PROFITS FROM FARM WOODS 
MONEY-MAKING EXAMPLES FROM SOUTHERN FARMERS 
By W. R. MaTToon 
EHatension Forester, Branch of Public Relations, Forest Service 
CONTENTS 
Page Page 
Value of typical examples... ._____-_______--- 1 | Farmer finds ‘‘waste’’ timber profitable ____- 9 
Kan Gsiofs pines ees Sa a eS ae 2 | Slash pine is profitable__-__- Cul aha is cee eet te 10 
Farmer thins pines at a profit_______________ 2 ATs GE OT Ve eg a eee 10 
Farmer grows a timber crop—it pays-_-___.-- 3 IM SVEISSISSIp pie as a Ne ln Ree 11 
A farmer’s timber prophecy comes true_____- 4 nO usta aa ee ee ese ee 11 
Stories of two Mississippi trees___-_________- 6 | Loblolly pine—a good investment_-__________ ila 
SWC ty OUT ee Eerie ees Sata a 6 Thinning pines in eastern Virginia--____- 12 
HOD LOM VAIN ete ee ee 6 Thinning pines in Maryland__-_________- 12 
Louisiana farmer ‘‘sows and reaps’’ timber Pine straw—a commercial product_________-_- 13 
CRO [De eater ee aria ere i ava SaaS 6 | Farmer watches saplings grow and refuses 
Selective cutting profitable_________________- 7 SSOORAMVACTON Gos wes es Ve Tee PN Ge ee 14 
Can not make living without woodland ____-_ 7 | Cropping farm timber in Texas______--__---- 14 
Former gullied field now valuable timber- A pioneer timber farmer______--------------- 16 
yin etree Ae oe eee Gee SE ee 8 | A costly mistake in marketing farm timber_- 
IMiyacroprOlstimben sane eee ee 9 | Pine poles from potato patch, a gold mine 
A farmer in the upper piedmont region fOP OC eMiill ees eee eee ee ene a ee 17 
finds out for himself how much money 
his timber is making___-_______________ 9 
VALUE OF TYPICAL EXAMPLES 
The stories included in this publication are believed to be typical 
of the results and money returns possible to farmers under average 
conditions in the various regions. There are many farmers whose 
market possibilities for wood products are unfavorable. However. 
there are many other farmers who, by a little greater effort on their 
part, can duplicate the experiences of the farmers here described. 
Although estimates of the amount of timber that can be grown and 
of its money value are helpful, specific examples of good practice 
in cutting and marketing products from the farm woods are far 
more informative and valuable. 
Better methods of handling the woods and timberlands on the 
farm will result in larger, more frequent, and more profitable tim- 
ber crops. Some of the products will always be needed for the 
upkeep of the farm homestead. The money income from logs, poles, 
crossties, posts, and fuel wood that can be sold as excess products, 
should in a greater degree than now constitute a substantial part of 
the net farm income. On the farm as well as elsewhere the thing 
that counts is the difference between the cost of production and the 
amount received from the sale of the product, in other words the 
net income. 
In many of the cases cited in the following pages it will be seen 
that the farmers did their own cutting of the rough-timber prod- 
ucts. They thereby gained doubly by leaving their woods in good 
condition to grow another crop of timber and by marketing their 
own labor and that of their teams or trucks, as well as their timber. 
The examples of cutting and marketing timber have been obtained 
directly from the farmers, many by the author and some by State 
