Forestry transforms Okuku Pass

Press, 26 October 1984, Page 22

Forestry transforms Okuku Pass

From 9000 to 12,000 stock units have been maintained on Okuku Pass station, North Canterbury, during the last 10 years despite a joint Government department development programme which has put half the 5800 ha property under Pinus radiata, Pinus muricate and Douglas fir. Commercial forest now accounts for 2600 ha of the property and integrated agroforestry for about 300 ha

of the 1600 ha over which this land use is planned. Another 470 ha remains in native bush, about 600 ha in the higher, less fertile tussock slopes of Mt Karetu and something over 400 ha in developed farmland, mainly down at the Loburn end of the massive block. Stock numbers have been maintained by extensive oversowing and top-dressing. Officials of the two Government departments run-

ning Okuku Pass, the Lands and Survey Department and the Forest Service, showed high country members of North Canterbury Federated Fanners over the venture recently. Despite having had $1 million spent on it by Lands and Survey over the last 10 years, Okuku Pass had made a farming profit in eight of those years, the manager, Mr Lyn Morris, told the visitors.

Its gross fanning return was now over $300,000 a year. For the purposes of calculating a fanning profit all costs common to private fanners except income tex were included, said the Lands and Survey field officer with responsibility for Okuku Pass, Mr Alan Kinnis. Lands and Survey expenditure has been on cultivation, oversowing, spraying,

building, fencing, fertiliser and such items. After allowing for the purchase price. Lands and Survey expenditure and the undisclosed Forest Service expenditure in roads and trees, it is quite obvious that Okuku Pass is a _ multimillion dollar project dedicated to several objectives. The main aim is to demonstrate the practicality and viability of integrated farm forestry in the Canterbury foothills and to highlight the financial advantages of combining farming with forestry. Mr Kinnis said Lands and Survey and Forest Service were in the process of combining their financial records on Okuku Pass. Hopefully, this would show that income from fanning could be used to develop parts of properties for foresty — both pure forestry and agrofprestry. The chief pastoral lands officer for Lands and Survey, Christchurch, Mr David Webster, said eventually the profits from forestry would overtake those from farming.

The venture had not run long enough to demonstrate profitability from fanning yet, he said, but the joint set of accounts would be retro-

spective to 1974, when Okuku Pass was bought from Mr Stuart Bain, now of Rakaia Island. The property has been transformed in the last 10 years. The front block of 400 ha was still three-quarters gorse when the Government took it up, although Mr Bain had put effort into the development with cattle. Scarcely a gorse bush remains on this block now and the fully developed pastures are the engine room for the meat and wool production from 6000 Halfbred ewes and 2500 hoggets. These will not be put under trees because of the risk of gorse reversion.

Stamping around in some of the forestry areas at present, trying to get on top of the wild grass growth and looking for the morsels of Maku lotus seeded there by the authorities, are 1000 wethers. Four hundred Hereford cows are also wintered within the pure forestry blocks. The reasonably easy terrain and access appears to have been tailor-made for pure forestry and 2600 ha have been planted since the winter of 1975. Tens of kilometres of

first-class forestry roads have been pushed from front to back of the 12km long station. Forest Service teams are now busily engaged with pruning and thinning. Out on the open country the Lands and Survey staff have also completed most

of the over-sowing and topdressing which has been planned for pasture renewal on the Karetu block and the planned agroforestry areas. The planting of the agroforestry areas has been programmed over 25 years, until the end of the century. Many trials have’ been incorporated and several changes of planting and final densities will obviously result from the progression in Forest Service, Forest Research Institute and Lands and Survey thinking during this period. Early blocks within the 300 ha already planted were at 1000 stems a hectare at establishment but at present they are going in at 700 stems. The F.R.I. has some trials of row plantings, at one or one and a half metre

centres and a variety of single and double rows at different distances between rows. Conscious of criticisms about imposing straight lines on natural land forms, the F.R.I. has planted some of the row trials along contour lines. The Forest Service has also left bare knobs below vantage points on the roads so that maturing tress will not obscure the views. The major cost in agroforestry is the loss of grazing in the first two years and the battle against long pasture and slash subsequently. So trees on Okuku Pass are given the best possible start in their permanent homes through deep ripping, careful planting and weed control to enable the earliest return of stock.

Maximum benefit from both trees and pasture demands an optimal balance between light and shade over the whole block so that pasture growth is encouraged but tree branching is discouraged. Final tree densities of 200 stems a hectare are at present planned for Okuku Pass but Mr Morris, the manager, would rather see 100 stems a hectare.

Many of the high country visitors commented on the apparent waste in thinning from 1000 or 700 stems down to 200 or 100, and the Forest Service field officer looking after Okuku Pass, Mr Bruce Fraser, drew an analogy with thinning carrots. With the best tree stocks available, many stems would not show promise as eventual ciearwood logs and had to be thinned. For agroforestry to be viable, considering the loss of grazing in early years and the restrictions on grazing later on, top-quality 'clearwood for veneer production had to be harvested. In the exposed positions on Okuku Pass, accidents befell trees, such as loking their tops to winds and frosts.

Selection options must remain open until most of the establishment hazards had been overcome and the 10 or 15 year-old trees were on their way to a profit. The Forest Service’s practice of leaving “followers,” which are reasonably straight but untrimmed trees dotted through the trimmed plantations, certainly presents problems for mustering. Walkie-talkies are essential

for communications and guidance from one side of a mustered valley to another. A trial using cages for protection of young trees from stock damage and plantings at 200 stems a hectare will follow next year. To counter strong criticism from some fanners, a Forest Research Institute specialist, Mr Patrick Milne, defended agroforestry by going back to first principles. “The main reason for agroforestry is diversification,” he said, “because meat and wool returns have been falling over the long term.

“But you can’t just grow any trees. You must grow veneer-quality logs to compete with farming. I agree that agroforestry is compromise between farming and forestry but it will generate extra returns from land if it is done right.” While waiting for the big money to come in Okuku Pass has been putting up a creditable record in livestock production. In common with many parts of North Canterbury, lambing has this year risen 10 to 15 per cent above its previous peak of 108 per cent in 1981-82. Calving percentage is also equal to the top at 90 per cent The sheep and cattle ratio has been kept fairly constant around 70 to 30 and gross income is climbing towards $3O a stock unit.