Justcol

Will there ever be an end to the endless spread of pine tree plantations that are overwhelming the countryside at the moment.

For mile after mile in any direction from my little town, productive farmland and been swallowed up and is now an endless procession of pockmarked paddocks, each containing tens of thousands of pine tree saplings.

Down the street from me, three farms along one quiet country lane have all gone to forestry. Between them they could support around 12000 lambs, all for export, and now they're gone. Farmers are already selling up left right and center, and the new emissions tax is going to kill off even more.

All this so industry and business can make zero changes and carry on exactly as they are. They continue to pollute just as they always have done. The only difference is, they can now buy a few credits from the emissions scheme these trees are part of, and claim to be carbon neutral.

12000 lambs is just 3 farms. The same story is playing out all over the country. NZ already has the cleanest sheep and beef production in the world, but it's still not enough for this govt.

The world population clocked up 8 billion this week. Cutting food production doesn't strike me as a way forward
rant over 👍

​​​​​​

Chocolate eclair

And pine trees need large amounts of water. Infact in South Africa they are removing them to assist with water management.
It's a crazy world.

LittleGreyCat

Although sheep destroy the native flora, planting pine trees does nothing to help them recover, nor is it good for the local fauna.
In the UK monoculture planting is destroying the countryside.

Justcol

For years there has been a lot of riparian planting schemes on farms all across NZ.
Farmers have steadily been trying to put back some of what was lost in the past.
The trees being planted now are part of the ETS and unlike those planted for timber, these will not be harvested in 20 odd years time. Once this land is gone, it's gone for good, it's so sad to see, and the effect it is having on rural communities is being felt already and it's only just begun 😔

Moses2013

Luckily you still have a lot of rainforest in NZ. We have far too much sheep farming in Ireland and you also see more pine trees popping up, so I'd say it's just the beginning of more destruction.
This is a great example why we should let nature come back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6K7OwnSFg







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS2Pn46MD48