Establishment
Land preparation prior to planting can include slash raking, ripping, crushing, cultivation, drainage, firebreaking, burning, scrub cutting, aerial spraying and oversowing.
Oversowing helps suppress aggressive weeds, adds nitrogen and helps protect the soil from erosion, especially on steeper slopes and stream banks.
Traditionally planting is carried out during the winter months (May to September) when rainfall levels are generally high and the trees are dormant and can best withstand the shock of transplanting.
Planting is done manually with strict quality controls for both the planting stock and the planting method.
Releasing is the term used for controlling weed growth immediately around the newly planted tree and is done using selective herbicides.
Blanking (filling in significant gaps arising from loss of seedlings) is a treatment carried out in the following planting season.
Silviculture
Pruning is the removal of the lower branches which if left produce knots, grain distortion, loss of strength and visual blemishes in the timber.
Pruning is carried out in three separate operations:
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1st Prune to approximately 2.8 metres at age 4 to 5
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2nd Prune to approximately 5.0 metres or 10cm internode at around age 6 to 7
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3rd Prune to approximately 6.5 metres at age 8
Thinning is the removal of a proportion of the stand’s trees to allow the remaining trees better growing conditions with reduced competition for sunlight, water and soil nutrients. In selecting trees for removal the first priority is dominant malformed trees then suppressed or sub-dominant trees. Thinning is carried out anywhere between age nine and 14 depending on the stocking.
Production thinning is when the thinned stems are extracted to be used for pulp production and yields approximately 100 tonnes per hectare.
Fertilising is rarely necessary and is only carried out in areas deficient in essential mineral nutrients. Nitrogen, phosphorus and boron are the main chemical elements that need remedying.
Forest grazing with sheep and cattle reduces fire danger and controls some weeds. Also, grazing benefits neighbouring farms by providing supplementary feed for their stock.
Forest Security
Plant and Animal Pests
Pan Pac complies with the strict requirements of the Hawke‘s Bay Regional Council‘s Pest Management Strategy regarding the control of animal and plant pests. Pest control contractors are employed for the control of possums, goats, rabbits and hares.
An example of a plant pest is wilding contorta pine, which is of particular concern in the Kaweka area. Pan Pac aims to prevent, to the best of its ability, the spread of wilding trees into natural areas from within its plantation boundaries. Other plant pests requiring control are defined by the Regional Council.
Fire
Pan Pac is a key stakeholder in the Bay Forests Rural Fire District (BFRFD). The BFRFD was set up to protect the major forest areas in Hawke’s Bay from fire.
Pan Pac forestry staff follow the Fire Plan provided by the Bay Forests Rural Fire District.
Both staff and contract personnel are trained in fire prevention and suppression and fire safely.
Forest Engineering
Forest Engineering encompasses both harvest planning and forest earthworks or roading.
Harvest planning involves the gathering and analysis of information to decide on the best way to harvest an area. Key factors in decision-making are safety, protection of environmental values, the roading infrastructure and productivity.
Harvest plans are developed for all stands due for logging following analysis and considerable field verification. Appropriate harvest systems are prescribed which address identified risks while optimising productivity.
Earthworks involve the construction and maintenance of roads, landings, tracks, stream crossings, firebreaks and land preparation operations.
Roads, landings and logging earthworks are potentially the greatest source of sediment into waterways and hence strict guidelines are adhered to in order to minimise any adverse effects on the environment.
Most road metal is obtained from forest metal pits involving surface quarrying and the extraction of river metal for use within the forest. Road metal for woodlot harvesting is generally obtained from the nearest available private source.
All Pan Pac’s forest roading is carried out by one principal contractor who employs about 30 people, mainly machine operators.
Harvesting
Harvesting or logging is the felling, extraction, processing and stockpiling of trees and logs.
The decision to use groundbased log extraction by skidder, tractor or excavator, or cable logging by highlead or skyline machines, is based on the topography and potential environmental impact on streams, wetlands, lakes or other sensitive sites. Each individual harvest setting is assessed taking into account environmental and safety considerations and productivity.
Cable logging operations represent 70% of all log extraction.
Forest harvesting is carried out by several contractors running 18 or more crews which requires over 180 harvesting workers.
Log Cartage
Log cartage is carried out by 112 operators.
Log cartage operators are required to follow the procedures set out in the Forest’s Operations Handbook. In addition to safety, issues such as travelling on urban roads are covered.
All trucks display an 0800 number sign on the rear of their trailer inviting members of the public to telephone with compliments or complaints. A database is kept of all calls made and reported at monthly Safety and Health Committee meetings.
Log cartage drivers are also required to follow the guidelines for fuel use and storage which aim to use fuels efficiently while minimising waste and any potential adverse environmental effects.
The Log Yard
Within the Pan Pac mill site the log yard occupies 3.1 hectares. The function of the log yard is to receive and store logs in appropriate bays for use by the various production units as required. The bays are allocated on the basis of grade and length and the logs fed to production on a first-in-first-out basis.
Average log stock held is 15,000 tonnes, enough to supply the sawmill and chip mill for three to four days. Higher stocks are held in winter or when bad weather causes reduced supply. Traditionally, log supply is built up for holiday breaks when logging may stop while the mills continue operation.
Port and Shipping Operations
Logs are delivered to a marshalling company at the Port of Napier where they are individually scaled and ticketed. Scaling is the process of physically measuring logs to obtain volumetric and quality information.
From here logs become individual units rather than truck load units. The logs are stored in the Port of Napier log yard in rows, by grade, in lots in preparation for shipment to overseas customers.
Chips are delivered to the Port of Napier in trucks after the truck loads have been weighed and quality tested. The chips will then be unloaded into one well mixed chip heap, ready for export.
Loading onto ships is carried out by either one of two local stevedoring companies.
Quality
Pan Pac Forest Products quality management ensures that the Company’s products and services conform to the customers’ requirements and expectations.
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