Tree Farmer - March/April 2009 - (Page 30)

By kazee Tom hard Times es for timber are likely to fall. Before making any decision to sell timber, you should understand the price trends that have recently occurred and are likely to occur in the near future. Just as with publicly traded stocks, you have the “opportunity” to sell your assets when their value is lowest. Many Tree Farmers will choose to postpone timber sales with the hope that market conditions will improve in a timely manner, but no one can know for sure. Selling and harvesting timber could occur with a quick, simple handshake agreement between two adults, a buyer and a seller. This sounds friendly, but a timber sale without preparation and oversight could be a disaster. From the Tree Farmer’s perspective, preparation and oversight would include the following components: • Long-term Planning: Review your goals for the land, to include aesthetics, wildlife, water quality, recreation and all other considerations. • Pre-sale Timber Cruise and Valuation: Prior to any sale process, the owner should establish a very good and reliable understanding about the value of the timber to be sold and harvested. • Pre-sale Preparations: Sale boundaries must be marked and a good contract must be prepared that protects the seller. • Marketing: The seller must ensure that he or she locates the potential buyer who is willing to pay the best price and do the best job in the harvesting process. • Closing: Make the deal and enter into a written, binding agreement to sell timber. • Harvesting: Professional, disciplined oversight is essential. Most logging crews will do the right thing, but the forest landowner must be represented while harvesting is under way. But, really, how is this process different during hard times? Doing Business in woodland security For a lot of our neighbors, these are difficult financial times. many sawmills and other converting facilities have closed or curtailed production. The loggers, foresters, truckers, and landowners in those locations have been adversely affected. Prices are down, costs are increasing. And this is old news; our industry has been struggling for a long time. But life goes on. Many facilities remain open. Folks are buying, selling, and harvesting timber. This might be the right time for you to sell timber, for financial or silvicultural reasons. We can’t hunker down and clutch our changepurse until times magically improve. So, by all means, no one should be reluctant to do business, even when times are bad. However, this would be a good time to be particularly careful. You should realize first that when mill production is curtailed, the market pric- Before making any decision to sell timber, you should understand the price trends that have recently occurred and are likely to occur in the near future. 30 Registered forester Tom Kazee helps clients across the Southeast reduce the potential for financial crimes through his firm, Woodland Security Inc., in Orange Park, Florida. Reach him at (904) 504-9489 or . Tree Farmer MARCH/APRIL 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - March/April 2009

Tree Farmer - March/April 2009
Contents
Cover Story
Soil Quality: Beyond the Soil Test
2008 North Central Regional Tree Farmers of the Year
Wildlife Matters
Ties to the Land
Tools & Techniques
Woodland Security

Tree Farmer - March/April 2009