I just received this great email from my friend and blackwood grower Gilles which I couldn’t resist turning into a blog.
I like good news stories!
And yes…it’s another story from New Zealand.
Hi Gordon,
I just got back from a 3 weeks trip in New Zealand , originally it was a meant to be just a vacation with some friends but after a week I ended up travelling on my own and i soon found myself on a farm near Kaitaia in the Northland, guest of Brian and Gaye Simms ( they are friends of a friend of mine who sent me there ).
As I got there we were soon talking blackwoods and Brian ask me if I knew you …
I was so lucky to spend 4 days with them and look very closely at his 40 years work on his farm, planting natives and of course blackwoods to create windbreaks and stabilise the hills … an impressive result !
What a great example of what needs to be done on most farms to improve the production and create an asset that, in his case, he is able to start harvesting.
Here are some photos I took last week:
I hope Brian posts some stories of his experiences as he begins his first blackwood harvesting.
Here’s a video of Brian talking about his farm and his trees produced by the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association:
Keep up the great work Brian.
Thanks to Gilles for the inspiration and photos.
Tasmanian Blackwood Growers Cooperative 