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Fraser says farming plays a huge role in the economy of the region but, increasingly, productive sheep farming is being turned in permanent pine trees.
Carbon farming is threatening the economy of the central North Island, according to Federated Farmers Whanganui president Ben Fraser.
He warns that whole communities are at risk unless it is stopped.
Fraser says farming plays a huge role in the economy of the region but, increasingly, productive sheep farming is being turned in permanent pine trees.
He wants the Government to urgently close loopholes and strengthen rules to stop carbon forestry conversions on productive sheep country.
He says farming is a big income earner for the region, generating jobs right across the community, but points out that increasingly sheep are being displaced on productive land by permanent pine trees. He says this is a huge concern for those who live rurally, but it's equally concerning for those who live in town.
"At the end of the day, we're all one community, supporting the same local economy. Lock-up-and-leave pine forests just aren't going to generate the same level of economic activity. They may create carbon credits, but they don't create jobs. We at Feds are highly critical of the Government's proposed carbon forestry rules, and we say they don't go anywhere near far enough to be effective," he says.
Fraser says the Government's proposal is to cap the amount of farmland that can be registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) at 25%. But he says that limit applies only to land use capability (LUC) classes 1 to 5 - the land least likely to be targeted for carbon farming in the first place.
"Only 12% of recent whole-farm conversions to carbon forestry have actually happened on land classes 1 to 5 anyway, so it's not really a solution at all. The remaining 88% have happened on land classes 6 and 7, which also happens to be the land where most of our sheep and beef farms operate," he says.
Fraser says LUC is a tool designed for determining the land's capability and it's been used to set rules and limits, but points out that capability is often confused with productivity. He says it's productive sheepbreeding country that's critical in NZ's farming and food production system.
"If productive sheep and beef farms continue to be replaced by permanent pine forests, soon we'll be bartering pinecones for a new pair of boots," he says.
Fraser says that class 6 and 7 land is far from barren or marginal, rather it's the picturesque hill country that features on postcards, calendars and TV shows such as Country Calendar which celebrate NZ farming life.
"This is the landscape many Kiwis are most proud of - the classic sheep and beef hill country that defines out rural identity," he says.
According to Fraser, the impacts of carboin forestry on the Central North Island can already be clearly seen in places like Taumaranui, where local communities, rural schools and businesses have been decimated.
"I would hate to see the same thing happen to Taihape or Whanganui. Once that land's planted in pine trees for carbon forestry, it's gone for good and never coming back. Is that really the future we want for our country?"
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) says proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will leave the door wide open for continued conversions of productive sheep and beef farms into carbon forestry.
Federated Farmers says a report to Parliament on the subject of a ban on carbon forestry does not go far enough to prevent continued farm to forestry conversions.
Red meat farmers are urging the Government to act on the growing number of whole sheep and beef farm sales for conversion to forestry, particularly carbon farming.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) says the Government needs to close loopholes in the guidance around limits on carbon forestry as news of further whole-farm sales emerges.
A new study has found the process of actively managed carbon forestry creates 25% more local jobs than sheep and beef farming on low productivity land.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
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