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Betsy Bates

Trade War, Dry Weather Conditions Impact Timber Markets

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The trade war with China continues to have a negative impact on timber markets, with hardwood and softwood stumpage (standing timber) prices down almost everywhere in the third quarter.

“Timber prices in the South were down … But it’s late summer and dry, so it is typical for prices to be down this time of year,” writes Marshall Thomas, president of F&W Forestry Services, Inc., in his company’s fall newsletter.  “Odds are when it starts raining, prices will rise again.”

But the situation is more dire for hardwood markets.

“In the Northeast, timber prices are really down almost everywhere.  In fact, red oak and black cherry are down from the previous year by 18 and 19 percent respectively,” Thomas wrote.  “This is entirely due to the trade war with China.  Northeastern hardwood lumber producers rely heavily on the Chinese market, and hardwood exports to China are down 41 percent over the first six months of 2019 compared to the first six months of 2018.”

TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE FALL 2019 F&W FORESTRY REPORT, SUBSCRIBE NOW

Betsy Bates

New Regulations Ease Burden on Landowners

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The Trump administration continues to advance its domestic agenda and private landowners stand to benefit from two new rules finalized over the summer.

The Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, a contentious Obama-era regulation that extended federal jurisdiction over which waters are regulated under the Clean Water Act, was repealed, bringing much-needed regulatory certainty.

The Obama rule had been mired with legal challenges that resulted in a regulatory patchwork of where the rule applied.  A new WOTUS definition has been proposed that covers traditional navigable waters and tributaries to those waters but excludes features that only contain water during or in response to rainfall, groundwater, ditches, storm water control and waste treatment systems.

Separately, changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were finalized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The new rule changes affect how future assessments will be made, including ending the “blanket rule” that automatically gave threatened species the same protections as endangered, placing limits on the designation of critical habitat, and allowing information regarding economic impact of a listing to be shared with the public (but not used in making determinations).

TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE FALL 2019 F&W FORESTRY REPORT, SUBSCRIBE NOW

Betsy Bates

Ag Land Values Remain Steady in 2019

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Amid trade tensions, decreased prices, and weather woes, the latest survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a rise in farm real estate values in 2019.

Farm real estate values, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, grew by an average of $60 per acre across the U.S., a 1.9 percent increase over last year.

Although the survey does not include forestland, it does break out values for both farm cropland and pastures.  These values may bear some relation to the underlying bare land value of forested acreage.  Both cropland and pasture values were up in 2019, by 1.2 and 2.3 percent respectively.

TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE FALL 2019 F&W FORESTRY REPORT, SUBSCRIBE NOW