If productive farms keep being switched to forestry the snowball effect on Balclutha’s economy could be "disastrous", a local business has warned.
Clutha Vets is the district’s longest-running practice, founded in 1908, and owned by its 1800 farmer members.
Mr Moore said 24 local farms had been converted partially or fully to trees recently, creating a loss of 111,500 stock units, and a $432,000 reduction in spending with the practice, or 2% of revenue.
Extrapolated to the district’s businesses as a whole, that entailed a loss of $8.8million to Clutha’s economy each year.
If only 200 farms decided to convert to forestry, the effects on the district’s economy and social structure could be "disastrous", he said.
"To me it’s a disaster if the council sits back and does nothing, and leaves it in central government’s hands.
"Everything in Clutha depends on productive farms and the service economy that provides for them.
"Without that base, you get a shrinking economy, falling house and business values, people leaving and a snowball effect."
The attractiveness of forestry farming under the ETS meant there was a genuine risk of the worst-case scenario occurring.
Farmers could "double their money" by converting, he said.
Responding to the presentation, councillors were broadly supportive of Mr Moore’s concerns.
Cr John Herbert said while he understood his sentiments, landowners should be free to sell their land to the highest bidder without criticism.
Mr Moore pointed out a council should look after its ratepayers and, if selling, the landowners in question would no longer be ratepayers.
He called for the council to make a "strong public statement" calling for regulatory change to halt the issue in its tracks.
Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan said the council was already looking at its options in respect to the issue, and expected to clarify its position publicly later this year.
