The expanding timber demand and landowner attitudes toward forestry investment / by Albert A. Montgomery

GEORGIA FOREST RESEARCH PAPER

43
April, 1983

THE EXPANDING TIMBER DEMAND AND LANDOWNER ATTITUDES TOWARD FORESTRY INVESTMENT

BY

Received

ALBERT A. MONTGOMERY, Ph.D.

MAY 3 1988

DOCUMENTS / UGA LIBRARIES

\
RESEARCH DIVISION
**m?

GEORGIA FORESTRY COMMISSION

AUTHOR
/
43k
Albert A. Montgomery, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate Contract Research Division Office of Services School of Business Administration Georgia State University.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author is indebted to Dr. James E. Morrow, Mr. James D. Strange and Mr. Robert L. Chaff in who helped design the survey and the many staff members of the Georgia Forestry Commission who did the field work and interviews.

THE EXPANDING TIMBER DEMAND AND LANDOWNER ATTITUDES TOWARD
FORESTRY INVESTMENT
BY
ALBERT A. MONTGOMERY, Ph.D.
INTRODUCTION

Forestry and its related economic activities comprise a $6.6 billion Georgia industry that employs an estimated 74 thousand Georgians. Supplying timber to meet the needs of this forest economy requires the removal of timber from more than a half million acres annually. Approximately two thirds of the harvested pine acreage is owned by private nonindustrial landowners, of which the majority is permitted to revert after harvest to stands dominated by hardwoods. The result is a net loss of pine growth needed to

supply the state's expanding pulp, paper, plywood, and lumber making capacity. Nonindustrial landowners must significantly increase their investments in productivity improving forest management
practices if Georgia's forest economy is to
continue its growth. Favorable revision of the capital gains tax, enactment of the Reforestation Incentives Act H.R. 430, which permits the amortization of tree planting costs over seven years, the Forestry Incentives Program, and the anticipation of continued increases in

timber values have enhanced the opportunities for timberland owners to benefit from investments in improved forest man-
agement. A major purpose of this study is
to ascertain how well the nonindustrial
landowner understands and appreciates these opportunities to gain from investments in improved forest management. Also, it is a major purpose to learn more about the nonindustrial landowner's current attitudes toward forestry and his plans for his timberland.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The typical Georgia nonindustrial landowner owns but a few acres of tim-
A berland. majority of timber tracts are
100 acres or smaller. But these small landowners, as a group, control only a tiny fraction of the total forest acreage in nonindustrial ownership. In contrast, less than 1 in 10 nonindustrial landowners have timber tracts larger than 400 acres. But these landowners, as a group, control half of the nonindustrial forestland. More than half of the landowners with timber tracts larger than 400 acres either were participants in the American Tree System or were clients of professional foresters, implying that a significant fraction of the nonindustrial forest has been benefited by forest management advice and assis-
tance.
The typical landowner profile implies
firsthand familiarity with his timberland, if not necessarily proper forest manage-
ment. A majority of the landowners were
either farmers, businessmen, or profes-
sionals who were male, sole owners and
managers, and local residents, living either in the same county or an adjacent county
as their land. Reflecting the study's orientation
toward areas of the state with high levels of forestry activity, more than half of all
landowners surveyed made one or more
timber sales over the past decade, of
whom 1 in 3 reported cumulative sales of
more than 100 acres. This high frequency of past timber sales apparently will not be sustained over the near future. Only a very small percentage of the landowners expect to sell any timber over the next 5 years and even among large landowners, expected sales lag far behind past sales. Dissatisfaction with past sales would not appear to be an important reason for the expected reduction in future timber sales.

