Up to a million hectares of productive pastoral land could be lost to forestry by 2050 even under the government’s current restrictions, Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) chair Kate Acland says.

B+LNZ has tracked whole-farm sales for conversion since 2017, and another 30,000ha has been added since its mid-2025 update.

“That’s 330,000 hectares of whole farms that have been bought for conversion to forestry since 2017,” Acland says.

She wants native planting elevated over pine.

“I think we need to elevate the role of natives… right for right place, which is something we’ve all been saying for a really long time, but we need to really start living that.”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.