What A Difference A Year Makes

A year ago, we were just learning about a new disease known as COVID-19 and were in the thick of businesses and economies shutting down in an attempt to slow the spread. Today, because of vaccines, we are on track to return to normal, including in-person meetings of forestry organization events.

“Last spring, I talked about how sawmills were curtailing production,” writes Marshall Thomas, president of F&W Forestry Services, in his company’s spring newsletter. “It seems ironic to think of that now, as demand for lumber continued through the crisis and prices reached all-time highs.”

“Unfortunately, this hasn’t translated into higher prices being paid to landowners for trees, since we still have an oversupply of trees in the forest,” he adds.

Thomas notes that rural real estate has done very well during the pandemic, with higher-than-normal interest in tracts near urban areas.

“It will be interesting to see if this and other COVID-19-related trends hold up as we move back to ‘normal.’”

TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE SPRING 2021 F&W FORESTRY REPORT, SUBSCRIBE NOW