Less than 1 in 5 landowners selling timber in the past voiced any complaints about
their timber sales. Rather, when asked to
give their reasons for not expecting timber sales over the near future 81 percent of the landowners responded either that they did not have enough timber to sell or that their timber would not be ready for sale. Thus, in those areas of the state
supplying much of the recent timber harvests, it would appear that a tight stump-
age market and high, if not rising, stumpage prices is a definite possibility for the near future. By the same token, as the demand for timber grows there should be rising stumpage prices in areas where the forest industry has been relatively inactive in the past, such as the upper piedmont and mountains.
Over the past decade, many fewer landowners made woodland improve-
ments than sold timber. Only 1 in 4 landowners statewide reported any improvements and most of these were located in the coastal plain, where slightly more than 1 in 3 landowners invested in fores-
try. Among landowners with timber
tracts 400 acres or larger, two thirds reported one or more forestland improvements over the past decade. Because of
the large fraction of the forest in these larger holdings, it would be projected that 40 percent of the pine forest in nonindustrial ownership has been benefited by im-
proved forest management practices. But 97 percent of these improvements were located in the coastal plain, where more
than half of the pine forest in nonindus-
trial ownership received some management practices. More than 75 percent of the improved acreage was prescribed burned, all of which was located in the coastal plain. Of the nonindustrial pine forest in the piedmont and mountain re-

gions, only 5.9 percent and 3.8 percent respectively was benefited by planting and timber stand improvement.
A slight improvement in this record
of forest practices is indicated for the
near future. As in the past, a significant majority of large landowners plan improvements over the foreseeable future. Smaller landowners planning improvements are in the minority but a larger Dercentage plan improvements than executed them in the past. By type of improvement, the pattern of intended forest management is similar to that of the past decade with prescribed burning the most frequently planned practice followed by planting and timber stand improvement.
Among the majority of landowners
not planning woodland improvements, the most frequently cited reasons were that the improvements were not needed or that there weren't enough young trees to warrant making them.
A large majority of landowners con-
sidered a forestland improvement to be a good investment. However, when asked to rank the desirability of various uses of income from a timber sale, most landowners gave a low priority to tree planting or other improvement of the cutover timberland. The highest priority was for use of these funds in the landowner's farm or business operation followed by
personal uses. An investment of the tim-
ber sale proceeds in forestry was ranked as low as investments in land, real estate, stocks, and bonds. It would appear that an urgent need of cash for immediate personal business, or farm use is a major, if unspoken, reason for landowners not making what they consider to be a good investment in forestland improvement.

PROCEDURE
In the summer of 1982, personnel of the Georgia Forestry Commission undertook personal interviews with 600 nonindustrial landowners in 38 rural counties
throughout Georgia. A total of 502 per-
sonal interviews were completed with the owners of 227,000 acres of rural land, of which 109,360 acres were reported to be forested. Only 17 percent of the intended interviews were not completed and there is no indication that the nonresponses will seriously bias the survey findings. By its design, however, there are survey biases, the nature of which will become apparent in describing the sample drawing procedure.
The survey's sample represents rural landowners throughout Georgia, except
for those in counties comprising Georgia's standard metropolitan statistical areas, where taxes, real estate speculation, and other factors combine to inhibit the prac-
A tice of forestry. sample of 38 counties
was randomly selected from the remaining 123 counties, with each of Georgia's 5 forest survey units represented by 5 to 10 counties or approximately in proportion to its share of the state's rural area, Chart
1.
The statewide sample of 600 personal interviews, amounting to about 2 percent
of the rural landholdings in the selected
counties, was then allocated among the 38 counties on the basis of importance of
forestry in each county. Larger samples were allocated to counties with large acreages of commercial forest, large volumes of recent timber production, and numerous large farms, the last variable being highly related to the practice of forestry on nonindustrial land. Thus, although all of nonmetropolitan Georgia is represented, the sample is biased toward areas with a high level of forestry activity, especially the coastal plain with its concen-

tration of forest product manufacturing. The last step in the sample drawing
procedure entailed the selection of the
assigned number of interviews in each county. This selection was accomplished randomly from a comprehensive list of
rural addresses. All farms or landholdings of less than 100 acres as well as the landholdings of forest product manufacturers were excluded from the sample. By dropping the numerous small farms below 100 acres from the sample, larger landowners
were given a much greater probability of
being selected. This bias toward larger landowners is a means of conforming the sample more closely to the economic realities of Georgia's forested landscape, which is dominated by larger landhold-
ings.
FINDINGS
Selected Lando wner Characteristics
Of the 502 completed interviews, 292
(58.2 percent) orginated in the coastal plain (southeast and southwest forest survey units), 166 (33.1 percent) in the pied-
mont (central and north central units), and 44 (8.8 percent) in the mountain region (north unit), Table 1. The sample's statewide total of 109,360 acres is similarly distributed among the three geo-
graphic regions, with 68.8 percent in the coastal plain, 25.7 percent in the piedmont, and 5.5 percent in the mountain
region. By either measure, the statewide findings are dominated by the coastal plain, which is represented in the sample to a greater degree than would be indicated by its share of the state's land area or even by its share of the state's commer-
cial forest.
Table 1 also distributes the responding landowners and their forest acreages according to the size of their timberland holding. Although the sample includes no

