Calculating the Economic Thresholds Between Farming and Forestry

AgFirst were asked to provide a view on the place of forestry on pastoral land and an overview of the economic advantages of planting production forestry on behalf of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment Company.

We analysed a series of farm case studies in the Hawke’s Bay region focusing on the relationships between land quality, forage type and financial returns from pastoral farming and forestry.

In particular, we have broadly classified land more suited to forestry rather than remaining in pastoral production systems.

Integrating land best suited to forestry and land best suited to pastoral systems at an individual on-farm scale will lead to more sustainable and resilient farming businesses and rural communities.

Originally published in the NZ Journal of Forestry, written by consultants Lochie MacGillivray & Phil Tither.

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