38 | Carbon payments Last year Forest Enterprises harvested and sold 1.1 million tonnes of logs. T T from page 36 FORESTRY Forest Enterprises T T to page 40 “Traditionally, investments have been packaged up as upfront funding of say $10,000, with another $3000 - $7000 investment throughout the term until harvest. “The introduction of carbon payments is changing that funding mix because we can get money from carbon throughout the trees’ growth cycle. That has enabled us to offset some of those funding calls and I am working on a package now that will enable all periodic calls to be offset.” Nicola says that investors also get to claim the forestry input costs in their tax returns in the early part of their investment. “There are also a lot of social, climatic and environmental benefits from forestry as well. Wood’s natural and sustainable attributes are starting to receive the social and political profile they deserve. We have also seen how forestry stabilises hill country from erosion.” In addition to the 20,000 hectares that Forest Enterprises manages for its own investors, there are a further 15,000 hectares of forestry land under management, predominantly for an international impact fund manager, along with woodlots for various authorities and farmers. Last year Forest Enterprises harvested and sold 1.1 million tonnes of logs, of which 750,000 was for its own investors, and this year there are plans to harvest and sell 850,000 tonnes of logs for its investors and a further 300,000 on behalf of others. “We always sell as much as we can into the domestic market, and we have very strong relationships with the local sawmills,” says Nicola. “Over time, the price that we get domestically equates to what we get internationally, so from a freight logistics perspective the more we can move locally the better. “Traditionally about twenty-five percent is sold to local sawmills, though it is a bit higher at the moment. The rest is sold to China, and we’re constantly looking at other markets.” Employing a total team of thirty staff — a fifty-fifty mix of investment administration/ legal/accounting professionals, and forestry professionals — the bulk of staff are headquartered in Masterton, with small satellite teams in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Kapiti. The forestry management professionals include experienced forestry engineers, geologists and environmentalists all focused on ensuring the best outcome throughout the forest lifecycle and overseeing mapping, silviculture, harvest planning, harvest management and logistics, the sale of logs and replanting. Nicola acknowledges that in addition to the technical side, a large component of forest management is building and maintaining stakeholder relationships with the regional councils, consenting bodies, forestry neighbours, iwi, and the contractor workforce that carries out the physical forestry operations. From pre-planting weed control, to silviculture, to road and skid construction, to logging and transportation, through to domestic and export log sales, Forest Enterprises works with a diverse contractor workforce to achieve the quality outcomes required by investors, to maximise returns. SPEIRS LOGGING PROUDLY SUPPORTING FOREST ENTERPRISES Blake Speirs 027 261 6604 Blake@speirslogging.co.nz Proudly supporting Forest Enterprises 027 225 4638 o ce@hptransport.co.nz
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