farms smaller than 100 acres and thus underestimates somewhat the actual percentage of small timberland owners, it is seen that virtually half of the landowners reported owning forestland of 100 acres or less. Landowners with timberland holdings ranging in size from 101 to 400 acres as part of their total landholding comprised 41.2 percent of all landowners statewide. Only 9.2 percent of the landowners reported owning more than 400 acres of timberland.
It is seen that the near majority of
landowners who owned 100 acres or less
of timberland jointly controlled only 11.9 percent of the statewide total of
forested acres. The combined acreage of forest tracts ranging from 101 to 400 acres accounted for 37.2 percent of the
total forest acreage, a share almost as large as its share of landowners. But the relatively few large landowners are seen to jointly control a 50.4 percent share of the total forest acreage in the state. Thus, the typical Georgia timberland owner
may hold only a few acres, but the major-
ity of Georgia's nonindustrial timberland
is held by a relatively small number of
large landowners. Note, however, the regional variation
in these findings. The percentage of small timber landowners increases from 45.5
percent in the coastal plain to 50.6 percent in the piedmont and 68.2 percent in the mountain region. Consequently, the share of the total forest held jointly in small ownerships increases from 9.0 percent in the coastal plain to 24.4 percent in the mountain region. Conversely, land-
owners with timber tracts exceeding 400 acres comprise 10.6 percent of the owners in the coastal plain and jointly control
57.1 percent of the total forest there but comprise only 4.5 percent of the owners and control but 39.3 percent of the forest in the mountain region.

TABLE 1

PERCENTAGE OF LANDOWNERS AND FOREST ACREAGE BY SIZE OF TIMBER TRACTS AND GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

FOREST SIZE IN ACRES

GEORGIA

OWNERS

ACRES

COASTAL

OWNERS

ACRES

PIEDMONT OWNERS ACRES

MOUNTAIN OWNERS ACRES

PERCENT

100 OR LESS 101 TO 400 OVER 400 TOTALS OWNERS & ACRES PERCENT

49.6 41.2
9.2 100.0
502 100.0

11.9 37.7 50.4 100.0 109,360 100.0

45.5 43.9 10.6 100.0
292 58.2

9.0 33.9 57.1 100.0 75,286 68.8

50.6 41.6
7.8 100.0
166 33.1

16.9 48.2 34.9 100.0 28,091 25.7

68.2 27.3
4.5 100.0
44 8.8

24.4 36.3 39.3 100.0 5,983
5.5

CHART- 1
FOREST SURVEY UNITS

Almost 1 in 3 farms reported pine plantations among their timberland holdings and slightly more than 1 in 3 reported clearing woodland for agricultural use over the past 10 years. Table 2. The 13,631 acres of pine plantations reported by the sample landowners comprised 12.2 percent of the total timberland. The 8,432 acres of timberland cleared for pasture and row crops represented a 7.2 percent loss of timberland over the past
decade. Among landowners with planta-
tions, the largest were found in the coastal plain, averaging 104.6 acres per ownership as compared with 59.5 and 56.5 acres respectively in the piedmont and mountain regions. Coastal plain landowners also cleared the largest forest acreage on average, 57.6 acres.
Farming was the principal occupation of landowners, Table 3. Virtually half of the landowners in the coastal plain reported themselves to be farmers. Farmers were less frequent in the piedmont and mountain regions but this occupation still ranked first. Retirement was the second most frequently cited occupation and business was the third most frequently mentioned in all three regions. Finally, there were several noteworthy aspects of the Georgia landowner profile that showed little variation from region to region. Typically, the Georgia timberland owner is male, the sole owner of the tract, manages the land himself, and is a local resident, either living in the same or adjacent county as his land.
Of landowners responding to the survey, 15.7 percent reported that they either participated in the American Tree Farm System, had a management plan prepared by a professional forester, or both, Table 4. Only 6.0 percent of the landowners with 100 acres or less of timber benefited from this forest management

