commercially feasible on a much 

 larger scale on both a stumpage 

 and landowner self-harvesting 

 basis. 



The Conservation Reserve Phase 

 of the Soil Bank Program in the 

 1950's, combined with 

 development of relatively 

 inexpensive mechanical tree 

 planters and conservation 

 contractor vendors, created a 

 boom in planting surplus cropland 

 to trees. The 1950s and 1960's 

 also witnessed development of 

 heavy-equipment systems and 

 effective herbicides for preparing 

 and replanting or reseeding of 

 cutover land and conversion of 

 low-grade hardwood sites to pine. 

 In 1973, the initiation of the 

 Federal Forestry Incentives 

 Program followed by 

 supplementary State programs in 

 Virginia, Mississippi, North 

 Carolina, and South Carolina, and 

 a private program in Texas 

 provided expanded cost-sharing for 

 site preparation, planting, and 

 other productivity-increasing 

 practices (Warren and Wiseman 

 1985). 



All of these developments, plus 

 price increases for timber, resulted 

 in a greatly improved climate for 

 nonindustrial private forestry in the 

 South. Along with that came the 

 mechanization of harvesting, the 

 development of log debarking and 

 chipping, whole-tree chipping, 

 chip-n-saw systems, lamination, 

 particleboard, southern pine 



plywood, new wood preservatives, 

 new glues and finishes, and the 

 application of operations research 

 models and computer controls to 

 wood processing operations. 



In most Southern States, extension 

 foresters, forest-products 

 specialists, and county agents 

 played a central role in making 

 forest landowners, loggers, 

 processors, and, in some cases, 

 consumers aware of the new 

 opportunities and how to take 

 advantage of them. These 

 professionals sponsored or 

 cosponsored a host of 

 demonstrations, field days, tours, 

 logging equipment shows, 

 demonstrations of naval-stores 

 conservation practices, and use of 

 newsletters, publications, the 

 press, and radio and television. 



The period after World War II was 

 also one of major growth in 4-H 

 forestry programs. Special 1-week 

 training camps were created. 4-H 

 demonstration forests were 

 established near schools. 

 Comprehensive county, district, 

 and State competition and award 

 programs were founded. The 

 programs enjoyed support and 

 cosponsorship of the forest 

 industry, forestry associations, and 

 certain public utility companies. 



The Renewable Resources Extension 



Act of 1978— Passage of this act 

 gave forestry, forest-products, and 

 related natural-resources extension 

 a separate, comprehensive, yet 



52 



