Sheep & Beef Farm Conversion to Forestry Slows, Risk Remains
Conversions of sheep and beef farms to forestry have slowed, however new research from Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) suggests land of value for food production remains at risk.
That's the plea from the Beef + Lamb NZ chair Kate Acland who says the latest statistics show that since the end of 2022 more than 51,000ha of farmland has been sold to forestry interests. She says this far exceeds the 25,500ha the Climate Change Commission has recommended should be sold in any given year.
Acland adds that between 2017 and the end of June this year, a total of 261,733ha have been sold and believes this figure will turn out to be higher given the lag time in producing the statistics. She says there's already been a significant decline in stock numbers because of afforestation over the past few years.
"We estimate for every 100,000 hectares planted close to one million stock units are lost. While on one hand the decline in stock numbers means our sector has already dramatically reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions and warming impact, the way it's happening is simply not sustainable," she says.
Acland says B+LNZ is not anti-forestry and says they support the integration of trees on farms. But say they just want some limits aroud the conversion of whole farms into forestry for carbon credits.
"We welcome the Government's intention to announce measures before Christmas and note that the National Party's pre-election manifesto sets out a sensible platform to work from," she says.
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