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FICA E-newsletter - October 2026

What has FICA delivered for members this month? Contractor capability building: Workshop with Garth Beker focusing on finance, sustainability and succession issues FSC Living Wage clarity: Helping contractors and forest managers understand their obligations and reduce compliance uncertaintyTairāwhiti contractor advocacy: key meeting between contractors and foresty Minister Todd McClay 12 October CFG forest manager transition support for contractors: helping maintain dialogue...

Forestry Gets Broad Political Support Ahead of Election

With the election campaign beginning to take shape, the NZFOA Election Year Forestry Panel provided a valuable opportunity to hear directly from political parties on the future of forestry in New Zealand. The panel brought together representatives from across the political spectrum, including Todd McClay, Mark Patterson, Simon Court, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel and Steve Abel to discuss issues ranging from land use and environmental regulation through to wood processing, infrastructure, workforce dev...

Advocacy Starts With a Conversation

Sometimes the most important advocacy opportunities are the ones we don't plan.Over the past few months, forestry contractors in Tairāwhiti have played an active role in discussions with Government, regulators and review panels about the future of forestry in the region. Through FICA's engagement with the Independent Assurance Review led by Hon Chris Finlayson KC, contractors had the opportunity to speak directly about the realities of operating on the ground, including the need for practical r...

Silviculture Takes Centre Stage at the NWC Forestry Awards

FICA is delighted to congratulate Joel Neumann-Niha and the team at Niha Contracting Ltd on winning the Northland Wood Council (NWC) Crew of the Year Award. Their success is particularly pleasing because it highlights a part of the industry that often works out of the spotlight. While harvesting crews are frequently the public face of forestry operations, silviculture crews are the foundation of the future forest.Based in the Pipiwai area of Whangārei, Niha Contracting Ltd has built a strong re...

Tower Modifications: Have Your Say on Proposed Changes to the Yarder Inspection Best Practice Guide

When a cable yarder has been operating for 20, 30 or even 40 years, modifications are inevitable. Engines are repowered, control systems upgraded, brakes replaced, hydraulics improved and, occasionally, structural changes are made. The question is not whether modifications will occur, but how we ensure they are undertaken safely, consistently and with appropriate oversight.That issue was one of the key topics discussed at the recent Forestry Tower Inspectors Workshop, attended by almost every ac...

Market Update - October 2026

October has delivered some welcome improvement for the forestry sector. Export log prices lifted during the month, supported by a weaker New Zealand dollar, improving Chinese manufacturing activity, and healthy log demand through Chinese ports.For contractors, the key message is that harvest activity remains strong, with national harvest volumes running ahead of last year. This should help support work programmes as we move into the summer season.However, profitability remains under pressure. Fu...

Safety, Productivity and Procurement: The Message Forestry Can't Ignore

Released in September, the State of a Thriving Nation 2025 report from the Business Leaders' Health and Safety Forum provides some timely lessons for New Zealand forestry. The Forum represents more than 440 business and government leaders and publishes the report annually to assess New Zealand's health, safety and wellbeing performance. Forestry is identified as one of New Zealand's highest-risk industries, but the report's most important message is not that we need more compliance. Instead, it ...

HarvestTECH 2026: Extra Value for FICA Members

FICA members can now access an extended Early Bird discount for HarvestTECH 2026 (inc. Wood Transport & Logistics).HarvestTECH remains one of the industry's premier events, bringing together harvesting, transport, logistics and forestry leaders to explore practical solutions for improving productivity, safety and business performance.To build on these discussions, FICA will host a Productivity Workshop on 11 November following the conference. The workshop continues the work developed through...

Contractors Join Ministerial Forestry Lunch in Tairawhiti

A number of FICA contractor members were invited to attend an industry lunch with Minister McClay in Gisborne on 12 October. The event was hosted by the Eastland Wood Council, bringing together industry leaders to provide an update on the forestry sector in Tairāwhiti and discuss key issues affecting the region.While FICA is not a member of the Eastland Wood Council, the invitation reflected the strong working relationship between the two organisations and the important role contractors play in...

Who's Paying for the FSC Living Wage Increase?

On 1 September, the Living Wage increased to $29.90 per hour.If you're an FSC-certified forest manager or contractor engaged by an FSC-certified forest manager, that's not just a wage increase. It's an FSC compliance issue.Many people assume Living Wage compliance is the contractor's responsibility.It's not.FSC requires workers to be paid the Living Wage (or a recognised industry wage agreement), requires Living Wage costs to be built into contract pricing, and requires organisations to verify c...

Neutral territory, invaluable insight

An exclusive one-day FICA workshop designed specifically for forestry contractors brought together a combined industry experience of over 150 years in Taupo recently.Facilitated by Garth Beker (BFA), other speakers included Paul Gwynn (CrediFlex), Mike Fraser (Fraser Logging) and Ken Holmes.The session which involved 10 contracting businesses, was about stepping away from the day-to-day, and challenging how each contractor currently thinks about their business, their goals and what they want the...

FICA Logger Mag - October 2026

Want to listen to our FICA Logger Mag updates instead of reading them? Here's how:1. Update your settings (phones / tablets) or install this free audio reader extension (desktop / laptop):a. iPhone: To use the built-in text-to-speech feature on your iPhone, go to:Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content and enable "Speak Selection" or "Speak Screen" to have the iPhone read selected text or the entire screen aloud, respectively.b. Samsung: To activate and customize the text-to-sp...

