If you own several acres of woodlands, you know how expensive it can be to maintain—and, how expensive it is when you get your property tax bill. But, there are several ways to use your woodlands to help offset those costs.
“Indiana woodlands are famous for producing some of the highest quality hardwoods you can find,” says Lenny Farlee, one of the board members of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association (IFWOA). He’s also a forester with Purdue Extension and the Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center at Purdue University.
He says harvesting some of the lumber in your woodlands can help generate income for you and your family.
“There are several species in Indiana that go into our wood-using marketplaces. The ones with the highest unit value, historically, have been black walnut, white oak, black cherry, red oak, and sugar maple,” according to Farlee. “If you think about what you find in your living or dining rooms in terms of furniture cabinets and flooring, that’s the kind of species mix that we typically see.”
Farlee says there are some other seasonal opportunities to cash in.
“Some folks will lease their land to hunters for some annual income. Some folks are running agritourism ventures—using things like maple syrup to draw people—so there lots of different options and potential depending on what folks are interested in doing, what kind of sweat equity they want to put into it, and who they can connect with to help them with those processes.”
Farlee says an outstanding resource to learn more about offsetting the costs of maintaining your woodland properties is through the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with folks that have been doing this for a long time,” says Farlee. “You can avoid those mistakes that they’ve made because they’ll share those with you. You’ll also learn how to do things better because they’ll share that with you, too.”
“I encourage anybody that’s interested in the management and the long-term health of their woodlands to think about a membership in the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association,” says Farlee. “It’s a good investment and you’ll make some great relationships along the way.”
For more information about the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association, visit IFWOA.org.
Click below to hear C.J. Miller’s radio news report for Hoosier Ag Today.
