54 | Land lost to trees a growing concern As well as High Glades geographic, the Gower’s are also leasing a 750ha block. Sue Russell It has been nearly two years since we last spoke with King Country farmers Scott and Robyn Gower, who operate High Glades, a 1300 ha hill country sheep and beef property in Ohura. With the infamous Forgotten World Highway, that links Taranaki to Taumarunui in the central North Island close by, High Glades pretty much feels like its as far away from the hustle and bustle of towns and cities as its possible to be. As well as High Glades geographic, the Gower’s are also leasing a 750ha block, about half an hours drive away which they are using for grazing empty beef and dairy cows on, until it is planted in pine trees from an overseas buyer, who has bought this block plus other farms in the district. The reality that more and more land is being lost to forestry is an issue Scott struggles with. “It doesn’t matter who you speak to at the moment tree growing is a concern,” says Scott. The greatest concerns stem from a lack of really thinking through the implications of large-scale forestry. While conventional farming systems, such as dairy, sheep and beef, traditionally support and enable a whole community, forestry doesn’t work the same way. Once trees are planted, there isn’t a constant presence on the land of people working on it. This, over time, impacts rural communities, with resources and services closing as people move out of the district. “It’s certainly something that at an agriculture organisational level we are concerned about.” Scott is in his fourth year on Beef + Lamb’s board. He is a keen supporter of farmer-owned co-operatives and industry lead organisations such as Federated Farmers, Dairy NZ and Beef + Lamb, seeing them as the most productive way to advocate for farmers on regulations spanning a whole raft of environmental issues impacting the agricultural sectors today. The team meet every six weeks and are bound by a common concern for the proliferation of unworkable regulations and the broad brush approach taken by environmental agencies such as regional councils. “We all want to see gain in environmental outcomes, but they have to be achieved in measured, practical and relevant ways that farmers can actually achieve. It’s the feeling that the goal-posts keep shifting that is very disheartening to constantly be experiencing.” And when the agriculture sectors begin to RURAL PEOPLE » Scott Gower experience pain, Scott says, it always trickles through to urban centres. “We need to find a collaborative understanding that we may be sitting on opposite sides of the fence but actually we are all in this together and the only way forward is not to clobber the While conventional farming systems, such as dairy, sheep and beef, traditionally support and enable a whole community, forestry doesn’t work the same way. Limited 168 Totara St, Manunui 3924 Ph 07 895 8492 • Mobile 027 418 670 info@ongaruetransport.co.nz Proud to be associated with Scott Gower i i farmer, thinking that those living in urban centres are somehow separate. That’s where I see the future challenges and the future solutions.” High Glades farm is part of a family farming business comprising over 60,000 sheep and beef stock units. Scott’s father, now in his mid80’s is still farming in the district. “He has spent his entire life improving the land and I know he finds it really tough to see the changing nature of land uses in the district.”
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