Making it in hard times talked at Ag Forum By Ray Newbold Additional reporting by LSU AgCenter Foresters and forest landowners gathered in Shreveport at the 25th Ark-La-Tex Forestry Forum to share the latest news on timber markets and forest management. Bill Hubbard, Southern Regional Extension Forester stationed in Athens, Georgia noted several situations that have come together across the South to make these times especially difficult for the forest industry. Housing starts, tight credit, and a reduction in exports have combined to drive the market for wood products downward. Also, changes in the ownership patterns with large quantities of forest land moving from industry ownership to REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and TIMOs (Timber Investment Management Organizations) has accelerated fragmentation and alternative land uses. As prices for wood have dropped, landowners have understandably withheld their wood from the market, often deviating from their management plan and affecting future growing conditions on their forest. Loggers are burning through equity as their operations are curtailed or idled putting future harvest capacity at risk. But there are also conditions that exist that will
contribute to recovery when the economy turns around: The times are appropriate to position assets for a time when markets rebound or at least improve. Timber tract access, good sale volumes, and high quality trees are important to a successful timber sale. Thinning should occur when needed, even in times of low prices. Cost-share programs are available to landowners, although there may be a waiting list, so plans should continue to move forward if possible. Hardwood management should not be neglected or excluded and consideration of inter-generational transfers should be anticipated to assure smooth transitions to future heirs. C.A. (Buck) Vandersteen, Executive Director of the Louisiana Forestry Association (LFA) noted important developments related to Louisiana forestry. The proposed State budget for Louisiana has deep cuts for both the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the LSU AgCenter. These organizations assist, protect, and provide education and research for all forestry interests throughout the State. The eight-cent per acre Forest Protection tax is dedicated to the Office of Forestry for equipment to fight wildfire and must be protected. Personnel levels required to man firefighting equipment are already at severely low levels and may decline more depending on budget support. The Forest Productivity Program (FPP) is a cost share program funded with severance tax levied on timber harvesting. These funds are re-invested into future crops of trees and return their cost many times over as various tax receipts to the State over the course of a 35-year rotation. The economic activity associated with the forest industry has a multiplying effect that contributes substantially to the well-being of all citizens. The forests planted with these funds will grow regardless of economic conditions and will not move out of State. The wood fiber grown will be available for another generation as new products and uses emerge. This severance tax dedication for forestry re-investment must also be protected. The Louisiana legislative session begins April 21, 2008, and will be dealing with legislation of interest to all citizens and perhaps to forest landowners in particular. The LFA with 4,000 members is the largest forestry association in the South and perhaps the nation. LFA distributes a Legislative Update during the Louisiana legislative session and can be received by emailing a request to Karla Johnson at lfa@laforestry.com. Paul Spillers, a tax attorney, reviewed basic mineral laws for forest landowners. "Look at your land like a diamond," he said. "If you explore and polish up your land like a diamond, it will shine." Before signing a mineral lease, get professional advice, Spillers said, explaining that minerals include oil and gas, coal, gravel, soil, water, iron ore and clay. Spillers told the landowners to ask for a vertical Pugh clause, which means a lease is continued beyond the primary term only to the deepest point drilled during the primary term. All depths below are free to be leased again by the landowner after the primary term stands. He said landowners should have input in location of pipelines and roads, surface damage reimbursement and prohibiting permanent structures. Buck Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association, said he will be working closely with the LSU AgCenter to make sure the industry is represented in the legislature. Steve Muslow, LFA president from Shreveport, said "I pledge that LFA will not sit by and do nothing while the timber industry suffers."\par }{\plain Completing the program was Dr. Don Reed, LSU AgCenter wildlife specialist, who cautioned landowners about forest safety. He told the 180 in attendance that the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries goes on 12 to 15 search-and-rescue calls a year. Hypothermia is the cause of 85 percent of all wilderness deaths, Reed said. The opposite extreme, he said, is heat exhaustion, in which spasms and cramps are caused by salt loss. Reed said 45 species of snakes are native to Louisiana; seven are venomous. Poisonous snakes generally have vertical elliptical pupils and a triangular-shaped head. People can prevent snake bites by wearing protective chaps and being careful where they walk and place their hands, Reed said. The odds of being bitten by a poisonous snake are 1 in 10,000; odds of death after being bitten are 1 in 600 with medical attention - but only 1 in 40 odds without, he added. Reed mentioned other outdoor safety concerns and prevention tips, including wearing safety harnesses in tree stands, wearing a helmet, driving slowly, not taking passengers on four-wheelers and having knowledge of poisonous plants. |