Farmer pins faith on agroforestry

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 13

Farmer pins faith on agroforestry

“Agroforestry," which has been heard of more and more frequently in farming and forestry in the last few years, is a newish word to describe a concept of land use in which silviculture and traditional pastoral management are combined. It is a multi-use concept. Widespaced trees, perhaps 100 to the hectare, are grown in pasture which is grazed, so that crops of timber or nuts, and hay, meat, or wool may be grown simultaneously on one piece of land. Trees and livestock are mutually supportive. It is a fairly new, and still controversial method of farming which has equally enthusiastic opponents and supporters. Theo Russell, a Pigeon Bay farmer and forestry consultant, is among the latter — and he feels so strongly about it that he is prepared to stake his future on his beliefs. Earlier this year Mr Russell, who was the senior forestry extension officer of the Forest Service in Canterbury, quit his safe job and the certainty of promotion to set up on his own account and launch a joint-venture agroforestry project. He sold his home at Loburn and moved to Pigeon Bay with his family to take up residence in the old schoolhouse. The 75ha block which he is developing as a forest farm is leased from a Christchurch surgeon, Mr Pat Cotter, and his son, Paddy. Mr Russell has registered a forestry interest in the property under the Forestry Rights Registration Act. The Cotters own an adjoining block which they are developing for forestry and nutgrowing, and they are taking an active interest in Mr Russell’s project. A third block, nearby, which they also own, •fVill provide useful ,t:un-off grazing

in the early stages of the project. Though a county-planning problem has delayed progress, Mr Russell hopes to begin planting in a few weeks'. His plans call for pines in the gorse-infested areas, poplars and willows in the gullies. Blocks of Douglas fir and eucalypts will be planted, and there will probably be smaller stands of special-pur-pose timbers. Macrocarpa and ley-

land cypress, two trees regarded as having a bright future for the production of high-quality timber, are also likely to feature. The property, adjoining the main road into Pigeon Bay, occupies the steeply sloping sides of a valley which was once densely forested. According to Mr Pat Cotter, a previous owner cleared secondgrowth kanuka scrub from the

property, and bulldozed the slash to the bottom of the valley. Subsequent erosion on the steep slopes deposited large amounts of topsoil on top of this, with the result that the creek in the valley bottom is now two to three metres underground. Remnants of native vegetation which have survived near the top of the property have been fenced off to encourage regenera-

tion. Mr Russell aims to plant 25ha a year, so that three years from now, when the property has been fully converted to agroforestry, it will be the biggest such venture on the peninsula. While the trees are growing his main farming income will come from wool (he plans to run only dry sheep), and he has stocked the property with 800 Drysdale wethers — a hardy, adaptable breed which produces shaggy carpet wool. As the trees get bigger, the shelter they provide ought to enable him to increase this stocking rate, he says. The project, adjoining the main road as it does, will be very much in the public eye — and consequently wide open to criticism — but Mr Russell is not fazed by this. He is very confident about agroforestry as a farming option for the peninsula, and he belieives that his project will serve as a model for many more. Excellent growth rates which can be achieved on the peninsula mean that timber growing has a strong future there, he says. At the same time, he believes that Banks Peninsula farmers generally could do a lot to maximise their returns from existing stands of timber. Since he left the Forest Service, Mr Russell has been doing some forestry consultancy and has acted as agent in log sales for several local farmers. They are, he says, very happy because he was able to obtain for them prices much higher than they were used to receiving. He expects to become busier in this field in the next few years as the long shortage in Canterbury puts increased pressure on the private

sector for supplies. A forestry boom on Banks Peninsula is on the cards for several reasons, he adds. Buoyant prices for sawlogs in Canterbury and strong projected demand are making forestry more attractive to investors seeking joint-venture projects. Increased plantings on the peninsula are inevitable because in many areas few or no new plantings have been made in the last 25 years, and existing woodlots and shelter belts are mature and must be sold within the next five to 10 years if their owners are to receive maximum returns. Furthermore, falling returns from traditional pastoral farming are prompting landholders to look for new ways in which to diversify. Such confidence notwithstanding, the switch from a safe future as a senior officer in the Forest Service to the uncertainty of part-time farming and forestry consultancy in remote Pigeon Bay appears to be a brave move. Why did Mr Russell do it? Basically, he says, it was to gain independence. “It was a big step for someone of my age to take,” he says. He almost didn’t take it; just before he left the Forest Service, advice came through of his promotion to the senior forestry extension post in Auckland. But he went ahead with the move. “You miss the salary cheque coming in every fortnight and it can be unsettling not to know where your next income is coming from our here in the real world,” he says. “But my wife and family love the life over here and we have no regrets. I’m convinced I did the right thing.”

By

DERRICK ROONEY