issues for his farm included shelter for animals, land stabilisation, timber and aesthetics.

"I'm wanting the trees to have a timber value from a carbon aspect.

"But I also want it to look natural as I think aesthetics is important. It's good to think about planting in clusters and framing views.''

Copland said despite his age, he was planning as far ahead as 2050 to reduce the farm's carbon output.

"It's a longterm plan, and over the next 15 years I plan to have over half the farm in plantings of some sort.''

The Farms, Trees and Carbon Workshop, Broadwood, is being held on Tuesday, April 6 from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

Presentations from the guest speakers will be held at the Broadwood A&P Hall, 1076 Broadwood Rd, with a farm tour by 4WD vehicles if weather permits. Lunch is provided.