Timber — Forrest County's Number One Crop

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Forrest County Forestry Facts

Source: Forest Statistics for Mississippi Counties - 1994
USDA - Forest Service

Forest Economics

Dollars and Sense For Forrest County

Increase Forestry Income for Yourself and for Forrest County!

• Get involved in a County Forestry Association to learn more about forestry.
• Use the advice and services of a professional forester.
• Have a forest-management plan prepared for your land. The plan should tell you what you have, what you need to do, and when you need to do it.
• Reforest all of your idle or cut-over forestlands.
• Manage your forests as you would any other agricultural crop.
• Use good marketing techniques when you sell timber.
• Become familiar with timber tax laws.
• Be an active manager of your forestland.

Benefits from Managing Your Forestland

• You will make more money.
• Your land value will increase as a managed timber stand grows.
• Trees grow tax-deferred as they increase in volume and value.
• Good forest management is also good wildlife management.
• Managed forests will provide a better local forest market, industry, and jobs.

Consequences of NOT Managing Your Forestland

• You will lose money.
• You must pay land taxes whether the acres are idle or productive.
• Unmanaged forestland usually results in understocked and often less desirable timber species.
• An unmanaged forest decreases potential land value.
• You will lose future harvest revenues.

For more information on how to manage your forestland, contact the following agencies:

County Extension Agent
Mississippi State University Extension Service
400 Forrest Street, Suite 200
Hattiesburg, MS 39401-3477
Phone: (601) 545-6083

County Forester
Mississippi Forestry Commission
477 South Gate Road
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
Phone: (601) 583-4240

Prepared by Tim Traugott, Extension Forestry Specialist

Publication 2074
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Joe H. McGilberry, Interim Director

(rev-500-12-01)

Copyright by Mississippi State University. All rights reserved.

This document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit educational purposes provided that credit is given to the Mississippi State University Extension Service.