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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
NOVEMBER 2014 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by the Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
This Conference was recorded on November 19, 2014.
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Hayes D. Brown
starting time: (00:00)
Comment |
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.
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Eric Rutkow
(00:25)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation
Eric Rutkow,
Lawyer and Historian,
is the author of American Canopy, Trees Forests, and the Making
of a Nation. "This fascinating narrative shows how American
attitudes toward trees have transformed over time, as well as just how much
trees have shaped what it means to be American. ... Rutkow reveals how
American ideas of consumption were formed in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, as a seemingly limitless supply of trees was used as wood source
for shelter, heat, and transportation fuel. As forests were wiped out, later
generations became advocates for conservation and proper forest management
while also promoting the ecological, scenic, and spiritual importance of
forests." Source: Forest History Today, Fall 2012, by Eben Lehman and
James Lewis.
If Americans have changed from
beneficiaries of "limitless supply of trees" to "advocates for conservation
and proper forest management," might we not hope that someday Americans see
themselves as "protectors of property rights," a virtue that would encourage
the establishment of a unique and diverse privately owned national forest
managed by millions of independent decision makers?
"Buy the Book" and Reviews:
Email:
eric.rutkow@yale.edu
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Alva J. Hopkins, III
(05:40)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Did you know, "All U.S. Wood is Good?"
Everybody knows that.
Joe Hopkins is a
Georgia Forest Landowner and
President of the
Forest
Landowners Association. In a recent "From the President" message in
Forest Landowner magazine, Nov/Dec 2014, Joe laments that the world
wood market demands certifiable proof that our forests are sustainably
managed. He laments that were a U.S. forest landowner to ask a stranger,
"Did you know, all U.S. wood is good?," the answer would NOT be, "Everybody
knows that."
Since everybody doesn't know that, Joe
and others are developing a website called
Forest
America to correct the problem. From the "About Us" webpage on
Forest America:
Forest America is an initiative among
private forest landowners and those representing all aspects of forestry
to promote the management, stewardship and sustainability of America’s
forests. Forest America is committed to continuous improvement and
supporting U.S. private forest landowners efforts to increase confidence
and trust in today’s management and sustainability of working forests.
Forestry is our profession – but for most of us, it is also our life.
For us, forests are our livelihood, our heritage and our legacy.
Our Commitment:
- Effectively communicate the
benefits of private working forests for the public good.
- Provide unbiased information
about forestry topics of broad public interest.
- Strive to facilitate informed
decisions regarding forestry-related issues.
- To be a source for issues, facts
and figures related to private working forests, which is
understandable, unbiased, and accurate.
- Create a positive perception of
America’s forest landowners as responsible stewards of forest
resources and the environment.
- Change the misconception that
America’s private forests are in danger and not sustainable.
Phone: (912) 496-7343
Email:
ajhopkins3@gmail.com
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William Consoletti
(09:28)
Hear Conference
Comment |
How Forestry Came to the Southeast
Bill Consoletti is a
Forester,
a
Historian, and an
Author and Editor. As historian of the Southeastern Society of
American Foresters (SESAF), Bill received a "legacy of material" passed down
to him from previous SESAF historians. "Basically I brought an unpublished
history ... written by an Alabama industrial forester
named Earl Porter, up to date. Earl worked for IP in Mobile and wanted people
to understand the importance of forestry to Alabama and the Southeast and
the role the Society of American Foresters played in it."
The rise of the conservation movement
in the late 1800s led to the practice of forestry in America. Gifford
Pinchot was a prime mover in the conservation movement his entire life.
Under his guidance and perseverance, the Forest Service was established.
He founded the Society of American Foresters to provide a vehicle to
share information on the science of forestry with Division of Forestry
employees.
For forestry to be practiced in the Southeast, landowners had to believe
that planting and growing trees would be profitable and that fire would
be controlled. Earl Porter, SESAF Historian, had been part of the
establishment of forest industry in the Southeast from the 1930s to the
1960s. He wanted to tell the story of how forestry was established in
the Southeast Section of SAF. It went unpublished from 1980 until 2008
when Bill Consoletti, the current Historian, enlisted the aid of six
SESAF foresters to bring the story up to date.
The first section of the book covers the beginning of forestry in the
United States and presents the growth of the forest products industry
and the development of plantation silviculture. The last section
presents the last forty years of forestry in the Southeast in the era of
regulation, mergers, the rise of TIMOs and REITs, the change in
forestland ownership and the burgeoning biomass industry. Source:
Southeastern Forester, Spring 2014, page 4. (ignore the $50
price tag listed in this source -- see below)
Buy the Book:
Go to
Amazon.com after the first of December to purchase the book for $25.
Amazon will be the distributor.
Phone: (706) 561-8735
Email:
billyconster@gmail.com
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Chris J. Williams, CPA
(12:50)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Year-End Tax Tips for Forest Landowners
Chris Williams is a
CPA with
JamsionMoneyFarmer PC
where he "specializes in preparing and reviewing tax returns for businesses,
individuals, estates, trusts, and non-profit organizations with a special
focus on Timber, Oil, and Gas Taxes." For those landowners who have
made a large timber sale this year, he advises
pulling as many deductions as possible into 2014 and selling off losing
investments. Deductible expenses that we sometimes overlook include
reforestation and management costs. Reforestation expenses of up to
$10,000 per "Qualified Timber Property" per year may be written off; one
owner may delineate several to many Qualified Timber Properties. Forest
management expenses can include road maintenance and repair, provided the
activities are
not improvements.
Chris says a good source for year-end tax planning is
Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2014 Tax Year by Linda
Wang, National Timber Tax Specialist, U.S. Forest Service.
