Forest Growers Research Ltd (FGR)

At FGR we rely heavily on the skills and experience of our colleagues at Scion to deliver impact to the forestry sector and New Zealand as a whole. Thank you team!

Our FGR Weapons of Grass Destruction diligently practising for the business house golf competition next week - wish them luck! Keeping up the hydration with sparkling water in those bottles...🏌️♀️😉

Great resources here to help realise benefits from research. Fantastic work from the Impact Planning & Evaluation Network.

Well said Roger Dungan. 2030 has been a significant date for a long time. It is very confronting for us all that it is little more than 5 years away. The article is very balanced - unlike its highly misleading title…

Today, we took a break to race each other down the luge and reflect on what has been a big and exciting year for us at FGR. This journey wouldn't have been possible without the support of our partners. Thank you for being with us every step of the way. Here's to an even more amazing 2025! We will be taking a break with our office closed from Friday December 20th and back on deck Monday January 6th.

These instruments can see things we don’t even know what to look for…

Integrating timber trees with pasture creates a harmonious #silvopastural system: a sustainable solution that provides shade for livestock, enhances soil health, and generates dual income streams - here is an example from New Zealand #diversifying land with Poplars, Oaks, Cypress, #Kauri, Puriri (#native trees) with Scottish highland cattle. This system also contributes to #climate #mitigation through carbon sequestration and resilient ecosystem. This is part of the ongoing research of the #ResilientForestProgramme by Scion funded by Forest Growers Research Ltd (FGR)

Growers in Basque Country, Spain, have been experiencing a severe outbreak of pine needle diseases, particularly brown spot needle blight (BSNB) – also known as Lecanosticta acicola – which has affected more than half of the radiata pine estate in the last six years. A significant (~40%) decline in radiata pine has occurred, with many growers opting not to replant radiata pine again in the future. Forest health and biosecurity experts from Australia and New Zealand visited the Basque Country in November to see firsthand the threat that BSNB could pose to their own softwood forest sectors. The delegation observed the widespread impact of the needle disease on forest health, the Basque economy, jobs, communities, and people dependent on forestry. They learned about the impact of the disease, particularly on small forest owners, and the challenges in managing BSNB due to regulations and limited alternative tools available to the sector. The visit presented an opportunity to discuss current and future collaboration with European industry representatives and researchers. A significant opportunity exists to participate in large-scale European tree species trials looking at resilience to climate change effects, pests, and diseases. There are now plans to work with the Australian and New Zealand governments and forest owners on a biosecurity strategy for radiata pine. The strategy will focus on research priorities, improving surveillance and diagnostics, and creating new tools to address biosecurity threats.

Are you passionate about innovative forestry solutions and climate-positive practices? Do you want an opportunity to showcase your impactful research and work on a global stage? The New Zealand Forest Owners Association is now seeking applications for the New Zealand segment of the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA). 🎓 Blue Sky Young Researchers Innovation Awards  Open to students and researchers, this award celebrates groundbreaking work in forest-based science and innovation. 💼 Blue Sky PRO Young Professionals Innovation Awards  This new award category recognises early-career professionals who have delivered impactful, market-ready projects in forestry, conservation or the bioindustry. Both awards offer a unique opportunity to showcase your work and connect with industry leaders. Two NZ candidates will advance to the global competition, with winners presenting at the ICFPA CEO Global Roundtable in New York City in May 2025. 📅 Deadline: Monday, 9 December 2024 📩 Find out more and apply now by emailing admin@fglt.org.nz. 🌲 Let’s showcase the innovation happening in the NZ forest sector! #innovation #forestry

Ask FGR is live! Check it out at https://fgr.nz/ask-fgr/ Ask FGR is an AI assistant designed to help users easily access information from research under the FGR umbrella. Gone are the days of entering keywords, downloading reports, and sifting through them to find what you need. With Ask FGR, you can simply ask a question on any subject related to our research, and Ask FGR will provide you with a concise, tailored response, complete with references to the source of the information. The power behind Ask FGR lies in its use of the Gen AI platform Caitlyn. Caitlyn combines the text generation capabilities of a large language model (LLM) with the precision of a search engine, a technique known as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). Caitlyn has been specifically trained on the publicly available reports on FGR’s website. This ensures that the responses are accurate and tailored to the specific questions you ask. This approach significantly reduces the likelihood of AI hallucinations, where the model might produce incorrect or nonsensical responses. At the moment, the tool only covers information related to specialty species. Given that there are around 2,500 reports on the FGR website, it will take a few more months to complete the process of integrating all the information. #GenAI #Innovation Custom D Ltd