Delegates will visit established forest blocks on sheep and beef farms as well as steep hill country gullies prone to erosion and coastal dune areas with sustainable land use plantings.
On the last day there’s an option to inspect new logging systems on Wanganui hill country.
“The theme is the challenge of diverse landforms and that suits the region,” conference organising group chairman John Dermer said.
The conference is being held from April 6 to 10.
The organisers said it would be a practical forum for people interested in using trees and forestry to get the best results from their land and not just for farmers but for anyone interested in good land use.
A feature on the first day was a presentation by American forest scientist Professor James Trappe on mycorrhizal fungi in forestry, described as an under-recognised but very important subject in NZ forestry and agriculture.
“The fungi helps trees grow and it’s been found that the second rotation of radiata grows better than the first rotation because of it being in the ground,” Dermer said.
“It’s not there at the start of the first rotation but starts coming in while it is growing.”
KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot would speak on trends in global primary production and what that meant for NZ farmers.
There would be visits to two farm-forestry properties including Dermer’s own farm just north of Feilding on Friday April 7.
The 2014 farm-forester of the year had three waterways running through his sheep and beef farm and had protected them with fencing and the planting of about 25ha in a number of species.
On the Saturday there would be a visit to the big Dalrymple sheep, beef, cropping and forestry property on coastal land near Bulls, where the latest technology was used to irrigate and manage extensive areas of sand country.
A Sunday visit to the Pohangina Valley hill country would focus largely on the severe Goulter’s Gully erosion area, dating back many decades but now showing the benefit of sustainable planting under a Horizons regional council programme.
Also on Sunday was an afternoon visit to Murray’s Nurseries in Woodville, one of the country’s biggest radiata seedling producers, where the mycorrhizal fungi would again be discussed.
Given the theme of the conference, there wouldn’t be a lot of formal discussion about the need for more tree planting in NZ, both for financial and sustainable land use benefits, Dermer said.
However, the message that forestry was an under-recognised but generally strong-performing option was still not as well accepted as it should be.
There were many instances of forest returns being well above sheep and beef returns on equivalent land area, with the added benefits of absorbing greenhouse gases and reducing soil erosion and protecting water quality.
