WoodWorks! Farmer Woodlot :: Farmer's Woodlot Toolkit

Your woodlot has the potential to make valuable contributions to your farm’s overall economic success. Having the right information is key to harnessing the potential of your woodlot. The Farmer Woodlot Tooldkit will help you build on what you already know about farm management, applying the same principles to managing your woodlot.

The center piece of this website is the Lot Manager. Based on the data you gather about your own land, the Lot Manager program will generate financial statements for two scenarios, one based on the assumption of fairly fast forest growth, and the other based on the assumption of slower growth, over the next 30 years. You can run scenarios for the same woodlot, testing the effect of different woodlot management decisions on the bottom-line. An example of the financial statements generated by the Lot Manager is below.

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Download our Lot Manager Tutorial (pdf) to get a quick introduction to how the program works.

Of course, this website offers a wealth of resources related to woodlot management:

In Understanding Forestry basic information about forestry terms and practices will orient you to the timber marketplace.
You will have the opportunity to inventory a sample acre of your own land and develop rough budgets for your own woodlot in Planning for your Woodlot.
As noted, the Lot Manager program will generate financial statements for two scenarios, one based on the assumption of fairly fast forest growth, and the other based on the assumption of slower growth, over the next 30 years.
Resources connects you with the information you need to take the next steps to begin managing your woodlot.
Finally, a Glossary provides definitions of important forestry terms. You can link to this section from various key words throughout the rest of the website, or you can scan the list of terms in its entirety.

The most profitable acreage on the farm may not be the best corn ground. It’s often the farm woodlot. That’s especially true if the woodlot is growing saw timber or veneer-quality red oak, black cherry, black walnut or sugar maple. Other tree species and forest products are also profitable to grow. With care and planning some hardwood stands can be managed to grow $200 or more in timber value per acre each year. Properly tended, some pine plantations on good soils can grow one cord of wood per acre for every year after planting.

Most farm woodlots are neglected because they don’t provide cash flow as frequently as corn or soybeans or milk. Paychecks from wood come only periodically, and sometimes only once in a lifetime. Farm woodlots are often viewed as a source of cash in an emergency and a place to hunt deer. They are seldom considered in the total farm economic plan.

That need not be the case. Most woodlots have the potential to produce more harvestable wood than they do. Most can be harvested more often than they are, even as often as every five years, depending on the amount of acreage and the kinds of trees growing there.

Timber harvesting begins with a forest management plan. By looking at the entire property and working with a forester, timber harvesting and its impacts can be put into perspective. Harvesting is not a process to enter lightly. A timber harvest is a complex interaction of ecology, forest operations, business, law, taxes, marketing, and negotiations. It has both short and long term consequences for the land and the landowner.

The advantages of considering the woodlot as part of the total farm plan pays off in added income, increased land value over time, increased wildlife and recreational value, and increased pride of ownership that strengthens the bond between generations.

With the right resources, farmers may be better positioned to cash in on the benefits of woodlot management than any other woodland owner group. They live and work on the land. They are outdoors oriented. They recognize trees and other living organisms as being part of the growing cycle, and they often have the equipment, knowledge, and time to do the ongoing chores that return increased profits and personal satisfaction.