Latest news with #SaveOurSheep
NZ Herald
a day ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Can't see the sheep for the trees: 10 years, 100,000 hectares and $900m of foreign forestry conversions - mapped.
Purchases of entire farms by overseas investors require government approval. The Herald used the information released with these government decisions to map the land. Overseas purchases make up about a third of the total conversions of farms to forestry - the other two-thirds were converted by Kiwis. During the last decade only seven farm-to-forestry applications made to the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) were declined. In these seven cases, Ministers were not convinced there was enough benefit to New Zealand. In the same period of time, foreign forestry investors have spent at least $897 million on farmland in Aotearoa, and probably much more: the value of 20 large purchases has not been disclosed. Nearly 23,000ha of the land was bought within the last four years by a single overseas investor, with a disclosed sale price of $219.6 million. That investor was Ingka Investments Forest Assets NZ, owned by Ingka Group, the largest franchisee of IKEA stores. One of the concerns about increasing forestry is the impact it has on land and communities -particularly from slash and other debris left behind after harvesting. The devastation following Cyclone Gabrielle highlighted the dangers and damage forest slash can cause. Dr Steve Urlich, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management at Lincoln University, said the Government tightened the national rules around slash removal in 2023 but is now proposing to relax them with changes to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry. Beef and Lamb New Zealand, the industry organisation representing sheep and beef farmers, said farm sales and conversions have happened at an 'alarming rate' for a decade, and when good farming land is planted out in trees it affects jobs and exports in the meat sector. In May, Federated Farmers launched its 'Save Our Sheep' (SOS) campaign, calling for urgent action to support New Zealand's sheep industry. Former Federated Farmers chairman Toby Williams says sheep farming is at a crossroads Photo / Supplied Forestry advocates point to the economic benefits of forestry and wood processing, including $6 billion in export value and 40,000 jobs. Forestry is New Zealand's fifth largest export earner according to the New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA). Chief Executive Elizabeth Heeg previously told the Herald, 'We are known for our ability to manage forests effectively, and with good environmental outcomes.' To buy sensitive land, which includes any non-urban land larger than 5ha, an overseas investor must show how their investment will deliver tangible benefits to New Zealand – such as job creation, increased export revenue or environmental improvements. Benefits may also include increased public access, protection of historic heritage or alignment with other government objectives. Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) says the benefits must be proportionate to the sensitivity of the land and the nature of the investment. The OIO cannot consider any detriments when making its decision, aside from those that relate to water bottling. Investors buying land already planted for forestry, or land to be used for forestry, or more than 1000ha of forestry rights in a calendar year, must still apply through the OIO. They can also on-sell the land and forestry rights to other overseas buyers, who must also apply for consent. In these cases, no benefit to New Zealand needs to be demonstrated, only whether the land will continue to be used for forestry. The Government has moved to limit forestry conversions and its 'farm-to-forest' ban is set to become law later this year. Only 6319 hectares have been approved since the new policy was announced and 2024's 11,794 ha was already well down on the 2022 peak of 27,788 ha.
France 24
27-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
New Zealand farmers battle pine forests to 'save our sheep'
Concern over the scale of the farm-to-forest switch led the government to impose a moratorium in December on any new conversions not already in the pipeline. But farmers say forestry companies are flouting the clampdown. Last month, farmers launched a "Save our Sheep" campaign to reverse the loss of productive farmland. Sheep numbers have plummeted to around 23 million, down from a peak of around 70 million in the 1980s, according to official figures. Falling wool prices and rising milk and beef costs initially drove the decline, but the emissions trading since 2008 has added to the strain. The government is now investigating potential breaches of its moratorium by forestry companies, which have been buying up farmland as recently as June. Federated Farmers -- a lobby group for rural communities -- submitted to the government "a list of properties we believe have been sold for carbon forestry" since the halt, a spokesman said. The federation is concerned about the sale of more than 15,200 hectares (37,600 acres) of farmland, he told AFP. Dean Rabbidge, who runs a farm outside the Southland town of Wyndham, said some of the newly purchased farms had already been planted with pine trees. 'Criminal' "They're just ploughing on ahead, effectively giving the middle finger to the government announcement," Rabbidge told AFP. The moratorium had created a "gold rush", he said. "It's criminal what's happening." Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said the government would change the law by October because it had become more profitable to plant pine forests than to farm sheep. "The law will include clarity on what qualifies as legitimate evidence of a pre-December investment and enable any specific cases to be properly assessed," McClay said. "Anyone who has bought land since December 4, 2024, irrespective of whether they also had trees or not, will not be able to register this land into the emissions trading scheme." Rural New Zealand once abounded with rolling pastures, rickety wire fences hemming in millions of sheep chewing on the green grass. But Rabbidge said those days were gone. "You won't see anything now," he said. "You're just driving through long pine tree tunnels -- shaded, wet, and damp." New Zealand is one of the rare countries to allow 100 percent of carbon emissions to be offset by forestry. "We're not anti planting trees," sheep farmer Ben Fraser told AFP. "There are areas of land that should be retired, that aren't necessarily productive." But the trading scheme had driven an excessive loss of sheep pastures to forestry, he said. "That's the issue here." 'So short-sighted' Fraser, who farms near the North Island town of Ohakune, said he had seen an exodus of people from the district in recent years. "Since 2018, there've been 17 farms converted to forestry," he said. "That's about 18,000 hectares gone. So you're looking at about 180,000 sheep gone out of the district, plus lambs." The loss of sheep impacted the region. "If the farms thrive, then the towns thrive because people come in and spend their money," he said. "You've got farm suppliers, your fertiliser guys, your supermarkets, your butchers, all of that stuff struggling. "The local schools now have less kids in them. The people who stayed are now isolated, surrounded by pine trees." Rabbidge said the same was happening in Southland. "This whole thing is just so short-sighted," Rabbidge said. "Businesses here are forecasting anywhere between a 10 and 15 percent revenue reduction for the next financial year, and that's all on the back of properties that have sold or have been planted out in pine trees," he said. 'Lamb on a plate' "Think of all the shearers, the contractors, the transporters, the farm supply stores, the workers, the community centres, the schools, rugby clubs. Everything is affected by this." Government figures from 2023 show agriculture accounted for more than half of New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions. But farmers argue they have been working hard to reduce emissions, down more than 30 percent since the 1990s. "I could put a leg of lamb on a plate in London with a lower emissions profile, transport included, than a British farmer," Rabbidge said. "We just use our natural resources. We're not housing animals indoors and carting feed in and manure out. © 2025 AFP
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Listen to The Country online: Save Our Sheep with Federated Farmers' Toby Williams
Today on The Country radio show, host Jamie Mackay catches up with Federated Farmers' meat and wool chairman Tobu Williams to talk about a new campaign called Save Our Sheep, aimed at halting the collapse of New Zealand's sheep industry. Also, be in to win a Stihl MZ182 chainsaw. On with the show: Toby Williams: Federated Farmers' meat and wool chairman launches a new campaign, SOS: Save Our Sheep, calling for urgent action to halt the collapse of New Zealand's sheep industry.
