In 1981 PJ Kenny an American Oil Rigger and his kiwi wife purchased their Pretty Bridge property. While working for his neighbour he was introduced to the Farm Forestry Association and has been a member ever since. What attracted him to the organisation was the concept of utilising trees to solve problems on his land and learning about having the right tree in the right place to sort out an issue.
PJ says, trees can be a long-term investment for building up capital whilst also providing benefits like shade for stock, wind protection and for locking up carbon or holding stream banks. Over the past forty years attending Farm Forestry Field days he says he has learned a lot from others belonging to the Farm Forestry organisation and at Field Days which he has applied on his own property.
When he first purchased his property, he was able to log a block which helped to pay off the mortgage and since then has harvested six other blocks involving professionals from the logging industry. Over the years he says, he has improved the land with roading and skid sites in place for future logging leaving the land in a better state for sustainable harvest in the future and for providing employment.
Another benefit of Field Days, is getting people together where they can talk about long term solutions for issues like Gravel build-up, blanket rules that are not working in extreme weather events, the lack of root holding capacity from our indigenous biodiversity and the need to use introduced species in the future alongside native trees.
He is also an advocate for systems of settling ponds in creeks and rivers, wetlands for filtering sediment and their water holding capacity and their ability to take energy out of a fast-flowing stream. PJ, says the Farm Forestry Assn is a great place for for picking up knowledge. Robert Appleton will be discussing topics like these at the November 26thField Day at his Motupiko property in conjunction with the Upper Motueka Catchment Group.
PJ also says, Forestry had a bad reputation in the past but for the future he thinks it plays an important role for sustainability on the planet as a renewable resource. Alternative species like Redwoods, Cyprus, Ground Durable Eucalypts currently don’t always pay but have potential.
Radiata Pine is the financial engine for research and development that will bring those other options to fruition at some point, it’s just not happening yet.
