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Behind the sign of good forestry |
Have you heard the story of the Missouri Tree Farmer who doubles
the price he received for an easement across his land because he
had planted cedar trees on it? Or did you hear about another
Tree Farmer who received 11 times as much for his timber as he was
offered because he contacted his Missouri Tree Farm Program forester?
All true and fairly common stories often shared among Missouri's
most overlooked group of farmers and land stewards--the tree Farmers.
And it also is true that this group of farmers is one of the few
that is consistently increasing numbers and acres instead of decreasing
as is the case with most traditional farm commodity groups.
Missouri now has more than a thousand Certified Tree Farms and
has increased most every year since its inception in 1949.
And like other farming groups they look to their state and national
organizations for help in solving production, marketing, environmental
and legislative problems. For the Tree Farmers, that organization
is the Missouri Tree Farm Program.
Whether the Tree Farmer is looking for help with producing or protecting
trees intended for sale or for conservation use, the Tree Farm Program
provides those valuable contacts.
For instance, in the case of the Tree Farmer selling the easement,
a utility company had condemnation rights to bury a large waterline
across his property. With the help of contacts in the Tree
Farm Program the landowner secured the assistance of a professional
consulting forester who made an appraisal of the natural and planted
trees that would be lost or damaged in construction. Because
of the forester's ability, the utility accepted his appraisal and
doubled the original offer. A major portion of the appraisal
was for a wind and noise barrier of cedar trees.
The second case of the Tree Farmer receiving 11 times the original
bid on his timber is so common that it's almost a matter of changing
the figures each time you hear it. In this case the landowner
had a tract of woods that he wanted to harvest timber from.
A log buyer he contacted offered his almost $5,000 for the standing
timber. After the landowner contacted a professional forester
through the Tree Farm Program, the timber was put up for bids to
several timber buyers and the top bid was a little more than $55,000.
Plus, the landowner still had some of his best young timber left
to grow into a even more valuable sale in about 10 or 15 years because
the forester helped him develop a long-range stewardship plan.
There are other stories. We like the one about the fellow
in western Missouri who was considering bulldozing about 35 acres
of "brushland" around his crop and livestock farm to make
room for a few more cows. When a neighboring Tree Farmer showed
him that those 35 acres of "brush" contained some harvestable
oak and some walnut, the landowner became interested. He really
showed an interest when a professional forester estimated the value
over the next 25 years of the remaining timber at more than $60,000
if the landowner would only do a little work now. The forester
also showed him how he could get a 75 percent cost share to hire
the timberstand improvement work done. That landowner now
is an active member of the Missouri Tree Farm Committee and has
planted some of his pastureland to trees.
The U.S. Forest Service estimates Missouri has nearly 14 million
forested acres, or nearly 30 percent of the state. Less than
half a million of these acres are being managed as a sustainable
crop. Do you own some of these acres? Are you missing
an opportunity and overlooking one of Missouri's most valuable crops?
| Why do you own a Tree Farm?
Missouri Tree Farmers were asked to rank from 1 (highest
priority) to 10 (lowest) why they owned a Tree Farm.
Compare with your own ownership priorities.
1. Best use of my land
2. I like to work with trees
3. To enhance wildlife
4. To preserve the forest
5. Improved the environment
6. Legacy for our children
7. To increase land value
8. For profit potential
9. To keep land in family
10. For retirement income
Most Missouri Tree Farmers say they combine at least
half of these reasons into their overall objectives. |
Who are
Missouri's Tree Farmers?
A profile of the "average" Missouri Tree
Farmer is almost meaningless because tree farming is such a personal
endeavor. However, an overall view of who is participating
may be valuable.
Missouri Tree Farms are not large by national standards.
Missouri Tree Farmers own an average of 307 acres each. That
ranges, of course, from as few as 10 acres to several thousand.
Nationally, the average is 1,264 acres.