FICA E-newsletter - September 2026

What has FICA delivered this month? WOMEN IN FORESTRY – BUILDING STRONGER CONNECTIONSFICA supported the Women in Forestry event in Nelson, bringing people together from Northland, Tairāwhiti, Central North Island, Canterbury and Nelson/Tasman.The event created an opportunity to connect, share ideas and see firsthand how forest owners and contractors are working together following the Tasman windthrow events.Stronger networks across the people supporting forestry businesses help improve capabi...

Looking After the People Behind the Business

One of the more unexpected findings from FICA's 2026 Financial Health Survey was the level of interest in wellbeing and mental health support. 40% of respondents said they would be interested in wellbeing initiatives, while a further 27% said they might be interested. Combined, that means more than two-thirds of respondents are open to some form of support.At first glance, this result may seem surprising. In previous FICA member surveys, mental health and wellbeing have generally ranked below ot...

Productivity Through Partnership: Industry Comes Together to Focus on Performance

More than 50 forestry industry participants gathered in Nelson recently for the latest Productivity Workshop delivered through the collaboration between FICA and the University of Canterbury. With an even mix of approximately 50% contractors and 50% forest managers, the workshop provided a valuable opportunity to explore how the forestry sector can improve productivity, profitability and long-term sustainability.The strong turnout reflected the importance of productivity as a key issue for the i...

Looking at things from a new angle

Women in Forestry from Northland, Tairawhiti, Central North Island, Canterbury and Nelson/Tasman came together in Nelson 26-28 August, to connect, learn and see firsthand how forest owners and contractors are innovatively working together following Tasman windblow events.    In July 2025, a severe storm knocked down about 5,800 hectares of trees in the Tasman region, then a second storm in October 2025 saw another 1,681 hectares fall.As with all windthrow events, from an economic ...

Supporting Investment in Forestry’s Future

FICA will be supporting several funding applications in the 2027 Forest Growers Levy Trust round that align with key priorities identified by contractors and the wider forestry sector.Working alongside FOA and industry partners, FICA's focus is on initiatives that improve productivity, workforce capability, training outcomes and operational efficiency.Key projects include:Ongoing funding for the University of Canterbury Harvesting Benchmarking Report, providing the industry with valuable data on...

Contractor Voice in Tairawhiti

Forestry contractors have been actively engaged in recent Government initiatives aimed at addressing forestry consenting, compliance and land use issues in Tairāwhiti, ensuring the practical realities faced by contractors are part of the discussion. Representatives from FICA and local contractors recently met with the Independent Assurance Review Panel chaired by Hon Chris Finlayson KC, as well as with Doug Leeder, who has been appointed by Government to facilitate discussions across the sector...

FICA and FOA Joint Board Meeting

FICA and the FOA Executive met on 9 September for a positive and constructive joint Board meeting, providing an opportunity to discuss key issues facing New Zealand's forestry sector.A major focus of the meeting was FICA's presentation of the Contractor Financial Health Survey, which gave FOA representatives valuable insight into the financial challenges and opportunities facing forestry contracting businesses. The discussion reinforced the importance of a sustainable and profitable contractor s...

Successful Tower Inspectors Workshop

A Tower Inspectors Workshop brought together virtually all active tower inspectors, along with representatives from CBIP, WorkSafe, ThinkSafe and Safetree. Hosted by FICA in Wellington it aimed to improve safety, make the tower certification process easier and more efficient for forestry contractors.FICA’s role is to bring inspectors, contractors and industry stakeholders together. The focus is on making the process more efficient, reducing uncertainty and ensuring certification...

Market Update - September 2026

September has brought a mixed picture for the forestry sector, with seasonal weather disruptions affecting harvest activity in some regions while export log markets continue to show signs of resilience. Log prices remain remarkably stable, although elevated freight costs and ongoing uncertainty around the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) continue to influence sentiment across the industry.Export Market Showing Signs of ImprovementChina remains New Zealand's dominant export log market and there are...

FICA Logger Mag - September 2026

Want to listen to our FICA Logger Mag updates instead of reading them? Here's how:1. Update your settings (phones / tablets) or install this free audio reader extension (desktop / laptop):a. iPhone: To use the built-in text-to-speech feature on your iPhone, go to:Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content and enable "Speak Selection" or "Speak Screen" to have the iPhone read selected text or the entire screen aloud, respectively.b. Samsung: To activate and customize the text-to-sp...

Forestry sector backs independent facilitator for Tairāwhiti

The New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA), Eastland Wood Council (EWC), Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) and Ngāti Porou Forests have jointly backed the Government’s decision to appoint Doug Leeder as an independent facilitator to support land transition and long-term forestry management in Tairāwhiti.NZFOA Chief Executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says the appointment provides an opportunity to make progress on difficult questions around land use, woody debris and forestry-rel...

FICA E-newsletter - August 2026

WHAT HAS FICA DELIVERED FOR MEMBERS THIS MONTH? Tairāwhiti contractor issues taken forwardMet directly with contractors around consenting, compliance and wider supply-chain issues affecting productivity.Better return-to-work supportCarePass and Telehealth pilot approved, giving participating contractors better access to medical and return-to-work support.Stronger contractor financial evidenceThe Financial Health Survey is giving FICA real data to support contractor advocacy.Forestry keeps ...

Tairawhiti – Productivity is bigger than the Crew 

Tony Hill of Hill Logging picked me up at 6:00am for a visit to his steep country winch-assist (SWY) operation east of Mangatu Forest. Many readers will know Tony through his role as NZ Logger Magazine's "Iron Tester".Tony comes from a logging family originally based in Tokoroa. When his father's contract ended, the family relocated to Tairāwhiti and Tony has spent much of his career on the East Coast, most recently working for Ricky Kuru before establishing his own business. Like many contract...