Phone: (205) 366-4007
Email: cwilliams@jmf.com
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Mark W. Thomas, RF, ACF
(17:00)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Economic Impact of Whitetail Deer on Agricultural Crops
Mark Thomas is a
Consulting Forester and
Certified Wildlife Biologist and Is the CEO of Forestry/Wildlife
Integration LLC. Forest owners and hunters who usually like to see
vigorous and large deer herds sometimes forget the costs to ourselves and
others that large deer herds can impose. A short list might include
Deer-Vehicle Collisions, Forest Regeneration Costs, and Crop Losses (corn,
cotton, peanuts, pecans, soybeans, fruit orchards).
In
Economic
Impact of Whitetail Deer Crop Consumption,
Wildlife Trends
Journal, Sept/Oct 2014, Mark reports the significant losses
sustained by a large landowner with a very large deer herd (hunting had
never been allowed on this 5,000 acre property). The annual loss on this one
farm was estimated to be $244,000 per year, with losses to various crops as
follows: corn, 15%, cotton, 20%, peanuts, 20%, pecans, 20%, and soybeans,
25%. It may be a no-brainer to most AFOA members, but one of Mark's
recommendations to the property managers was to lease the land to hunters.
The lease might bring as much as $125,000 per year and crop losses will
likely drop as the herd is reduced.
Further Reading:
Phone: (205) 733-0477
Email:
caribouhunter55@yahoo.com
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Michael Wydner
(21:32)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Tree Stand Safety: Win-Win for Hunters and Landowners
Michael Wydner is
National Sales Manager for
Hunter Safety
System, a manufacturer of
tree
stand safety harnesses and
related accessories. Hunter Safety System was referred to us during a
discussion on hunting accidents (see the "further reading" links below).
Michael led us to
Our
Story, which should get your attention, and then we found the following
testimonial from a very satisfied customer on their
Life Story webpage.
Just wanted to take a moment to thank
you for a great product that in all likelihood, saved my bacon this past
weekend.
Having hunted out of treestands for over 20 years, I have used probably
every strap or harness there is for safety. I settled on the HSS harness
because of it's ease of use and solid design. That solid design kept me
from landing on my head Saturday morning, and for that, I am grateful to
you folks for making a product that works.
In all honesty, I don't really know what happened, but I had just shot a
deer during the early bow season here in southwest Virginia, and the
next thing I knew, I was falling out of the stand. It's a pretty
helpless feeling hanging there without being able to get back into the
stand, but it's much better than the alternative. It gave me the
opportunity to call my buddy I was hunting with to come help me down.
Really nice to know I can fall out of a stand in the morning, and be
able to go climb another tree in the evening/ I have always made a point
of telling everyone I know to use a safety harness of some kind while
hunting from a treestand. Now, I can strongly recommend HSS from
personal experience.
Again, Thanks for a great product. I promise to not gripe about the
weight of a harness again.
Jerry Widener
Further Reading:
Phone: 1-877-296-3528
Email: questions@hssvest.com
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Joel W. Marsh
(24:44)
Hear Conference
Comment |
A Landowner's Perspective on Producing and Selling Pine Straw
Joel Marsh is a
Farm & Forest Owner in Coffee and Geneva counties and leases land for
row crops, hunting, and longleaf pine straw. In a wide ranging conversation
we had with Joel a few weeks ago, he described his experiences planting &
growing longleaf pines and harvesting the pine straw.
Highlights from our conversation in no
particular order:
- market is very good for longleaf straw
- planting spacing is important – affects harvesting method
- acreage measurement is not length by width – accumulation of GPS measured
harvesting areas
- harvester required to control cogon grass and
is not allowed to rake in infested areas
- income on one contract: $130 per acre per year for 7 years on 300 acres
- landowners in his area receive from $110 to $150 per acre
- a pine straw harvesting contract has been developed
(but not available for public
use at this time)
- longleaf is worth planting when straw income is figured in
Previous Capital Ideas - Live! Guests on Pine Straw:
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Harvesting Pine Straw for Profit (the interview by Becky Barlow,
Auburn University, March 2012)
Harvesting Pine Straw for Profit (the publication by Becky
Barlow)
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Pine Straw Harvesting (interview with Andy Callahan, Soterra, LLC,
September 2014)
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Pine Straw Income & Fire Prevention, Too (interview with Dave
Haywood, US Forest Service, June 2010)
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Longleaf Pine Straw (interview with David Dickens, University of
Georgia, February 2008)
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Pine Straw Biz (interview with George Rowland, North Central Miss.
RC&D, February 2006)
Related Videos:
Phone: (727) 593-2629
Email: joelwmarsh@aol.com
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Jerry deBin
(28:51)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Please Don't Throw Me into the Briar Patch -- or -- No better place for
rabbits than Jerry deBin's
Jerry deBin is a
Certified Wildlife Biologist, a Forestry & Wildlife Consultant,
Wildlife Cooperative LLC, CEO of
Callaway Farms
Manufacturing, and Manager of
Petrey
Farms, a 4,500 acre hunting club in Crenshaw and Pike counties. We
invited Jerry to tell us about managing land for rabbits after reading
In It for The Chase by David Rainer,
Outdoor Alabama, October 2014.
"If you wanted to put together a rabbit-hunting place, I don't believe you
could get any better [than Jerry deBin's lease near Petrey in Crenshaw
County]," [hunter, Bill] Nunnery said. "You've got strips of green
fields, strips of pines, briar patches, areas that they've let grow up.
You've got to have the right habitat. If you haven't got the habitat
you'll have a hard time. The coyotes will wear them out if they haven't
got a place to hide."
"Small game opportunities are too often overlooked on managed lands."
Jerry deBin in email to AFOA
Reading Resources:
Phone: (706) 765-8435
Email:
jerry@wildlifecooperative.com
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