Woodlots
USDA Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research Service
Office for Small-Scale Agriculture
At least 6 million people own woodlot parcels
averaging 40 to 50 acres in size that make up 33 percent of the
Nation's 348 million acres of private timberland. Many can improve
their land management. This factsheet is intended mainly for them
rather than for others who may want to try to get into the business.
Many newcomers are farmers who are planting
trees on more than 2 million acres under 10-year crop retirement
contracts with USDA. They start woodlots under the Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP), administered by the Agncultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service (ASCS) with assistance from cooperating
State foresters. Owners receive cost-share assistance from ASCS
and technical advice from the foresters on how to establish timber
stands on cropland.
There are other Federal aid programs, such
as the Forestry Incentives Program jointly administered by ASCS
and USDA's Forest Service, which helped 92,000 farmers with timber
management on nearly 3 million acres from 1975 through 1986.
The Forest Service (FS), working through
State programs, provides thousands of private landowners with
assistance annually for tree planting, seeding, timber stand improvement,
and other woodland activities. The FS also is helping to support
"Global ReLeaf," an American Forestry Association campaign
to urge U.S. residents to plant 100 million trees by 1992.
Some owners may want to improve their management
so as to boost timber production. Many others, however, favor
production not only of wood but of other goods and services...water,
wildlife, forage, esthetics, and recreation, including cross-country
skiing. Not so incidentally, they also help with fire protection
by way of fire lanes they maintain.
Management Lacking
Experts in the Forest Service and State
and industry forestry circles say most woodlot farmers don't fully
manage their operations. Their timber growth generally reaches
only 50 to 60 percent of potential.
Good timber management means getting each
acre to produce the maximum annual growth of trees spaced adequately
to maintain good form and quality. It also means regenerating
the stand to replace harvested trees.
According to many foresters, the most immediate
need in most private hardwood timber operations is for a timber
stand improvement cut, according to many foresters. Some State
universities and Cooperative Extension departments have published
booklets on timber stand improvement.
Several States have forestry officials who,
at no charge, will arrange visits by a forester who will suggest
plans for improvement of immediate and long-term commercial potential
of woodlands. Private commercial foresters may be called in for
more detailed plans and to oversee their proper execution.
The latter often work on the basis of a
percentage of sales.
Some State foresters will show owners how
to spot and mark trees that should be felled rather than left
growing. They can review a written contract with a logger hired
to harvest trees. Too many landowners have been defrauded and
had timber and woodland abused by failing to clarify arrangements.
Officials can give names of professional
foresters available for hire, as can the Association of Consulting
Foresters, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814. (Telephone:
301/530-6795)
Another source of information or help is
The American Tree Farmer, official magazine of The American Tree
Farm System, which has certified 65,000 tree farmers of 91 million
acres. The system is managed by the American Forest Council, 1250
Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20036. The magazine
goes 6 times a year to persons paying annual dues of $15.
The owner may learn from a State forester
how to protect water quality, how large a buffer to put between
the logging and a stream, where to locate skid roads, and how
to manage "slash" (trash) to avoid fires. Some States
require a portion of the sales dollar from logging be set aside
for slash management and reforestation. There may be forest practice
laws requiring inspection before, during, and after logging to
help insure replanting.
State foresters may tell of availability
of small, portable mills and other ways to maximize profits. They
may give written material and tell of workshops on timber management.
Such foresters may provide landowners with plans to achieve double
objectives, such as wildlife habitat improvement and increased
timber productivity. Usually these two objectives can be accomplished
together.
Without professional advice, improper logging
may occur that reduces not only beauty but the biologic diversity
of a forest by destroying essential wildlife habitat.
If a landowner can't locate the State forester,
he or she can contact the National Association of State Foresters
(NASF), comprised of the directors of State forestry agencies.
NASF is at Hall of the States, 444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Washington,
DC 20001. (Telephone: 202/624-5415)
Advice is available from the 33,500-member
National Woodland Owners Association. The NWOA is at 374 Maple
Avenue E, Suite 210, Vienna, VA 22180. (Telephone: 703/255-2700)
Formed by nonindustrial private woodland owners, the NWOA is independent
of the forest products industry and forestry agencies. For $15
a year, members receive 8 issues of the Woodland Report and 4
issues of the National Woodlands Magazine. NWOA can arrange for
a visit by a forester to a new member's location.
