Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+L NZ) has welcomed the Government's announcement of the $238 million One Billion Trees Fund that will complement the work already being done on sheep and beef farms.
B+LNZ CEO Sam McIvor says the structure of the funding will work well for farmers by building on the efficiency gains they've made over the past 30 years, all while helping create and preserve 1.4 million hectares of native forest on sheep and beef farms.
"Done in the right way, by focusing on having the right trees in the right place for the right purpose, the One Billion Trees Fund represents a huge opportunity for sheep and beef farmers and complements many of the activities we're focused on," says Mr McIvor.
"Over the past three decades the sheep and beef sector has made significant gains in productivity, for instance doubling the value of our exports while halving the number of our ewe flock and still exporting the same quantity of sheepmeat.
"At a time when consumers are looking more in-depth at the story behind their food and want to know that it's been ethically produced and those who produce it are doing so sustainably, it really is the time for our sheep and beef farmers to shine.