| |
CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
SEPTEMBER 2013
News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by the Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
This Conference was recorded on September 18,
2013
|
|
Hayes D. Brown
starting time: (00:00)
Hear Conference |
Moderator
Hayes D. Brown, attorney and forest owner, will moderate this news
conference. Hayes' email address is
hbrown@hayesbrown.com.
Click Here to View & Hear Prior News Conferences.
|
Terry Ezzell
(00:27)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Impact of IP Closure on North Alabama Pulpwood Market
Terry Ezzell is the North
Regional Forester of the
Alabama Forestry
Commission. When
International Paper announced on September 11 that it would close its
Courtland, Alabama (free sheet) paper mill, we knew it wouldn't be just
1,100 mill employees that would be facing hard times. Local
schools and businesses would be hurt as well as pulpwood growers,
loggers, equipment dealers and many others. Since the Forestry Commission
tracks wood processing facilities across the state, we asked Terry to give
us an idea of where North Alabama pulpwood was now being utilized. He sent
us a map of the Courtland Mill
Wood Procurement Area and a second map that show the location of
Mills that Use Pulpwood in
North Alabama.
Terry also sent us
Growth and Removal Data for IP's
Courtland Mill that indicates the region is growing a lot more wood than
is being used. For those of you who might remember, back in the summer of
1992 there was a big controversy over TVA's decision to block access to the
Tennessee River for wood chip barge loading facilities.
TVA's 1993 decision has cost the wood growers of the region a fortune in
lost opportunities since then. Perhaps it's time to open up shipping access
so the wood we grow can find wider markets. You might consider contacting
Governor Bentley and
state and
federal
lawmakers to remind them that the huge forest resource of North Alabama and
the shipping opportunities available on the Tennessee River should not be
ignored.
IP's decision was not irrational. In one of
his normal rants on the ups and downs of the stock market,
Jim Cramer reminds us that the paper business is not dead. On September
19, 2013 we read at AL.com, "On [9/17/18], the company unveiled
plans to invest up to $150 million to upgrade equipment and expand its
linerboard mill in Coosa, Georgia."
Phone: (256) 350-1637
Email:
terry.ezzell@forestry.alabama.gov
.
|
Dr. Adam M. Taylor
(03:17)
Hear Conference
Comment
|
The South - World Leader in Growing & Harvesting Trees
Adam Taylor is the
Forest Products Extension Specialist in Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries
at the University of Tennessee, but before settling in Knoxville, he
received his B.Sc.F and M.Sc.F. from universities in eastern Canada and his
PhD from Oregon State University. Dr. Taylor has seen and experienced
forests and the forest products industry all across North America. We asked
him if our diverse privately owned forest resource base, our stable economic
system, and our immense transportation and communications infrastructure
makes the U.S. South competitive in the world. His answer will make you
proud that you play a part in such a unique enterprise.
Supporting Information:
Phone: (865) 946-1125
Email: mtaylo29@utk.edu
.
|
Dr. Warren A. Flick
(06:25)
Hear Conference
Comment |
BP Oil Spill Claims Process
Warren Flick is an Alabama
attorney and a retired forestry professor (and he was the first speaker
of a fledgling Alabama Forest Owners group back in 1981). Warren is
currently working with The
Ladd Firm in Mobile to help submit claims to the BP Settlement Fund.
Recently he wrote a brief discussion of the oil spill and the related claims
process:
On April 20th 2010, BPʼs Deep Water
Horizon oil rig exploded killing eleven men and releasing millions of
barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In 2012, BP agreed to pay
damages, including damages for indirect economic injuries, as provided
in a Settlement Agreement that BP negotiated with plaintiffs and the
federal courts. The Agreement provides well-defined formulae based on
revenues before, during, and after the disaster. It favors fluctuating
or inconsistent revenues. If a landownerʼs or businessʼs revenues fit
the formulae, they will be eligible for a claim, provided other legal
requirements are also met.
In all of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, as well as parts of Texas and
Florida, individuals and businesses may submit economic-loss claims.
Originally the deadline was April 22, 2014, but litigation thatʼs
pending may have the effect of extending that deadline. Many potential
claimants seem unaware of this settlement process and their rights to
submit claims. Timberland owners and forest products businesses are
eligible claimants.
Many law firms that service BP claims will evaluate a claim free of
charge provided the claimant can submit good accounting records for the
necessary periods. Landowners and business persons can easily find out
if they may have a valid claim. No representation is made that the
quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the
quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
Supporting Information:
Phone: (706) 614-9487
Email: warren@laddfirm.com
.
|
Senator Paul Sanford
(09:59)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Hunting Regulations Grow as Hunter Numbers Decline
Paul Sanford is a member of
the
Alabama Senate representing Madison County. He is concerned that new
deer and turkey harvest reporting requirements to soon be enforced by the
Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division of the Alabama Department
of Conservations and Natural Resources (ADCNR) are unnecessary. Sanford was
quoted in
The Daily Home, 4/22/13, “Putting more red tape on hunters
sounds like an idea the federal government would dream up, not the
Department of Conservation in a strong pro-hunting state like Alabama. This
sport generates a nearly $1 billion annual economic impact for our state,
and we should be working to increase that number. I’m afraid increased
regulations would have the opposite effect.” (Hunting license purchases
are down nearly 36,000 since 1985, according to former head of WFF, Corky
Pugh. Capital Ideas, 9/13)
"WFF will initiate the Game Check program for the 2013–14 hunting season.
Game Check will require all deer and turkey hunters, both licensed and
exempt, to report all deer (i.e., bucks and does) and turkeys harvested in
Alabama. All deer and turkey hunters will still be required to have a
Harvest Record in their possession while hunting and be required to fill it
out prior to moving the deer or turkey. Following completion of the harvest
record, hunters will then be required to report all deer and turkeys
harvested within 24 hours of killing the deer or turkey. Harvests can be
reported via the Outdoor Alabama app for iPhone and Droid smartphones,
ADCNR’s website (www.outdooralabama.com/gamecheck),
or by phone (1-800-888-7690)."
