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Hard times
Authors: John Purey-CustPublication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2009, Issue N.Z.J.For. 54(2) 2009, pp 48, Aug 2009
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Abstract: It’s been hard times for forestry. We missed out on the good times because of the high dollar and high freight rates, we had our expectations raised by Kyoto - for once we were the good guys but we are still waiting - but are these reasons or are they excuses ? Pioneering economies such as ours love quantity rather than quality and the grower is much more admired than the seller, who is indeed more usually seen as a parasite on the grower’s back. We produce ad nauseam, throwing the product over our shoulder in the hope that some one will catch it and flick it on. We set up cooperatives, but more to circle the wagons than to capture the market. It is only with great reluctance that we accept that the people out there might want something different from what we are offering, and we weep over the injustice of it all.