Planting Trees

Right tree, right place, right purpose

Integrated Forestry Farm Systems

Integrated Forestry Farm Systems is a project demonstrating how integrating dairy and hill country sheep and beef farming with forestry for profitable, sustainable land use can assist landowners, iwi and rural professionals make well-informed forestry decisions and increase confidence in implementing forestry as a land-use option.

Perrin Ag Consultants Ltd in conjunction with PF Olsen completed ten case studies across the Bay of Plenty, Rangitikei and Waikato regions, evaluating a range of situations. Varying farm systems and landowner objectives enabled a variety of species and planting options to be investigated.

The Integrated Farm Forestry Systems project is a multi-agency funded research and extension project, led by Te Uru Rākau and co-funded by DairyNZ, the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Horizons Regional Councils, Living Water (DOC-Fonterra partnership), Farmlands Co-operative and the Forest Growers Levy Trust.

Case Studies

The case studies provide outputs and resources to enable landowners who aspire to plant trees to have the knowledge and confidence to plant the right tree in the right place for the right purpose. Topics and information provided include:

Farm specific information on the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), how carbon trading works, differences in carbon sequestration, ETS eligibility and the financial benefits and risks of registering plantings within the ETS.
Robust financial and environmental analysis demonstrating the potential returns, environmental impact and the performance of an integrated farm business.
Process for selecting wood harvesters and setting up wood harvesting agreements.
Best practice for tree management and harvest process for the case study farms, and how environmental impact at harvest can be mitigated through good planning and harvest management,
Illustrates a range of options for how natives can be established to provide integrated ‘best land-use’.
Illustrates the planning required and why site selections and silviculture regime are critical success factors for farm forestry.