Costs & Trends of Southern Forestry Practices 2018

F O R E S T RY & W I L D L I F E

►One concern landowners may have when making forestland management decisions is the cost offorestry practices. They may worry that they cannot afford to complete activities such as planting orunderstory control, so they choose to do nothing. Knowing even a range of costs for forestry practicescan help with making decisions and may lead to better forest management.

This report summarizes the results of a 2018 survey to examine the costs of forestry practices across the southeastern United States. For this survey, three physiographic regions in the South were considered: the Southern Coastal Plain, Northern Coastal Plain, and Piedmont regions (figure 1). The results presented are based on 85 usable responses. Of those, 39 percent were from private family landowners, 4 percent were from publicly funded organizations, 26 percent were from consulting firms, 14 percent were from private forestry firms, and 9 percent of respondents reported “other” for their organizational type. The remaining 8 percent did not list an organization type. The results presented are adapted from the “2018 Cost and Cost Trends” Special Report in the November/December 2019 edition of Forest Landowner magazine.

Results

Mechanical Site PreparationMechanical site preparation was reported on 56,613 acres at an average cost per acre of $182.28 (table 1). This activity included practices such as shear-rake-pile-bed, subsoiling, and drum chopping. Single-pass operations averaged 33 percent less than double-pass operations and 54 percent less than triple-pass operations.

PlantingPine seedlings were reported as being planted most often in 2018, for a total of 156,178 acres planted (table 2). The majority of respondents (53 percent) reported hand planting, 9 percent reported machine planting, and 38 percent reported both methods. Most of the pine seedlings planted were bareroot loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), which made up 74 percent of the total acres reported.

Pine seedlings planted averaged 553 per acre for hand planting and 613 per acre for machine planting (table 2). The average cost of machine planting bareroot pine species on cutover land was 25 percent more than the average cost of hand planting all bareroot pine seedlings on similar sites.

Prescribed BurningFifty-five percent of survey respondents reported prescribed burning in 2018. A ground drip torch was used in all cases for a total of 74,545 acres at an average cost per acre of $31.92 (table 3). Regional differences in costs were reported. In general, prescribed burning practices reported in the Piedmont were more expensive than in other regions.

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Figure 1. Physiological regions in the South that were used in the 2018 Cost of Forestry Practices survey showing the Southern Coastal Plain (A), Northern Coastal Plain (B), and Piedmont or similar uplands (C).

2 Alabama Cooperative Extension System Costs & Trends of Southern Forestry Practices 2018 3

Table 3. Prescribed Burning Treatment Costs Per Acre by Ignition Type and Burning Purpose

Ignition Type Burning Purpose AcresSouthern

Coastal PlainNorthern

Coastal Plain Piedmont Overall average

Average cost per acreGround, drip torch Site preparation 35,976 * 36.05 * 33.36Ground, drip torch Understory control 25,398 31.58 26.02 27.66 28.46Ground, drip torch All 74,545 29.94 32.70 30.28 31.92

Table 1. Mechanical Site Preparation Costs Per Acre

Site Preparation Treatment

Number of Passes Acres

Southern Coastal Plain

Northern Coastal Plain Piedmont Overall

Average

Average Cost Per AcreAll All 56,613 127.92 199.29 220.46 182.28All 1 14,333 97.33 167.47 * 130.45All 2 19,973 126.20 268.51 * 195.50All 3 7,151 * * * 286.69

* Too few responses.

Table 2. Hand and Machine Planting Costs Per Acre and Purchase Cost Per Seedling

Planting MethodAcres

Southern Coastal

Plain

Northern Coastal

PlainPiedmont Overall

Average

Average Purchase Cost Per Seedling

Overall Average

Seedlings Per AcreHand Planting Average cost per acre

Cutover land, all pine, bareroot

50,706 74.00 58.65 * 63.84 0.10 580

Cutover land, all pine, container

11,534 * 86.67 * 95.62 0.17 563

All land type, loblolly pine, bareroot

67,922 * * * 62.79 0.09 580

All land type, loblolly pine, container

7,045 * * * 79.68 0.16 522

All land type, longleaf pine, container

8,857 * 86.41 * 112.98 0.20 522

All hand methods, all pine 95,978 71.67 66.92 93.67 60.41 0.12 553Machine Planting

Cutover land, all pine, bareroot

54,600 * 78.52 * 80.02 0.09 590

All land type, loblolly pine, bareroot

47,297 * 86.37 * 88.53 0.09 574

All machine methods, all pine

60,200 * 78.52 * 116.93 0.09 613

* Too few responses. Overall planting costs per acre do not include seedling cost.

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Chemical ApplicationChemical applications were reported by 72 percent of respondents who treated 122,995 acres in 2018 (table 4). Site preparation, mid-rotation release, and herbaceous weed control were the top reasons for treatment with the majority of acres (66 percent) treated as part of site preparation activities. Fifty-two percent of acres treated were aerially sprayed. Overall, aerial application methods were less expensive than ground application methods with the exception of herbaceous weed control. Additionally, the average cost per acre was, on average, higher in the Piedmont than in other regions.

FertilizationFew respondents (12 percent) reported using fertilizer as a forestry practice. Of those who reported fertilizing their forestland, they reported treating 49,577 acres at an average cost of $95.15 per acre (table 5). Aerial application of fertilizer accounted for 63 percent of all fertilization treatments reported in 2018. Aerial applications of a blend of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea were most common.