The Society of American Foresters (SAF),
5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814, lists help professionals
can provide:
- Inventory a forest to estimate its extent,
quality, and value;
- Reestablish trees on bare land;
- Improve protection from fire, insects,
and disease;
- Select timber for harvest;
- Help insure that timber is sold at a
fair price;
- Administer harvest activities to prevent
soil and remaining tree damage;
- Take advantage of financial incentives
and other help offered by public agencies, industrial firms, and
tax laws;
- Review the owner's tax situation.
Foresters sometimes specialize. A woodlot
owner should select one whose specialty matches the owner's objectives.
Best Prospects
Owners with already-established woodlots
often have immediate income potential. Sometimes, however, the
return covers decades. An example appeared in the Winter 1989
issue of The American Tree Farmer, in an item from President Nels
Hanson of the Washington Farm Forestry Association He reported
that when Lula and Vern Johnson bought their 40-acre Washington
farm for $102 an acre, it had a 6-acre patch of 40-year-old Douglas
fir. Between 1949 and 1987, as money was needed to clear and plant
under-stocked areas and to supplement their income, they logged
and thinned the stand. When the well-managed stand was sold to
the Weyerhaeuser Company in 1988, it had 660,000 board feet of
lumber. That high bidder paid the widow nearly $382 per thousand,
or $252,000. Not everyone can find a timber investment to match
that.
Benefits are available not only through
selling logs but also through wildlife or other outdoor recreation
projects. Information for the latter-such as developing hunting
leases-is available from many Extension Service specialists and
State and private foresters.
For those wanting to begin a long-term timber
growth project, unused areas along creeks or streams often are
excellent sites. Depending on the region (and advice from the
experts), hardwoods or conifers can be planted. The exact species
would depend on local growing conditions. As mentioned earlier,
State and Federal officials often offer not only advice but also
financial help in planting.
Woodlands along creek areas serve to filter
agricultural chemicals from the soil to prevent contamination
of the creek and watersheds below. Forested wetlands will become
more important over time in controlling farm runoff.
The years it takes to develop a woodlot
on idle land depends on the region.
The South produces salable lumber products
in 15 to 25 years. In the North and West it usually takes 30 to
50 years. In the South, final harvests usually take place in 30
to 40 years and in the North and West about 60 to 80 years. Fairly
intensive management is required to produce sawlogs in those timeframes.
A forester's services can be utilized to
help determine proper species for planting, thinning cycles, and
the right timing for a final harvest cut, not to mention reforestation
plans.
What About Alley Cropping?
In many States, tree farmers can farm more
than trees. One farmer plants potatoes in freshly logged areas.
Dr Gene Garrett, University of Missouri forestry professor, suggests
that in the Midwest, farmers plant Eastern black walnut trees
(Juglans Nigra) in rows about 10 feet apart and then do "alley cropping." Alley crops can include soybeans or
small grain or even vegetables.
In the South, a similar approach might be
used with pecan trees. Harvesting the wood as timber takes many
years, but in the meantime nut production can provide some income
in about a dozen years.
Printed Information
There are many publications and books that
a potential woodlot owner can consult. One fairly universally
accepted is "The Woodland Steward," by James R. Fazio.
A copy may be obtained for $15.55 (including postage) from the
American Forestry Association, P.O. Box 2000, Washington, DC 20013.
USDA's Forest Service publishes Agriculture
Handbook No.681, "Forest Owners' Guide to Timber Investments,
the Federal Income Tax, and Tax Record-keeping," last issued
in July 1989. It includes forms for recording timber transactions.
A copy may be obtained for $5 from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325.
West Virginia University's Agricultural
and Forestry Experiment Station published a 55-page Circular 148,
"How to Estimate the Value of Timber in Your Woodlot," by Professor Harry V. Wiant, Jr. He also explains how owners often
lose thousands of dollars by cutting too soon. A copy may be obtained
by writing to Mrs. Mildred Spangler, Communications Bldg., West
Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506.
Prepared by Jared D. Wolfe of USDA's
Forest Service and George B. Holcomb of the Office of Public Affairs,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, for USDA's Office for Small-Scale
Agriculture (Howard W. "Bud" Kerr, Jr., Program Director).
The address is: Office for Small-Scale Agriculture, Cooperative
State Research Service, Room 342-D, Aerospace Building, USDA,
Washington, DC 20251-2200. (Telephone: 202/447-3640)
Mention of commercial enterprises
or brand names does not constitute endorsement or imply preference
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
March 1990
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