The Government and farming and other landcare groups approved new work areas for the Post Quake Farming Project at a meeting on December 3.
“Thank you to everyone for your patience in waiting for things to get to the point they are now,” new project manager Michael Bennett wrote in a project update.
“We have a great project stacked up in front of us which will hopefully pay dividends to the rural community for many months to come.”
Bennett said the project will work more closely with farm discussion and Landcare groups, with Beef + Lamb NZ and the Red Meat Profit Partnership as well as Destination Kaikoura and Lincoln University on, for example, farm tourism.
The rejig will help farmers use the Emissions Trading Scheme, regenerating native forest, improved biodiversity, options for horticulture, rural tourism and better communication of the farming story.
The review was based on extensive conversations with farmers and potential service-providers such as consultants and researchers.
An early priority will be helping farmers get the best out of the ETS and other forestry incentives while keeping farming land productive.
Farmers will be invited to work with their preferred farm and forestry consultants on a designed approach to fitting forestry into grazing systems, Bennett said.
The work will be based on a series of farmer case studies showing landowners the financial results from various forestry options.
“It is critical to understand downsides of large-scale forestry planting, with an understanding of the opportunities in the ETS and forestry and how the additional income generated can be used to attain business, family and community goals.”
The project will use field days, research and videos to explain the possibilities and support ETS extension with a programme of farm improvement and design to show how forestry can be integrated to complement and enhance grazing systems.”
The remodelled project will work with participating farmers and consultants to design the extension approach and prepare case studies between now and February. Farmers can expect at least five case studies, starting in autumn 2019.
It will also look at the potential of regenerating native forest by doing demonstration trials on enhancing scrubland or regenerating forest to increase the rate of carbon sequestration.
Research will focus on simple treatments such as release sprays to kill gorse and exotic grasses, fencing and canopy manipulation of pinus radiata, if a canopy species is present, and planting coloniser trees to help plant reversion.
The project will also work with the Ministry for Primary Industries on pre-1991 forests, much of which still remains scrubland. That area represents a massive missed opportunity in terms of financial returns, forest regeneration and carbon being sequestered, Bennett said.
The project will try to quantify the missed opportunity on naturally-reverting land in terms of post-1991 and pre-1991 and work with MPI on a better solution.
There will be case studies and trials on assisted natural reversion and research on scrubland and natural reversion, he said.