planning and advice. But almost 1 in 5 of the landowners with tracts of 101 to 400 acres and more than half of those with tracts larger than 400 acres had received some professional assistance. Considering
the exceptional share of the forest owned by the larger landowners, it follows that a
significant fraction of Georgia's nonindustrial timberland acreage has benefited from the fact that its owners were partici-
pants in the American Tree Farm System or were clients of professional foresters.
Timber Sales
More than half of all landowners (57.5 percent) reported making one or more timber sales over the past 10 years. Table 5. This high percentage of landowner selling timber reflects in part the study's orientation toward the areas of the state which are important sources of the timber supply. But an equally high percentage of landowners in the piedmont as in the coastal plain reported sales, and more than 1 in 3 in the mountain region had at least one timber sale. Timber sales were most frequent among landowners owning more than 400 acres of timber (75.6 percent). Almost two thirds of the landowners owning tracts ranging from 101 to 400 acres had timber sales.
Among landowners selling timber,
about 1 in 3 reported cumulative sales of more than 100 acres over the past 10 years, Table 6. These landowners were concentrated in the coastal plain, where 33.5 percent had cumulative sales of 101 to 400 acres and 6.4 percent had sales in excess of 400 acres. The large majority of timber selling landowners in both the piedmont and mountains had cumulative sales of less than 100 acres.
In contrast with this high frequency of timber sales in the past, relatively few

landowners expect to sell timber over the next 5 years, Table 7. Only 15.4 percent of the landowners statewide indicated that they expect to sell timber over the near future. Significantly, coastal plain landowners exhibited the lowest percent-
age of expected timber sales among the
three geographic regions. It is seen that landowners with timber tracts in excess
of 400 acres evidence a relatively high percentage of expected timber sales as compared with the smaller landowners, 44.4 percent versus 14.9 and 10.4 percent. But the percentage of large landowners expecting timber sales lags far behind the
percentage of their actual sales over the past decade.
Dissatisfaction with the results of past timber sales would not appear to be a significant motive for the relatively high percentage of landowners not expecting to sell timber in the future. Less than 1 in 5 landowners selling timber voiced any complaints about their timber sales. These landowner complaints divided evenly between physical and economic damages purportedly inflicted on the landowner by the timber harvester. Examples of the former include torn up road, excessive slash left on the ground, and
damage to remaining pines. Scale ticket mixups, high grading, and other misunderstandings about price and volume exemplify the economic damages done to landowners by their reckoning. But the large majority of those selling timber reported no complaints about their timber
sales.
When asked to give reasons why they
expected no timber sales over the next 5 years, 81 percent of the landowners responded either that their timber would not be ready for sale within this period or that they did not have enough timber to sell. Viewed in relation to the above find-

TABLE 2
PLANTED OR CLEARED LAND IN ACRES
NONE 1 TO 20 21 TO 100 OVER 100
ALL FARMS TOTAL(ACRES) AVERAGE(ACRES

PERCENT OF FARMS WITH PLANTED PINES AND CLEARED WOODLAND BY SIZE AND GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS
GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA PLANTED CLEARED

