58 | FORESTRY Southland Forest Services T T Hugh de Lacy Twin businesses built on initiative Southland Forest Services has ridden out the global forestry downturn with year-round contracts for two of the biggest forest owners in Southland. “We’ve been very fortunate at Southland Forest Services Ltd to secure contracts with both Matariki Forests and Southwood Exports for silviculture work 12 months of the year.” Possum-trapping as a youngster led Toby Haliday into pest control when he grew up, and then into silviculture, and the creation of his two companies, NZ Conservation Services and Southland Forest Services. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, Toby spent a few years driving tractors in Australia before coming home and stumbling into pest control, something he was familiar with having made pocket-money as a kid selling possum fur for $60/kg. “A mate had asked me to join a pest control company in Hawke’s Bay doing possum-control work under the TBfree and OSPRI programmes, and that’s how I got started,” Toby says. Then he met his wife-to-be, Sam, and a trip to Southland sold them on that region so much that they moved there, Toby chasing possums for skins and pet food, while Sam kept them financially afloat working as a nurse. Toby’s break came when a chance call to Environment Southland led to his taking over a vacant pest control contract. He set up NZ Conservation Services in 2018 and hired full-time employees and subcontractors, when just as things seemed to be going well and he was building a name for himself in pest control, Covid came along. So Toby began eco-sourcing native plant seeds and offering riparian planting services through the company, resulting in his picking up a contract to complete the planting on Southland’s Charlton-Waimumu Riparian Project. While the pest control business grew from there, Toby saw an opportunity for silviculture planting, thinning, pruning and plotting work, so in 2023 Southland Forest Services Ltd was born. Toby hired a general manager for the silviculture business, Jimmy Sycamore, on a promise of a 15% shareholding in the company if Jimmy met key performance indicators. Jimmy did – and then some. “He blew it out of the water, got his 15% in March 2024 and has 20 staff working with him, all of them either fully qualified or undergoing training,” Toby says. Besides Jimmy, a great staff and appreciative clients, Toby is fortunate to have Sam in charge of the companies’ books, and she supports and encourages him. Toby’s Southland Forest Services has ridden out the global forestry downturn with yearround contracts for two of the biggest forest owners in Southland, and seasonal work for other major companies. “We’ve been very fortunate at Southland Forest Services Ltd to secure contracts with both Matariki Forests and Southwood Exports for silviculture work 12 months of the year, and we’ve got other steady work with John Cleverly designed solutions to trap smarter, not harder. Smart Swift, clean kills with an A-class rating from NAWAC. Humane control for people, pets, and nature. Toxin-free NOW Available at Turkington Ltd and Forest360,” Toby says. “Between Matariki Forests and Southwood Exports alone, we are incredibly grateful to be able to field 10 full-time staff in secure work with great clients at a time that is crucial for a young business’s survival. “Those companies have been fantastic to work for, and the contracts reflect the quality of work we’ve done for them.” The two companies have 30 staff between them, with Southland Forest Services Ltd based in Otautau and NZ Conservation Services in Winton.
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