Case Study: Jackson County Selective Hardwood Harvest
Farm and Timber Properties received a call from a landowner in Newton County, GA asking for assistance. They had received an unsolicited offer for timber on their property, and wanted to know if the offer was good. We suggested an independent evaluation and conducted a timber cruise. We found out that the value of the timber was about twice the amount that had been offered.
The owner didn’t sell the timber, but they did sell the property. The timber appraisal helped them get their asking price from a qualified buyer.
The same owner had another tract of land in North Georgia that had been used mainly as a cattle farm. Timber management had never been a consideration on this property. The timber had originally been mixed pine and hardwood, but pine beetles had destroyed the over-mature pine in 1987. What was left was a stand of old yellow poplar, red and white oak, hickory, and sweet gum, with a few surviving pines. Over the next 30 years, hardwoods filled in the gaps left by the dead pine, resulting in a fully stocked stand of mixed aged hardwoods.
The owners asked us to evaluate the timber and were pleasantly surprised by the potential value. We recommended that they take advantage of a strong hardwood market by harvesting the large sawlogs, while leaving the younger “pole” hardwoods to grow into the next forest.
Many property owners believe that selective cutting of hardwoods isn’t possible, but Farm and Timber Properties regularly finds innovative options that allow selective cutting and responsible forest management. We knew that the success of this harvest would be dependent on selecting a logging company that was experienced and conscientious. We marked the mature trees and engaged the services of a logging company with experience in this kind of timber harvest. The results were exceptional, both in terms of profitability for the landowner and quick regeneration of a beautiful hardwood forest.