A fairly large number of Missouri's Tree Farms, naturally,
are located in the southern part of the state because that's the
most forested region. The larger Tree Farms, especially, tend
to be located in the Ozarks counties. However, large numbers
of smaller and medium sized Tree Farms are scattered throughout
the state as more and more crop and livestock farmers and those
owning land for recreational purposes are recognizing the value
of their woodlands. Missouri's total acreage in the Tree Farm
Program is about 308,000.
On the national scene, it is not the western states
with their large forested acreages that lay claim to the most Tree
Farms, but the state of Mississippi with its many smaller landholdings.
Maine has the most acres in the Tree Farm System. Total number
of acres in the national Tree Farm System is nearly 87 million and
the number of Tree Farms totals nearly 68,500.
But it is in the differences that we find the commonality
of Missouri's Tree Farmers. In a recent survey they were asked
how important making a profit from the Tree Farm was. At least
63 percent of the Tree Farmers are expecting a profit from their
operations. Nearly 20 percent said they would accept a 1 to
3 percent net profit; another 20 percent wanted 4 to 6 percent profit
margins and 25 percent are looking for more than a 7 percent return
on investment.
Most Tree Farmers do not own their land for trees
alone. Nearly 90 percent said they would continue to own the
land even if they did not make a profit from the trees. It's
a nice bonus, however.
Another tie among Missouri's Tree Farmers is the practice
of timber stand improvement (TSI). Nearly 82 percent of the
cooperators have done some TSI which is the process of removing
those trees which do not fit the owner's economic or environmental
objectives. When asked what one thing they most needed to
do on their farms to achieve their goals, they overwhelmingly answered
-- timber stand improvement. Following that was "planting
more trees."
Only 50 percent of the Missouri Tree Farmers reported
having a timber sale. This suggests that many are still in
the early stages of developing their Tree Farms and also includes
those who own their woods for purposes other than harvest.
Time spent operating and managing a Tree Farm ranged
from almost none to full time. Average number of hours spent
by Missouri Tree Farmers actually working on or managing their trees
was 256 hours a year.
More than a half
century of Tree Farming
Officially, the Tree Farm Program had its birth on
June 12, 1941 in the state of Washington. On that date, Tree
Farm No. 1 was dedicated.
It was the result of Weyerhauser Timber Company wishing
to build better cooperation with the public. Heavy use of
their timberlands by hunters, fishermen, berry pickers and vacationers
posed a fire hazard to their timbers. The company appealed
to the public for cooperation and fire prevention.
Missouri did not become a cooperating member of the
national program until 1949. However, it had its own similar
program in place under the farm forestry program sponsored by the
Missouri Department of Conservation which began in the early '40s.
Missouri's roots in the Tree Farm System were extended
with the help of a preacher and a place called Shannondale.
In the late 1920s, the Rev. Paul A. Wobus traveled
into rural Ozark areas intent on developing rural churches.
The Shannondale Community Church in Shannon County, affiliated with
the Missouri Conference of the United Church of Christ was one such
congregation. When the Rev. Vincent Bucher arrived as Shannondale's
first pastor in the early 1930s, he took on the job of serving not
just the congregation but the rural community as well. Bucher
not only arranged for training in agricultural techniques, but also
made several working demonstrations, including a strawberry plantation,
raising milk goats, a co-op store and starting a pickle canning
operation.
By far the largest demonstration of land management
undertaken at Shannondale started in 1949. Most of the forest
in the area had been mismanaged. The timber industry had
been a major employer for local residents, but high-grading (taking
only the best timber), clearing and no attempt at regenerating the
forest had made it appear as a non-renewable resource. Farming
and grazing were the only remaining possibilities for using the
land.
A national fund drive raised enough money to purchase
a 4,080-acre tract of forest land. The hope was that through
the purchase, good silvicultural practices could be demonstrated
to local landowners.
In 1949, the Shannondale Farm Forest became certified
as the fourth Tree Farm in Missouri. It now holds the honor
of being the "oldest Tree Farm in Missouri," as the three
prior entries have exited the program for one reason or another.
