In some areas farmers have cooperative sawmills, or a farmer who has a 

 sawmill saws his neighbor's logs on shares or for cash or other pay. Simi- 

 larly farmers may process their other forest products to increase their cash 

 income. 



The farmer, a user of wood. — Its many and important uses make wood in- 

 dispensable on every farm. Wooden buildings and fence posts, poles, and 

 equipment create a constant demand for lumber on the farm. The farmer 

 who can supply his own needs reduces his cash outlay and can keep his farm 

 in much better condition. Farmers use the greater share of the fuel wood 

 they produce. Wooden boxes, barrels, and crates are used in enormous 

 quantities in marketing farm products. 



Grazing farm woodlands . — The value of forage found in farm woodlands 

 varies greatly with the forest type. 



In the Eastern, Lake, and Central States, the grazing of cattle, sheep, and 

 goats in hardwood stands is incompatible with the production of forest 

 crops. Since the most valuable hardwood trees frequently have the most 

 palatable foliage, grazing degrades the forest by preventing the reproduc- 

 tion of the more valuable species. Where hardwood woodlands are grazed 

 constantly and forage becomes scarce, practically all reproduction is 

 eliminated, the soil becomes packed, forest conditions are destroyed, and 

 grass takes possession of the site. The farmer's problem is to decide from 

 the standpoint of best land use whether to maintain all his woodland for 

 the production of forest crops by fencing and eliminating grazing or to 

 convert a portion of his woodland to other farm uses . Grazing in coniferous 

 forests in the Lake States and in the Northeast makes no great contribution 

 to the farm economy. 



In some coniferous forests, dual use of the woodland by cattle and sheep 

 is entirely feasible, provided grazing is properly regulated. For example, 

 the open ponderosa pine forests of the West provide palatable forage which, 

 through proper use, can be utilized without destroving the productiveness 

 of the forest (fig. 12). Ponderosa pine has low palatability and is seldom 

 eaten by stock provided numbers of livestock are adjusted to available 

 forage. Grazing in other coniferous forests in the West, where the forest 

 is often broken by natural meadows and openings, is of great importance 

 to farmers, but the forest proper contains little forage and damage from 

 grazing is negligible. 



In the pine forests of the South, the grasses are low in palatability but 

 considerable stock is grazed. Cattle range through the woods with little 

 regard to ownership lines and, with moderate regulation, danger of serious 

 damage to reproduction is slight. Where woodland pastures are fenced, 

 damage to pine seedlings can be serious if too many head of cattle are grazed. 

 Once the young growth becomes well established, however, the forage is so 

 depleted by shade as to almost exclude grazing use. Sheep and goats will 

 eat buds and new growth on pine seedlings and should be fenced out of 

 pine plantations and stands having seedling reproduction. Longleaf pine 

 forests should be protected from hogs, sheep, and goats at all times during 

 which regeneration of the forest is taking place. Grazing in southern 

 pine forests on the basis of native grasses is generally uneconomic and the 

 real solution to the grazing problem is through the use of improved pastures 

 and the growing of hay crops. 



Protection given. — The protection given by woods to crops, buildings, and 

 livestock against winds is of great value to the farmer. In the Prairie 

 States, and more especially in the Great Plains States where natural tree 



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