# Economics of small scale tree farming



## webbie (Mar 15, 2008)

Maybe Eric can weigh in on this one.

Just visited my sister in northern FL, and a lot of land is for sale around there. Pretty cheap - flat and fertile, and a lot of folks do small scale pine tree farming. 

Based on the look of the stands - close together and small diameter, I would assume they are harvested small and used for pulp or chemicals and pulp....not lumber.

They also harvest the pine needles underneath and sell it for mulch, etc.

My question is about the economics of this. As a for instance, a small 20 acre plot of this type of tree in an area like N. Florida (fast growth!). It appears there is no cost after the trees are planted other than the harvesting of the mulch and eventually the trees.


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## MALogger (Mar 15, 2008)

Here is a good paper from the US forest Service on southern pine plantations.
http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_stanturf007.pdf

20 acres might be to small to realize much timber value. To attract buyers for timber especially for a low value product such as pulp a logging contractor must have enough volume to make it worth while to move equipment and do the job.  Hope that points you in the right direction, there is a lot of great info that can be found on the forest service web site.

Craig


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## webbie (Mar 15, 2008)

Thanks!
Since the whole area have a lot of tree farms, mostly in the 10-200 acre size, I assume the equipment operators line up a few jobs at once to harvest and then just roll a 1/4 mile down the road or whatever. I will do some more reading.

Not looking to make $$ at it, just for my own interest and in case I decide to invest in any land....we would get lower taxes by tree farming and maybe even a little income to pay the property taxes. I will also ask my sister to talk to some locals at in the town (population= 300) and see if they have any rules of thumb.


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## hilly (Mar 15, 2008)

Around here properties of that size are used as Christmas tree farms, but I guess the pruning would a lot of extra work.


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## webbie (Mar 15, 2008)

It looks like 8 ton per acre per year.......

So that would be 160 tons of pulp wood per year on a 20 acre plot....


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## jebatty (Mar 15, 2008)

Don't  know much about southern tree farming, but I do know quite a bit about tree farming in the north, particularly MN. I understand that the southern yellow pine and some of the other southern species are fast growing and the needles can be harvested for mulch. Maybe in a few years you even can grow kelp on those Fl flats. Things are a lot different in MN. I have a 250 ac tree farm which keeps me busy and is an investment for the future, unless climate change, drought, exotic insects, and forest fire screw it up.


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## renewablejohn (Mar 15, 2008)

In uk if you grow 300 acre of willow coppice this would be sufficient timber to supply a 300kw combined heat and power station harvesting 100 acres per year.


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## Redox (Mar 16, 2008)

Grow dope!  The profits should more than pay for anything else you want to do! :cheese:


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## pbvermont (Mar 16, 2008)

Either illegal  dope or its twin, commercial hemp may be a way more cost effective (IF FL allows it) agricultural product than softwood.
Keep in mind Craig that monocropping trees(or anything for that matter) is quite chemical intensive (fertilizer, pesticide).  I have a neighbor who does Xmas trees and boy, was it an eye-opener when I saw how he grows.  "Green" is not a word that would descibe the operation.
  Look into permaculture.


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## webbie (Mar 16, 2008)

Good point - I wonder if this relatively fertile ground needs a lot of additives to grown those pines. Some coastal acid soils seem to grow 'em without much added......there is plenty of cow and horse poop around there, but I would not want to add vast quantities of chemicals. Since I would not be driven to "maximize" profit, I would also take it easier on the soil.


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## renewablejohn (Mar 16, 2008)

miscanthus is good. you have to kill off the perennial grasses to start with but after that plant it, forget it,then harvest once a year for 20 years. no chemicals no fertiliser just 20 tonnes of biomass heat energy per acre.


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