Northland Regional Council offers planting grants to help you increase the number of poplars and willows you can plant.

If you need help to plant poles or wands for erosion control, NRC has funding available to subsidise the cost of hiring a contractor to help you get them in the ground.

The planting subsidy offers up to $7 per pole and $2 per wand. There’s no limit to how much you can apply for, although the total funding pool of $14,000 per year will be allocated fairly among applicants, so amounts will vary and are not set.

To qualify for the subsidy, you must be planting NRC poplars and/or willows provided for erosion control. The fund is available to those outside the Kaipara Harbour catchment area, as the Kaipara catchment is covered by the Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) programme. If your farm is in this area, please check the KMR website for details of funding you may be eligible for.

Senior Land Management Advisor Jenny Gillanders encourages farmers to take advantage of the planting subsidy alongside the subsidised prices NRC offers on its poplar and willow poles.

Requesting the planting subsidy is easy – when you place an order for NRC poles, you’ll be able to indicate whether you want the planting subsidy.

Pole orders for the 2024 planting season close at the end of April.

For more information, visit: www.nrc.govt.nz/poplars or contact a land management advisor on 0800 002 004 or email: [email protected]