Timberland, farmland values are strong

WABASH, Ind. — As winter approaches, land values appear poised to hold steady, according to a webinar hosted by Halderman Real Estate Services.

“The farmland market is strong,” said Howard Halderman, president of Halderman Real Estate Services.

“I think land values are going to remain stable through wintertime. A lot of unknowns always remain in agriculture, but for the most part I feel stability.”

John Siefert, state forester at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, weighed in on timber acres.

“Timberland has held its value fairly well,” he said. “It’s kept up just as well as the ag side.

“The forestland, the timberland, is really a unique commodity. The thing that makes us really, truly unique is that we grow it, we manufacture it and we sell a lot of it in the state. We look at that at secondary manufacturing as a big component of the total forest industry in Indiana.”

What does good timber management look like? It starts with investing in the right land.

“Having the right kinds of species on the soil” is important, Siefert said. “Having a good, what we call ‘fully stocked’ stand. Once you have that, it’s really about just managing it.

“If it’s done well, it’s an incredibly renewable crop. We base a lot of our management on re-entering these forests every 10 to 15, maybe 20, years for harvest.”

In between tree harvests, farmers can work to improve the forest.

“I might take out some trees that aren’t valuable (and use) for firewood,” Siefert said. “I might kill some vines. I might spray some invasive species. But the amount of input it takes between that first harvest and the next harvest is relatively small.”

Government programs are available to assist with responsible forest management.

“The Forest Stewardship Plan is a federal government program that supports mid-management activities like getting rid of trees that don’t have value, hollow trees, invasive species,” Siefert said. “Typically, the government provides 50%, maybe 80%, of that cost to do that work.”

For those looking to invest or cash in on wooded areas, the state foresteroffered more advice.

“In my best-case scenario, I’m buying a stand that’s already fully stocked,” he said. “It’s got a good mixture of oak, walnut, cherry, sugar and maple trees.”

To learn more, visit https://tinyurl.com/Forest-Stewardship-Plans.