Source:
Alabama Hunting & Fishing Digest
Alabama resident landowners are not required
to buy a hunting license when hunting on their own land, but with Harvest
Record requirements and the new Game Check reporting regulations, taking a
deer for the stew pot without properly reporting the kill
could lead to a $500 fine.
"I am concerned that landowners that never needed a license to hunt on their
own property are now tossed into a ... system that will eventually lead to
more hunting regulations for such landowners. You and I both know Government
never moves backwards once it encroaches upon something." Paul Sanford,
private email, 9/4/13.
Senator Sanford wrote to AFOA on 9/12/13, "As a member of the Legislative Council I have 35 days to try
to either amend
the rule or reject it, or do nothing and the submitted rule becomes a new ADCNR regulation. I have requested that
the Legislative Council convene a meeting
so I may offer an amendment to make the rule/regulation only apply to State
Lands such as Wildlife Management Areas or other owner/leased State Lands. I am also willing to
entertain expanding the time reporting requirements to 72 hours to help
hunters with no cell phone or Internet services in many areas of the State,
or hunters on long getaway hunting trips. I have offered both suggestions to
the ADCNR and they have declined to negotiate changing their new rule."
ALABAMA GAME CHECK SYSTEM NOW VOLUNTARY, 9/27/13
Phone: (256) 539-5441
Email:
paul.sanford@alsenate.gov
.
|
Sean S. Brown
(14:26)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Cabin, Barn, & Lodge Design & Construction
Sean Brown is a Land Specialist at
Tutt Land Company.
In an email to AFOA, Sean wrote, "Hunting season is just around the corner.
Are you ready? Just a reminder to our clients and friends, we not only help
with the purchase or sale of land, but we also provide additional services."
One of the services listed was the design and construction of cabins, barns,
and lodges. We called Sean and asked him to tell us about Tutt Land's design
and construction services.
Photos of Construction Projects:
Southern
Trophy Properties (link removed 03/16/2015: no longer working)
Phone: (205) 531-9221
Email: sean@tuttland.com
.
|
Andy Gustafson
(17:42)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Deferring Capital Gains Taxes When Selling & Buying Land
Andy Gustafson is a
Certified
Exchange Specialist and Managing Member of
Atlas 1031 Exchange, LLC,
"a worldwide accommodator of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. Andy has
written two very brief eBooks that will help you understand how to use the
Section 1031 Exchange to defer capital gains taxes. The first is entitled
Ten Reasons Why a
1031 Exchange Makes Sense. The second is entitled
1031 Exchanges: Benefits to Timberland and Forest Landowners.
This eBook includes the following topics:
- What a timberland owner of real and
personal property should know about a 1031 exchange
- What is an Internal Revenue Service Code
1031 tax deferred exchange and the benefit
- Mixed use exchanges where there is a
primary residence and timberland
- Multi asset exchanges including water
and ditch rights, oil, gas and mineral rights
- 1031 forward and reverse exchange steps
- 1031 exchange rules and requirements
Phone: 800-227-1031
Email:
andgus@atlas1031.com
.
|
Rory Paul
(20:31)
Hear Conference
Comment |
A New Point of View
Rory Paul is
CEO of
Volt
Aerial Robotics. He was quoted in The Progressive Farmer,
8/13: "'This is instant gratification for crop scouts.' With a rotary-winged
vehicle, 'You can stand on the side of a field with a real-time video
download and see what is happening in the interior of a field.' If you want
a closer look, you can lower the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and take
high-resolution still images of crops, insects or weeds." "As rules (to
allow commercial use of UAVs) are being written, the UAV industry is looking
for a domestic market. The manufacturers and suppliers -- companies like
Northrop Grumman, Yamaha Motor Corp. and General Dynamics -- released a
study in February touting agriculture as a potential market for up to
110,000 vehicles a year." Take a look at this
video of
one of Rory's Quadcopters and let your imagination tell you how this new
technology might be useful to forest owners.
If Rory doesn't expand his business into
Alabama forestry uses, we hope someone in our audience will start this
service business of the near future. Monitor the website
sUAS News for almost
daily technology advances. A quick YouTube search provides
all kinds of ideas on UAV uses. Also, please read
eWave: Future of drone use appears to be wide open.
Phone: (636) 410-0191
Email:
roryp@voltaerialrobotics.com
.
|
Dr. Rebecca J. Barlow
(25:00)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Costs & Cost Trends for Forestry Practices in the South
Becky Barlow
is the co-author of
2012 Cost and Cost Trends for Forestry Practices in the South,
Forest Landowner, July/August 2013. This survey of costs of forestry
practices dates back to 1952 and provides useful information for forest
owners and the professionals who help them with their forest management
work. For example, in Table 11 we see that timber cruising costs (estimating
timber volumes) have risen from 30 cents per acre in 1952 to an average of
$13.20 per acre in 2012. Average cost of labor to hand-plant tree seedlings
(exclusive of herbicides and seedling expenses) has risen from $0.0111 each
to $0.1144 each (one cent versus eleven cents). While looking back is
interesting, what you need this information for is improving your management
in the future. If you play with
Texas A&M's
Timberland Decision Support System, you will need cost information to
help you make the best management decisions. Cost and Cost Trends
will help you do that.
Phone: (334) 844-1019
Email: rjb0003@auburn.edu
.
|
| |
Comment below on the CI Live! conference
by using your Facebook, AOL, Yahoo!, or Hotmail login.
If you do not see
the comment box, refresh your browser.
|
|
