Big turnout for Oamaru meeting over large scale forest farm 5 May, 2021 02:45 AM 3 minutes to read By Sally Murphy of RNZ. More than 100 people showed up to a meeting in Oamaru last night to raise concerns about a large scale forest farm being developed in the area. A 2500 hectare sheep and beef farm at the headwaters of the Kakanui River has been bought by New Zealand Carbon Farming. The company establishes permanent forests to mitigate climate change through carbon credits. Advertisement Locals say the company already has one farm in the Waitaki region which is already showing adverse environmental affects. Natural resources engineer at environmental consultancy group Irricon Keri Johnston, who spoke at the meeting, said the community is not against forestry but just wants a better understanding of what is going on.