COASTAL PLANTED CLEARED

PERCENT

68.7 11.6 14.1
5.6

64.3 17.5 14.8
3.4

67.1 8.9
17.1 6.9

65.7 13.4 17.1
3.8

100.0 13,631
86.8

100.0 8,432
47.1

100.0 10,042
104.6

100.0 5,765
57.6

PIEDMONT PLANTED CLEARED

71.1 13.9 10.8
4.2
100.0 2,854
59.5

60.9 26.5
9.6 3.0
100.0 2,179
33.5

MOUNTAIN PLANTED CLEARED

70.4 20.5
6.8 2.3
100.0 735
56.5

68.1 11.4 18.2
2.3
488 34.9

TABLE 3
OCCUPATION RETIRED FARMERS BUSINESSMEN MANAGERS AND
PROFESSIONALS LABORERS OTHERS
TOTAL

LANDOWNER OCCUPATION BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA

COASTAL

PIE!)MONT

NUMBER PERCEh

NUMBER PERCENT

4BER PERCENT

111

22.5

206

41.7

64

13.0

68

23.5

42

49.1

29

10.0

32

19.5

50

30.9

29

17.9

32

6.5

34

6.9

47

9.5

18

6.2

9

3.1

23

8.0

11

6.8

19

11.7

21

13.0

494

100.0

289

100.0

162

100.0

MOUNTAIN

NUMBER PERCENT

11

25.6

14

32.6

6

14.0

3

7.0

6

14.0

3

7.0

43

100.0

TABLE 4

PERCENTAGE OF LANDOWNERS EITHER PARTICIPATING IN AMERICAN TREE FARM SYSTEM OR WITH MANAGEMENT PLAN PREPARED BY A
FORESTER BY SIZE OF TIMBER TRACTS AND GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

TRACT SIZE IN ACRES

GEORGIA

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT

MOUNTAIN

100 OR LESS 101 TO 400 OVER 400

6.0 19.3 52.2

6.8 20.3 54.8

4.8 13.0 46.2

6.7 31.2 50.0

TOTAL PERCENT

79 15.7

52 17.8

19 11.4

8
18.2

TABLE 5
TRACT SIZE IN ACRES
100 OR LESS 101 TO 400 OVER 400 ALL FARMS

PERCENT OF FARMS SELLING TIMBER IN PAST 10 YEARS BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AND TIMBER TRACT SIZE

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

48.4 64.6 75.6

50.4 63.5 80.6

50.6 70.6 58.3

57.5

59.3

59.4

MOUNTAIN PERCENT
33.3 41.6 100.0
38.6

TABLE 6

PERCENT OF 10 YEAR TIMBER SALES BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AND CUMULATIVE ACRES

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

CUMULATIVE SALES IN ACRES

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

MOUNTAIN PERCENT

50 OR LESS 51 TO 100 101 TO 400 OVER 400

42.4 22.9 29.1
5.6

32.4 27.7 33.5
6.4

57.1 15.3 22.4
5.1

58.8 17.7 23.5
0.0

ALL FARMS

WITH SALES

288

173

98

17

ings, this would seem to suggest a tight timber supply and high, if not rising, stumpage prices over the near future, at least in those localities which have supplied much of the state's recent timber
harvest.
Forestland Improvements
In comparison to those selling timber, relatively few landowners reported spend-
ing money to improve their woodlands over the past decade. Table 8. Only 1 in 4
landowners statewide reported any improvements and the bulk of these were located in the coastal plain, where 34.8 percent of landowners made improvements as compared with 11.7 and 11.6 percent of the landowners in the piedmont and mountain regions. Note, however, that 2 out of 3 landowners with timber holdings in excess of 400 acres reported making 1 or more improvements over the past decade. Considering the large fraction of the nonindustrial forest held in large tracts, it follows that a potentially large fraction of the forest was benefited by improved management.
Indeed, this appears to have been the case. Reflecting multiple improvements over the 10 year period, a total of 264
improvements were made on 31,441 acres. Table 9. From this sample finding it might be projected that more than 40
percent of the pine forest innon industrial ownership had been benefited from forest

management practices over the past decade. However, 30,400 acres of the improvements (96.7 percent) were concentrated in the coastal plain, where more
than half the pine forest in nonindustrial ownership was benefited by improved
management practices. In contrast, only
5.9 percent of the nonindustrial pine forest in the piedmont and 3.8 percent of that in the mountain region received any management. Moreover it is seen that 75.5 percent of the treated acreage statewide consisted of prescribed burning, all of which was located in the coastal plain. Planting and timber stand improvement practices accounted for but 18.4 percent and 6.1 percent respectively of the treated acreage statewide.
Less than 1 in 5 landowners making improvements voiced any complaints
about them. Among those who did com-
plain, about half were unhappy either about the cost of the practices or the in-
sufficiency of funds from the ASCS For-
est Incentive Program (FIP), Table 10.
Among landowners making improve-
ments over the past decade, slightly more
than 1 in 4 received financial support
from FIP, Table 11. About 1 in 3 financed at least part of the improvement cost with funds from timber sales. The owners of farms larger than 500 acres relied to a greater extent upon funds from timber sales and FIP than did smaller landown-
ers.
Slightly more landowners plan to im-

