According to the Ministry for Primary Industries, seedling sales jumped from 60 million in 2018 to 90m in 2019, were forecast to exceed 100m in 2020 and grow further this year.
And with the price of carbon now at $37.02 a unit, up from the low twenties pre-lockdown, the demand appears to be only heading in one direction.
And it’s not just foresters, farmers are being urged to take a hard look at diversifying into trees for unproductive tracts of land.
Land-uses always shift with the times – aligning with what’s profitable and what’s desired by consumers.
Now’s no different, and those trees will not only work for the planter, they’ll help the whole industry balance its environmental budgets as well.
Bryan Gibson
Pine seedlings sold out before planting
Most forest tree nurseries have sold out of pine seedlings ahead of the winter planting season and industry sales should exceed 100 million seedlings this year.
Carbon price brings opportunity
With carbon prices unlikely to wind back from their current high, farmers are being urged to think hard about the opportunities the market’s prospects could offer for their land-use options and succession planning.
Orchardists call for Pacific Island bubble
Apple orchardists are calling on the Government to start putting together a plan to allow Pacific Island workers to return later in the year.
Myrtle rust in mānuka concerns researchers
The invasive myrtle rust disease that has threatened to lay waste to populations of native pohutukawa and ramarama has now been found in the seeds of mānuka around Auckland, raising fears the valuable native could be at risk from the disease’s impact.
Grower unease over Zespri China trial
The head of one of the country’s largest kiwifruit orchard companies is predicting Zespri may have a tough time getting growers to vote in favour of having a Chinese trial running for its SunGold fruit.