Details
on The Missouri Tree Farm Program
A Tree Farm is forested land being managed for the
continuous and sustainable production of multiple products and benefits.
|
Who Sponsors the Tree
Farm Program? |
Nationally, the American Tree Farm System is
sponsored by the nation's forest industries through the American
Forest Foundation and endorsed by a number of public and private
organizations. In Missouri the Tree Farm Program is sponsored
by the Missouri Forest Products Association and supported by the
Missouri Department of Conservation.
However it is the Tree Farmers themselves who set
the direction and policy of the Missouri Tree Farm Program through
the Missouri State Tree Farm Committee.
Any private woodland owner with 10 or more acres willing
to develop and carry out a long-range management plan that meets
his or her objectives.
There are no fees or membership dues. The cost
is strictly up to the landowner in deciding how much investment
they wish to make in their individual operations.
The foremost benefit, of course, will be accomplishment
of the goals you set for your woodland. Add to that the following
list of benefits Tree Farm participants enjoy:
1. In addition to pride and management
advice, newly certified members receive a complimentary
issue of Tree Farmer magazine. This bi-monthly publication brings you
articles on production, taxation, legislation, people in the
industry, profitable management tips and marketing updates. Subscription
rates are $18 for one year and $32 for a two-year subscription.
2. Free subscription
(continuously) to Green Horizons newsletter.
This publication is a quarterly update on Missouri events and people
in the forest industry with special emphasis on management and how-to
articles. The newsletter is supported by an alliance of private
forest landowner groups in Missouri.
3. Free
Tree Farm sign which designates you and your farm as practicing
good forestry.
4. Management plan which
can be a major tool in helping you reach your objectives.
Your Tree Farm/Stewardship Plan also will open up opportunities
to make you eligible for many federal, state, and local cost-share
programs which can significantly reduce the cost of practices on
your farm. Up to 75 percent of the cost of such practices
as tree planting, fish and wildlife habitat development, fencing,
agroforestry development and professional forester consultation
is available.
5. Log market updates and information
on developing profit potential of other forest resources.
6. Annual
meetings at both the national and state levels. Opportunity
to visit with Tree Farmers from around the country at national meetings
held in a different state each year. Meet Missouri Tree Farmers
at the annual Tree Farm/Stewardship Days held in Columbia, Missouri
each winter.
7. Educational events
such as special seminars on production and taxation, numerous field
days, chainsaw safety and logging schools are just a few of the
educational opportunities the Tree Farm Program offers in cooperation
with other Missouri forest landowners groups.
8. Tree Farmer Network
is always available, as you can call on others to share their experiences.
9. Tree Farm participation
may be of considerable help when establishing "for-profit"
motives of your farming operation for income tax purposes.
10. Missouri Master
Woodland Steward is a course of instruction available to
Tree Farmers through the state's Forest Stewardship Program and
the Missouri Department of Conservation that gives the landowner
the training necessary to help others with their forestry interests.
11. Recognition is a big
part of the Tree Farm Program as it strives to tell the story of
good forestry. Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year are selected
at national, regional, state and local levels each year.
Missouri Tree Farmers are recognized at the annual Tree Farm/Stewardship
Days in Columbia.
12. Satisfaction
in knowing that you not only have accomplished your goals, but may
have helped other s achieve theirs.
Simple. Just call the Missouri Tree Farm
Program (573-634-3252) or apply online.
The tree farm administrative office will have a professional forester
contact you to arrange a visit with you at your farm to determine
you and your family's objectives for the farm, assist with a management
plan to reflect your goals, and then submit your plan and information
for certification. Once certification has been done you will
be an official tree farm you will receive a certificate with a special
tree farm number, and the forester will present you with your tree
farm sign -- the sign of good forestry.
Staff Contact
Communications Coordinator
Tree Farm Administrator
Executive Assistant
Tammy Homfeldt
611 East Capitol Avenue, Suite 1
Jefferson City, MO 65101-3084
573-634-3252
573-636-2591 Fax |
