This is a discussion for those who own timberland or are considering buying timberland as an investment.
Working as both a REALTOR with rural property and a Registered Forester, I have a wide variety of experiences and I am attempting to convey those experiences to you. Please use the COMMENT section to ask any questions and ALSO make suggestions for any topic you would like to see addressed.
When managing a pine plantation, which is a very good timberland investment, thinning is a very important tool to maximize growth and consequently total return on investment. When thinning, the objective is to remove the inferior trees leaving more room to grow for the higher quality trees. The remaining trees will have more sunlight and available nutrients. It increases the vigor on the remaining trees and because they are more healthy, they are more resistance to disease and attacks from pine beetles. I recently inspected a harvesting operation on a property where I am working with the landowner to insure the thinning is implemented properly. Please take a look at the following short video clips and photos.
The photo shown below shows a loading deck where the logging contractor is almost finished in this area. You see the small piles of tops. He has pre-staged these tops so he can send them all as one load to the pulpwood mill. This shows a very efficient use of the resource.
The next photo shown below shows the trees as they are being sorted in the loading deck. The trees on the left in the foreground will be sold as small pine saw timber. The trees on the left in the rear will be sold as pine chip-n-saw and the trees and the right will be sold as pulpwood. A properly managed thin will provide for a healthy forest in the future. Proper separation and marketing of the various products will provide for maximum revenue to the landowner.
