Tree Farm Program???
 

The guy we (my brothers, my father and myself) bought our land off of was part of Tree Farm Program and has asked us if we would like to join. From what he was saying, a forester comes in and looks at the quality of the trees in your woods and makes recommendations to cut certain trees to improve the quality of the forest at no charge. Another benefit from this program is that it reduces your taxes pretty significantly. Does anyone know or have any experience with this program? Thanks in advance.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

In which state are you located?

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

I live in West Virginia.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

That was a pretty simplified description.I don't know that you'll save that much in taxes, but then I'm from Pennsylvania.
Here are some links:
http://www.treefarmsystem.org/

http://www.forestlandowners.com/

http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/privateforests/states/westvirginia

ChuckS

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

I've been working today on a Tree Farm plan on a 7,000 acre tract I manage. I know of no tax breaks associated with the Tree Farm plan. It is basically a silviculture plan for a timber stand of more than 10 acres. You do get a nice sign to put on your property.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

The concept of a "Tree Farm" can be an official title from astate agency or other organization,or something that is just used among landowners and biologist to describe timber management techniques on a particular piece of land. Whichevermost accurately describesyour place,it islikely somebody has invested someextensive time and effortto inventory the trees anddelineate the forest stands on the property. Like everything else there is a ton of info on the web. If the land has a tree harvest of acouple thousand $ completed every 5 or 15 years, don't worry about the tax implications. Pay the taxes and move on. However, if the amount of money changing hands with a timber harvest is tens of thousands of $, it would be best to seek out a CPA with experience handling farms and silviculture practices. The taxes and the application of the laws can be very, very complicated to make sure you don't pay any more than absolutely you have to.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

Here in Wisconsin it is called Forest Crop, I believe. If you sign up to have your forest crop land open to hunters(anyone can hunt there) there is a pretty severe tax cut. If you sign up closed to hunters then the tax cut is not as good, but still worth it. But you also have to cut what timber the state guy tells you to cut.
You could do what we do. We cut enough wood off the land each year to pay the taxes. Usually it is about 10 cords of bolts for the sawmill and 10 cords of either pulp for the paper mill or firewood. It takes us about 3 weekends in January to cut that much with the equipment we have.
Brian

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

Well, I've been a tax preparer for several years, so income tax wise I'm pretty knowledgeable about timber and farm sales. Property taxes is where I thought you could save some significant money. From what the guy we bought the property off of said, they tell you what to cut to keep the forest thriving and even payyou a little for your time. However, it doesn't sound likewhat the previous landowner was trying to sell. Thanks for the info guys.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

There are a number of different federal and state programs that can be applied to either agriculture or silviculture. Contacting your local NRCS or county forester is probably the only way you can get specific information about your property.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

Dbl Beard...if your land is in Missouri, the program you are describing sounds like the Missouri Dept. of Conservation's Forest LandEnhancement Program (FLEP). They provide cost-sharefor you tomanage your forest. If this is what you were thinking of, contact your regional MDC office to get one of the foresters.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

The Tree Farm system has nothing to do with hunting easements.

The main purpose of the Tree Farm certification program is to promote sustainable forestry. The first 5 years, if I remember correctly, the landowner is under a 'candidate' period. After that, as long as all planned activities have been taking place on time, it may be certified as a Tree Farm. The farm is inspected at any time within 5 years and, once inspected, within 5 years after that time...and continues on that same pattern. If you ever lose your status as a Tree Farm,no property you owncan ever qualify for the certification...again...if I remember correctly.

The main benefit of the program is a warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you know you are doing the right thing in practicing sustainable forestry. All well and good, but there are really no financial benefits to doing such. There may be some companies willing to give a little more money for the wood productsor require that properties be certified as sustainable before they will purchase the wood, but not around here that I know about.

Look into several programs before deciding upon one for sure. The NRCS has several. The best one for you depends on what you want to do with your property (forestry, wildlife, etc.)and what the characteristics of your land are (upland, bottomland,critical habitat for endangered species).I would suggest going to a forestry consultant, especially if you have a larger acreage, Dbl beard. They will help you immensely.

Good luck and if you ever have any questions, feel free to PM me or shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]I'd be happy to help you in any way that I can.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

Timber Management is important a good stand of prime timber can yield 100 per acre per year adveraged over 30yrs
Do Not Buy a Piece of Property with Timber Reserve.
States vary in the way they define farms.
Ag. farms typicaly have the best tax breaks ther are also alot of other programs you can get into depending on availability in your state
http://www.doubleaquailplantation.com/south_carolina_bob_white_quail_habitat_restoration .html

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

We have this in New York. You can save as much as 70% on your tax bill yearly. But, they have requirements such as you must have a minimum of 50 acres, and it must be TOTALLY covered in trees. Open spaces will not count. You can plant trees in the open spaces if you want that to count toward the 50 acres, but it won't count until 5 years have past and the trees are still there growing!!!

You will need a Certified Forester (CF) to come in and survey the land and file your papers with the State. Then when you harvest the required trees, the CF takes like 10% of the profits as compensation. Letting others hunt on the property DOSEN'T affect your tax deduction, at least not in New York.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

Virginia is similar, but you can place ag. and forestal lands in ag./forestal use. The minimums are lower than in NY. I save something like 10,000 a year on my property taxes,by having my farm in ag./forestal use. This may be what is being spoken about.

RE: Tree Farm Program???
 

My brother has 100 acres in Louisiana, it is planted in 12 yr old pines and surrounded by hardwoods. He has it listed as a tree farm and gets a tax break on it. I'm not sure how much it is, but I do know it makes his property taxes cheaper.