prove their woodlands in the foreseeable future than those actually making improvements over the past decade. Statewide, 31.2 percent of the landowners plan future woodland improvements, Table 12. As in the instance of improvements made in the past, a significant majority of landowners with large timber tracts plan future improvements. Similarly, it is seen that only as minority of landowners with smaller timber tracts plan future improvements, although the percentage of small landowners with such plans is greater than of those actually making improvements in the past, especially in the piedmont and mountain re-
gions.
Among those planning woodland im-
provements in the foreseeable future, the pattern of intended improvements by type and geographic region is similar to that of past improvements. Table 13. In a majority of instances the practice of prescribed burning is the intended improvement, followed by planting and timber stand improvement practices.
Among Georgia landowners not in-
tending to invest in woodland improvements, the most frequently cited reasons were that the improvements were not needed or that there wasn't a sufficient stand to warrant making them, Table 14. Competing landowner interests, especially agricultural pursuits, was the most frequently cited reason in the piedmont region and ranked third statewide. Except

TABLE 7
TRACT SIZE IN ACRES
100 OR LESS 101 TO 400 OVER 400 ALL FARMS

PERCENT OF FARMS PLANNING TIMBER SALES IN NEXT 5 YEARS BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AND TIMBER TRACT SIZE

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

10.4 14.9 44.4

7.1 11.7 45.2

12.9 23.5 41.7

15.4

13.3

19.4

MOUNTAIN PERCENT
17.2 0.0
50.0
14.0

TABLE 8
TRACT SIZE IN ACRES
100 OR LESS 101 TO 400 OVER 400 ALL FARMS

PERCENT OF FARMS MAKING FOREST IMPROVEMENTS IN PAST 10 YEARS BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AND TIMBER TRACT SIZE

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

MOUNTAIN PERCENT

17.4 26.6 68.9

21.9 38.3 74.2

8.3 9.0 50.0

10.3 0.0
100.0

25.2

34.8

11.7

11.6

in the mountain region, where almost 1 in 5 landowners mentioned it, a lack of money was not ranked high as a reason for not planning woodland improvements. The noneconomic reasons that the landowner was too old or that the landholding was part of an unsettled estate were advanced by about 1 in 5 landowners. Finally, only about 1 in 12 of the noninvesting landowners justified their intentions by citing the unprofitability of
the investments.
Landowner Attitudes
A woodland improvement is consider-
ed generally to be a good investment by large and small landowners in all three geographic regions of Georgia, Tables 15 and 16. Statewide, 2 out of 3 landowners consider it a good investment while less than 1 in 10 consider it a bad investment. About 1 in 5 landowners voiced uncertainty about the investment

merits of a woodland improvement. A
variety of reasons were advanced by landowners to explain positive or negative.
While a large majority of landowners considered a woodland improvement to be a good investment, it will be recalled that only a minority of landowners in-
tended to make improvements over the foreseeable future. Moreover, when asked
to rank the desirability of various uses of funds from a timber sale, most landowners gave a low priority to the planting or other improvement of the cutover timberland. Table 19. Statewide, 2 out of 3 landowners gave a high priority to a farm or business use (including debt payoff) of
the funds from a timber sale. Home im-
provement, car, child's education, or other personal use of the funds was ranked 1st or 2nd in desirability by almost
half of the landowners. An investment of
the timber sale proceeds in forestry was about on par with investments in land, real estate, stocks, and bonds. Only

among landowners with farms larger than 500 acres did these long-term investment uses of funds from a timber sale rank as
high as personal use of the funds, Table
20. And current use of the funds in the farm business was considered to be much more important by large and small land-
owners alike. Finally, although the survey was un-
dertaken in the summer of 1982 only 1 in 3 landowners was yet aware of federal
tax incentives for reforestation signed in-
to law on October 14, 1980, Table 21. The incentive of a 10 percent tax credit
for tree planting costs in the year of the investment plus the amortization of the costs as a tax deducation over a 7 year period could prove to be a decisive influence, especially for large landowners.

