Farmers support, foresters oppose conversion ban

The changes include a moratorium on exotic forestry registrations for Land Use Classification (LUC) 1-5 actively farmd land, an annual registration cap of 15,000 hectares for exotic forestry registrations on LUC 6 farmland and allowing up to 25% of a farm's LUC 1-6 land to be planted in forestry for the ETS, ensuring farmers retain flexibility and choice.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay says the new measures address the previous government's failed ETS policies that incentivised large-scale conversions, created ETS complexity, and undermined our world-best primary producers.

"The new policy will help to protect our most productive farmland while allowing room for sustainable forestry growth. Landowners will retain the ability to make smart land use decisions, enhancing both profitability and environmental outcomes," he says.

In welcoming the changes, Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says the meat processing and exporting sector has been concerned for some time about the lack of limits on fossil fuel emitters offsetting their emissions by planting trees on productive land.

"The current carbon pricing and incentives favour forestry over other land uses, creating an economic imbalance," she says.

Beef + Lamb NZ chair Kate Acland says the changes are something her organisation has sought for some time. She says they've consistently been asking for action, alongside concerned farming groups, since 2019.

"We've lost so much productive land to carbon farming - more than 260,000 hectares between 2017 and 30 June 2024 - and that means stock number losses and ultimately negative impacts on rural communities and New Zealand's export earnings," she says.

Federated Farmers spokesman Toby Williams says the move will stop the march of pine trees across farmland and is great news for farmers.

"Rural communities are bearing the brunt of misguided climate change targets. We're seeing schools close, rural bus runs stop, and local clubs fail as jobs are lost from communities across rural New Zealand," he says.

Unhappy about the changes is the Forest Owners Association. Its chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says forest owners are being persecuted and adds that it's a misconception that forest conversions limit food production.

"The announcement essentially devalues farms in that land use will become limited to farming only," she says.