Rural: Trees make good use of poor ground

The Vennells have 110ha of their farm either retired or in forestry, that's roughly a quarter of their land. Photo/Laurel Stowell

Abandoning 45 hectares of marginal land at the back of his farm to trees was a difficult decision for Hunterville farmer Justin Vennell, but he's now glad he made it.

He and wife Mary trade as Richcrest Farming Ltd. They were the supreme winners in the 2014 Ballance Farm Environment Awards for the Horizons region, and held a field day at their Rewa farm on May 8.

When the contingent of farm bikes rode to the forest block that day, Mr Vennell told them his tree planting began in 1992, with Cupressus lusitanica and pines lining a stream that cut through the 489ha property.

When Horizons Regional Council's Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) came along, the Vennells got a plan for their farm done. They got some funding and, by 2008, the stream was planted, from one farm boundary to the other.

Also on their minds was a 45ha block where they spent $12,000 clearing scrub in 2001. In 2004, those cleared areas slipped in a February storm and, by 2008, the scrub was back. The land was steep, with little topsoil.

Mr Vennell said production was poor there, and taking it out of grass made it easier for him to manage the farm on his own.

Jeremy Cumming advised on the planting, which was done in October 2008 and July 2009.

He said logging truck access to the north-facing slope would cost at least $60,000. In 2008, when NZ's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was just starting, it made sense to plant trees there for carbon credits with no intention to harvest them.

The bottom two-thirds of the north slope went into Eucalyptus fastigata, with the top in Eucalyptus globoidea. Mr Cumming said when young they rivalled Pinus radiata in storing carbon.

Carbon credits are now worth just $3 each, hardly worthwhile, but Mr Cumming hopes that will change. If the value of the credits stays low, two-thirds of the north slope could be harvested and make a return as timber.

A forester said Eucalyptus fastigata made good timber and needed early form pruning. It could be hard to sell though. "There are definite uses for it, but there's not processing and not a market for logs."

The south side of the block was planted in Cupressus lusitanica, with a few Acacia melanoxylon, 5ha left in scrub, and alders and willow poles on the slips.

Forestry guru Denis Hocking said pines might have been better there.