TABLE 9

FREQUENCY OF FOREST IMPROVEMENTS OVER PAST 10 YEARS BY TYPE AND GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

IMPROVEMENT TYPE

GEORGIA NUMBER ACRES

COASTAL NUMBER ACRES
PERCENT

PIEDMONT NUMBER ACRES

TREE PLANTING

34.5 18.4

30.3

15.7

61.3

97.4

TIMBER STAND IMPROVEMENT

15.0

6.1

13.6

6.2

25.8

2.6

PRESCRIBED BURNING 50.0 75.5

56.1

78.1

12.9

---

TOTAL

264 31,441

228 30,400

31

922

MOUNTAIN NUMBER ACRES

60.0 40.0

98.3 1.7

---

---

5

119

TABLE 10

COMPLAINTS ABOUT FOREST AND IMPROVEMENTS BY FARM SIZE

FARM SIZE IN ACRES

FARMS RESP. COMPLAINTS

500 OR LESS

OVER 500

PERCENT

COST TOO MUCH NOT ENOUGH FIP POOR SEEDLING SURVIVAL POOR LAND CLEARING PLANTING PROBLEMS OTHER

41.7 16.7 16.7
8.3 0.0 16.7

27.3 18.3
9.1 9.1 18.2 18.2

TOTAL FARMS

12

11

TOTAL
34.7 17.4 13.0
8.7 8.7 17.4
23
11

TABLE 11
FARMS RESP. SOURCE
TIMBER SALE FIP COST-SHARE OTHER INCOME
TOTAL FARMS
TABLE 12
TRACT SIZE IN ACRES
100 OR LESS 101 TO 400 OVER 400 ALL FARMS

SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR FOREST IMPROVEMENTS BY FARM SIZE FARM SIZE IN ACRES

500 OR LESS
22.6 22.6 60.7
84

PERCENT

OVER 500
52.3 38.6 50.0
44

TOTAL
32.8 28.1 57.0
128

PERCENT OF FARMS PLANNING FORESTLAND IMPROVEMENTS BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS AND TIMBER TRACT SIZE

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

21.2 35.6 64.4

19.7 39.1 61.3

20.2 30.9 75.0

31.2

32.9

28.9

MOUNTAIN PERCENT
28.6 25.0 50.0
28.6

TABLE 13

PERCENT OF PLANNED WOODLAND IMPROVEMENTS BY TYPE AND GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

IMPROVEMENT TYPE

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

MOUNTAIN PERCENT

TREE PLANTING

27.0

22.4

67.7

60.0

TIMBER STAND IMPROVEMENT

15.0

14.0

20.5

40.0

PRESCRIBED BURNING

58.0

63.6

11.8

0.0

TOTAL

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

TABLE 14

REASONS FOR NO PLANNED WOODLAND IMPROVEMENTS BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

FARMS RESPONDING REASON

GEORGIA

COASTAL

PIEDMONT

MOUNTAIN

PERCENT

NOT NEEDED STAND NOT SUFFICIENT OTHER INTERESTS DON'T HAVE MONEY TOO OLD UNSETTLED OWNERSHIP UNPROFITABLE OTHER REASONS

21.6 18.4 17.6 12.0 11.2
9.6 8.0 8.0

24.0 21.3
9.3 13.3
9.3 12.0
5.3 5.3

17.9 10.3 35.9
7.7 15.4
5.1 12.8
7.7

18.2 27.3
9.1 18.2
9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1

TOTAL FARMS

125

75

12

39

11

TABLE 15
FARMS RESPONDING
YES NO UNCERTAIN
TOTAL

WOODLAND IMPROVEMENT IS A GOOD INVESTMENT BY FARM SIZE FARM SIZE IN ACRES

500 OR LESS
66.5 9.0
24.5 376

PERCENT

OVER 500
80.8 6.1
13.1 99

GEORGIA
69.5 8.4
22.1 475

TABLE 16
FARMS RESPONDING
YES NO UNCERTAIN
TOTAL FARMS

WOODLAND IMPROVEMENT IS A GOOD INVESTMENT BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA
69.5 8.4
22.1 475

COASTAL
PERCENT
71.5 8.8
19.7
274

PIEDMONT
65.2 7.0
27.8 158

MOUNTAIN
72.1 11.6 16.3
43

TABLE 17

REASONS GIVEN FOR YES RESPONSES TO GOOD INVESTMENT BY FARM SIZE

FARMS RESP. REASON
MAKES MONEY INCREASES RETURN GOOD FOR LONG TERM GROWING TIMBER DEMAND BETTER TIMBER RESULTS KEEPS LAND IN TOP
PRODUCTION INCREASES LAND VALUE OTHER REASONS
TOTAL FARMS

