Wenita Forest Products chief executive David Cormack says the forestry business wants to be part of its local communities. In recent years, there has been much rhetoric about forestry — particularly pine trees — and the impact on communities from the conversion of sheep and beef farms. But there was a mindset that it had to be one or the other — "farms or trees, you can’t have both" — and that was not correct. Wenita attended a community meeting between forestry and farming interests in Lawrence last year and Mr Cormack was pleased to see progress being made around communication. Wenita liked being part of the local community and its forests were widely used for all types of recreation.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 20, 2025 07:57 UTC