In a hard hitting press release the Feds questioned the Governments ETS policy and where it may leave agriculture in the future.

They state that big overseas owned forestry companies, that already own 70% of our forests now, want to purchase 2 million hecatres of our farmland and plant it in trees.

If this is converted to carbon forestry, the country could lose 2800 farms, carrying 11.5million su, and decimate our 5 billion dollar sheep and beef industry.

Huge losses of populations in small rural towns, infrastructure and loss of services could result from this land use change.

20 percent of NZ's sheep and beef farms could be replaced by oxymoronic ‘carbon forestry’, if the ambitions of foreign owned carbon foresters and the Government are realised. “Obviously the pending meat industry strategy has a new paradigm to assess,  if the wishes of those who want to plant farm land in trees come to pass,” says Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President.

 “Don’t get me wrong, Federated Farmers strongly believes that farm forestry is an integral to farms where it’s suited.  This makes the axing of the Afforestation Grants Scheme in preference to the Emissions Trading Scheme incredibly perplexing. “Yet it’s the big overseas foresters that can’t see our food for the carbon.  The likes of Ernslaw One (Malaysia), Blakeley Pacific (USA) and Rayonier New Zealand (USA) want to plant two million hectares of our farmland in trees.   

 “Two million hectares, if converted to carbon forestry, is a full fifth of New Zealand’s sheep and beef industry.  What we are talking about is the loss of 2,800 farms, the loss of 11.4 million stock and the loss of another billion from our $5 billion sheep and beef industry.“Carbon forestry doesn’t need the same labour force as a farm and in some instances, after planting will require none. What will become of the shearers, mechanics, stock and station agents, builders or vets? 

 

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NZ Federated Farmers

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