500 OR LESS
12.3 17.6 21.1
8.3 13.7
8.8
4.9 20.1
204

PERCENT

OVER 500
5..6 28..2 15..5 15.,5 12..7 12..7
2..8 23..9
71

GEOR(HA
10..5 20,.4 19.,6 10..2 13,.5
9.,8
4,,4 21,.5
27 5

13

TABLE 18

REASONS GIVEN FOR NO RESPONSES TO GOOD INVESTMENT BY FARM SIZE

FARMS RESP. REASON

500 OR LESS

RETURN TOO LOW TOO OLD INVESTMENT TOO LONG FARMING PRIMARY INTEREST LAND NOT SUITABLE HIGH TAXES COSTS TOO HIGH RISK OF BEETLES HIGH INTEREST RATES OTHER
TOTAL FARMS

17.2 17.2 10.3 10.3 17.2
3.4 10.3
3.4 3.4 17.2
29

PERCENT

OVER 500
33.3 0.0
16.7 33.3 16.7 16.7
0.0 16.7
0.0 0.0
6

GEORGIA
20.0 14.3 11.4 14.3 17.2
5.7 8.6 5.7 2.9 14.3
35

TABLE 19

PREFERRED USE OF FUNDS FROM A TIMBER SALE BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

PREFERRED USES

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

FARM OR BUSINESS LAND OR REAL ESTATE FOREST IMPROVEMENT HOME OR PERSONAL STOCKS OR BONDS

67.9 18.7 23.3 45.2 27.5

71.9 19.2 25.0 44.2 23.3

62,,0 18. ,7 21, ,1 44,,6 36, ,1

TOTAL

502

292

166

MOUNTAIN PERCENT
67.9 18.7 23.3 45.2 27.5
44

TABLE 20
PREFERRED USES
FARM OR BUSINESS LAND OR REAL ESTATE FOREST IMPROVEMENT HOME OR PERSONAL STOCKS OR BONDS
TOTAL FARMS

PREFERRED USE OF FUNDS FROM A TIMBER SALE BY FARM SIZE

FARM SIZE IN ACRES

500 OR LESS PERCENT

OVER 500 PERCENT

66.9 17.0 21.3 48.9 27.3

71.,8 25.,2 31, .1 31,,1 28.,2

399

103

GEORGIA PERCENT
67.9 18.7 23.3 45.2 27.5
502

TABLE 21
FARMS RESPONDING YES NO
TOTAL
14

PERCENT OF LANDOWNERS AWARE OF FEDERAL REFORESTATION TAX INCENTIVE BY GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

GEORGIA PERCENT

COASTAL PERCENT

PIEDMONT PERCENT

34.9 65.1

44.9 55.1

21.1 78.9

100.0

100.0

100.0

MOUNTAIN PERCENT
21.4 78.6
100.0

lllilHl
3 2106 DM55M EMbM
LITERATURE CITED
1. Holemo, Fred J. and Peter J. Dyson. 1971. Landowner Attitudes and Practices Concerning Timber Production and Marketing in the Piedmont Region of Georgia. Georgia Forest Research Paper 66, 12pp.
2. Holemo, Fred J. and E. Evan Brown. A 1975. Profile of the Private Non-industrial Forest Landowner in Georgia's
Coastal Plain. Georgia Forest Research Paper 82, 16pp.
3. Montgomery, Albert A. and Robert L. Chaffin. 1982. The Economic Importance of Georgia's Forest Industry. Georgia Forest Research Paper 27, 27pp.
4. Montgomery, Albert A. 1982. A Survey of Forest Practice Vendors and Services in Georgia. Georgia Forest
Research Paper 36, 19pp. 5. Mullaney, Gary E. and Vernon L. Robinson. 1980. Forest Investment by Non-industrial Private Landowners in
Georgia. Georgia Forest Research Paper 12, 5pp.
15

GEORGIA
FORESTRY
John W. Mixon, Director
J. Fred Allen, Chief of Forest Research