23 April 2012
"You're my heroes," Prof Henrik Moller told farm foresters attending the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association's recent conference in Balclutha.
If he was to think of one "absolute priority" for the country's production landscapes, it was "to get more woody vegetation out there", he said during a conference field day visit to the Reid family's property, Verterburn, near Mahinerangi. Prof Moller is from the Centre for Sustainability: Agriculture, Food, Energy, Environment (CSAFE) at the University of Otago.
He described Robert and Jill Reid and their son Andrew as "absolute visionaries". Verterburn is a 1391 ha sheep and beef breeding and finishing property carrying about 7500 stock units and with expansive views stretching from the Blue Mountains to the Kakanui Mountains. When Robert and Jill bought Verterburn from Robert's father Ray in 1979, it was largely an undeveloped tussock block with about 80 ha in pasture, few fences and no buildings.
The property, which borders Lake Mahinerangi to the south, ranges from 400m to 525m, with an annual average rainfall of 900 mm. Snow damage to trees and stock welfare were major considerations in the area.
The farm now boasts 60 ha of plantations. These are mainly Douglas-fir, plus 0.5 ha macrocarpa, a small block of mature pines and various shelter belts. This year, 40 ha of Douglas-fir will be planted. In 2013, about another 13 ha will be planted, bringing the total forest estate up to 113 ha (8% of the farm).
Guest speaker Mark Dean, South Island forestry planning manager for Ernslaw One Ltd, said Verterburn was an exposed site. Douglas fir was far more snow-tolerant and, to a degree, wind-firm than radiata pine, he said.
Prof Moller also spoke about Argos (Agriculture Research Group on Sustainability), a joint venture between the AgriBusiness Group, Lincoln University and the University of Otago. It has a mandate to examine the environmental, social and economic sustainability of New Zealand farming systems. Argos involved about 100 farming families - including the Reids - and was all about "capturing local knowledge", he said.
Source: by Sally Rae, Otago Daily Times. © Allied Press Limited 2007. To read the full article, click here.