Fire ProtectionIn 2018, only 15 percent of respondents reported using some method of fire protection on 257,500 acres at an overall average cost per acre of $12.21 (table 6). Protection methods reported included firebreaks, fire plows, and tractors. Primary methods of fire detection included self-observation, forestry commissions, neighbors, and hunting clubs.

Timber Cruising and MarkingTimber cruising was reported by 38 percent of survey respondents. The majority (63 percent) reported using variable radius plots at an overall average cost of $10.53 per acre (table 7). Most (62 percent) of the 15,086 acres of marked timber operations reported were completed before thinning operations. Only 24 percent of respondents reported completing any type of marking activity on their lands (table 8).

Precommercial ThinningPrecommercial thinning is often completed early in a rotation and when trees may be in an overcrowded condition. For the 2018 survey, 18 percent of survey respondents reported precommercial thinning on 6,233 acres (table 9).

Custodial ManagementCustodial management costs may include activities such as road construction and maintenance, boundary line maintenance or surveys, insect and disease management, or legal fees. Only 22 percent of respondents reported custodial management activities in 2018 at an overall average cost per acre of $13.73 (table 10).

Table 4. Chemical Application Costs Per Acre by Treatment Purpose and Method of Application

Treatment Purpose Method of Application Acres

Southern Coastal

Plain

Northern Coastal

PlainPiedmont Overall

average

Average cost per acreSite preparation Ground 18,035 77.56 85.38 * 83.83Site preparation Aerial 47,057 * 76.20 94.04 79.41Site preparation All 81,712 76.65 81.98 98.66 83.89

Midrotation release Aerial 7,766 * 55.36 * 59.62Midrotation release All 26,200 * 65.54 * 66.22

Herbaceous weed control

Ground 15,951 * * * 24.23

Herbaceous weed control

Aerial 6,904 * * * 60.99

Herbaceous weed control

All 22,854 * 33.15 * 40.94

All Ground 39,570 74.72 76.37 122.58 80.73All Aerial 63,471 77.19 69.01 90.32 74.44All All 122,995 78.86 73.01 97.10 77.09

* Too few responses.

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Table 5. Fertilization Costs Per Acre by Purpose of Application, Application Method, and Fertilizer Type

Purpose of Application

Application Method

Fertilizer Type Acres

Southern Coastal

Plain

Northern Coastal

PlainPiedmont Overall

Average

Average Cost Per AcreAll All DAP 10,150 * * * 66.89All All DAP+urea 32,838 * * * 105.90All Ground All 17,993 * * * 81.22All Aerial All 30,996 * * * 97.60All All All 49,577 * * * 95.15

* Too few responses.

Table 6. Fire Protection Costs Per Acre

Primary Method of Fire Protection Acres

Southern Coastal Plain

Northern Coastal Plain Piedmont Overall Average

Average Cost Per AcreAll 257,579 4.96 * * 12.21

* Too few responses.

Table 7. Timber Cruising Costs Per Acre by Inventory Purpose and Method Used

Inventory Purpose Method Used AcresSouthern Coastal

PlainNorthern Coastal

Plain Piedmont Overall Average

Average cost per acreAll Fixed plot 76,169 18.80 8.51 * 15.55All Variable radius 466,420 11.41 9.65 * 10.53All All 546,289 14.77 9.42 14.50 12.27

* Too few responses.

Table 8. Timber Marking Costs Per Acre

Timber Marking Purpose Acres

Southern Coastal Plain

Northern Coastal Plain Piedmont Overall

AverageAverage Cost Per Acre

Thinning 9,383 * * * 41.20All 15,086 31.67 43.00 67.17 29.25

* Too few responses.

Table 9. Precommercial Thinning Costs Per Acre

Primary Thinning Method Acres

Southern Coastal Plain

Northern Coastal Plain Piedmont Overall average

Average Cost Per AcreAll 6,233 * * * 149.98

* Too few responses.

Table 10. Custodial Management Costs Per Acre by Operation Type

Operation Type AcresSouthern Coastal

PlainNorthern Coastal

Plain Piedmont Overall Average

Average Cost Per AcreAll 943,941 * * * 13.73

* Too few responses.

Adam Maggard, Extension Specialist, Assistant Professor, and Becky Barlow, Extension Specialist, Professor, both in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit www.aces.edu/directory.

Trade names are used only to give specific information. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System does not endorse or guarantee any product and does not recommend one product instead of another that might be similar.

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New December 2019, FOR-2073 © 2019 by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. All rights reserved.

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Changes in Costs EstimatesWhen comparing 2016 to 2012 averages, the majority of costs decreased except for chemical applications and hand planting (figure. 2A). Comparisons to 2014 averages show that most costs increased except for timber marking, machine planting, and fertilization (figure 2B).

SummaryForestry practice costs in the South have been more variable in the last ten years than in past decades. This is due, in part, to the fact that the forest industry has been affected during much of this time by depressed housing markets, timber demand, and stumpage prices. Another factor influencing the costs of forestry practices is financial pressure on corporate forest products companies. This pressure caused many companies to transition to timber investment management organizations (TIMO) or real estate investment trusts (REIT) or to divest of timberland completely. In addition, the low softwood stumpage prices during this time likely influenced decisions of landowners and managers that may have played a role in the variability of the cost of forestry practices. Further, liability concerns and labor issues seem to be affecting the costs of forestry practices, particularly in relation to tree planting and prescribed burning and should be something to watch in the future. Figure 2. Percent change in costs of forestry practices (A) from 2012 to 2016 and

(B) from 2014 to 2016.PEERREVIEWED

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PEERREVIEWED

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