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It’s often the people issues that make forestry difficult
Authors: Euan MasonPublication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2008, Issue N.Z.J.For. 53(1) 2008, pp 2, May 2008
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Abstract: At our superb annual conference this month we traveled into the Manawatu to see for ourselves erosion that plagues hill country farmers and doubly plagues dairy farmers in the Wairarapa every time there is a flood. After the last flood taxpayers provided more than $200 million to help clean up the mess. About 175,000 ha of the Manawatu needs afforestation, according to the New Zealand Empirical Erosion Model that John Dymond showed us. We also heard Frank Brenmuhl, Chair of the Dairy Farmers of NZ, proclaim that “somebody had told him” he needed 17% of his farm converted to trees each year in order to produce greenhouse gas (GHG) neutral milk. His plea was that farmers had no viable alternative but to continue emitting GHGs, and that they would “never” go along with the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).