Below are additional comments (first post) we heard at the recent Arkansas Forestry Association annual meeting in Little Rock that I felt others needed to hear. Be sure to consider these as they relate to and have an influence on your family’s timberlands. My apologizes to the speakers if I did not quote their comments exactly as they said them, but I think I captured the gist of their thoughts.
Three things that timber landowners should try to accomplish to be financially successful according to Dr. Harry Haney.
- have an effective system to recover investment in a timely manner.
- maintain good records to keep up with expenses and to be able to provide information for a tax audit
- be able to qualify for long term capital gain taxes
Tom Skaggs with Outdoor Underwriters encouraged landowners to:
- incorporate safety and risk management objectives into all management plans and hunting leases
- have “hold harmless” clauses in hunting leases
- inspect deer stands for safe operation annually before the season begin
- provide written notice to hunting club of improvements made since last season such as gates, fences, ditches, etc that could surprise a hunter
- put reflective tape on all gates and fence posts near gates or other travel areas.
Danielle DiMartino Booth of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank mentioned that credit requirements are now higher. This is hurting home sales because credit is not as readily available. The time required to sell all the homes currently on the market is now 1.7 years, down from 2.5 years last year. Formation of new households is at a historical low, and there are more rental units being built than new homes.
Dr. Jon Barry, University of Arkansas discussed a new guideline on planting bareroot seedlings especially when drier than normal periods are expected. Instead of being concerned about “J” rooting and only planting so the root collars are at soil depth, he recommend planting the collars about 4” – 6” deep so the roots could get deep into the soil for the moisture available. He also stated that partial weed control after planting increased water supply to the seedlings by 20% and by 50% with complete weed control.
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