Tasmanian foresters Roger and Outhay Poltock have been named as the 2016 National Tree Farmers of the Year at the Australian Forest Growers National Conference in Launceston
Australian Forest Growers president Dr Kevin Harding says the panel was very impressed with the high quality of applicants, but ultimately decided to pass the award to the Poltocks.
“In the end, the result was very close, but we are excited by the great work done on Roger and Outhay’s property and they are worthy winners,” he says.
The Poltocks’ 170ha property in Wilmot, Tasmania, is divided up for various uses – 50ha is forestry plantation, while the other 120ha is used for livestock grazing.
“The property is a wonderful example of how returns can be maximised by sustainably using different qualities of the land in a single holding for different purposes, in this case cattle grazing and forestry,” Harding says.
The highly contested award includes a cash prize of $5000 sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
The competition begins at a state level, and then proceeds to the Biennial National competition based on each state’s finalist nominations.
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Meanwhile, more developments in forestry have been taking place between Australia and China with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) being signed by Foresters Australia national president Rob de Fegely and Chinese Society of Forestry president Zhao Shucong.
Forestry Australia says the MOU is the first sign of real strength and maturity in the relationship.
“This MOU builds on the significant interaction between our members and provides an important vehicle for building the relationship as our economic ties grow,” De Fegely says.
“This MOU is a culmination of a number of years of relationship building between our two organisations, and the recent China-Australia Forestry Exchange Program has been the catalyst to develop a more formal and higher level relationship.
“It was fitting that the Chinese Forestry Society also signed MOUs with the Japan Forestry Society, the Korean Forestry Society and the Canadian Institute of Foresters at the same time.
“All countries are important trading partners of Australia and similarly have a long history in forest management and development,” De Fegely says.