Pine Pulpwood Markets Rebound

Pine Pulpwood markets have rebounded from decade low stumpage prices for landowners. Slumping economies both in the United States and in many countries which imported pine pulpwood and chips, along with four back-to-back drought years severely depressed pine pulpwood prices. However, with the ending of a drought in the southeastern United States and with a recovering economy, pine pulpwood prices are out of the doldrums. In September, Hurricane Isabelle further saturated many areas of the southeast that were already wet. Low pulp mill inventories were reduced even further. Hardwood pulpwood inventories were already low and were driven down even further by the hurricane. As the economy continues to recover, pine pulpwood prices should remain stable at the recent higher levels. Hardwood pulpwood prices are at an all-time high and have almost doubled pine pulpwood prices in some areas. This run-up in hardwood prices is unheard of in recent history.

Housing Markets Continues Strong

Despite a lackluster general economy, the housing market has remained strong over the past several years and has been one of the bright spots. Spurred by both record low interest rates for home mortgages and by a boom in remodeling, the housing market has helped timber prices remain strong. Hurricane Isabelle also contributed to increased demand for plywood and oriented strand board as prices at the retail level for these products have doubled in some cases.

Changes in the Handling of CRP Payments

the first conservation reserve program sign-up began in 1986.Since then, a total of 45 million acres have been enrolled in the program. Recent changes by the IRS signal a new method in how CRP payments are to be taxed, according to Ag Professional magazine. According to a letter ruling from the Chief Counsel's office, a landowners activities under land diversion programs, including the CRP program, amount to material participation. This means that CRP payments are subject to the 15.3 percent tax on self employment income. This appears to be the case even for retired landowners, which puts the new ruling at odds with a 1988ruling on retired landowners. The former ruling stated that CRP payments were not subject to self-employment tax. The new ruling involved a taxpayer who was engaged in the business of farming and had placed land into CRP. The taxpayer had reported the payments on Schedule E and had not paid self-employment tax. The 2000 ruling says these payments are self employment income and must be reported on Schedule F. In the other case, a taxpayer acquired land that was already enrolled in the CRP program. The taxpayer took over the CRP contract. Because the taxpayer was not engaged in farming, CRP payments were reported on Form 4835. This form is used to report landlord's income and expenses from a non-material participation share lease. The 2003 ruling takes the position that these payments must be reported on Schedule F and that the 15.3 percent self-employment tax must be paid. We suggest that you contact your tax professional to see how these changes may affect you. GIS-what is it and How Can it Help my Hunt Club? Over the past ten years, almost everyone has been introduced to the terms GPS (global positioning system) and GIS (geographic information system). What most people do not know is how valuable information in a GIS can be. Geographic information systems will provide you with accurate information to make better and quicker decisions, and they may even help you kill more deer! Obviously, having a map of an area is helpful, but labels on paper maps can only go so far. A paper map of a hunt club could probably label all roads, water bodies, and deer stands, but there are several problems. Paper maps of large areas such as hunt clubs are usually large and cannot be reproduced when information on the ground changes. It's difficult to reflect those changes on the large map. These things may be okay if the only people who ever need a map are lifetime members of that hunt club and the land has never changed. What happens when it is time to have some gravel delivered for a road, or a culvert needs replacing, or worst-case scenario, you have wildfire? Unless someone lives on the land, the responsibility is often rotated among members to meet people and lead them into an area on the hunt club that requires work and that's usually on a week day. A GIS allows you to ask your map questions such as what is the shortest way to get from my location to the bunk house without crossing a bridge, or what timber types surround the three most successful deer stands over the past five seasons? For the man delivering the culvert, a GIS can print a map showing only roads, culverts, and streams. After all, do you want him knowing where all your deer stands are? With recreation-grade GPS receivers priced as low as$100, you can give not only directions, but also latitude & longitude coordinates. The SC Forestry Commission presently uses geographic coordinates to dispatch wardens to wildfires. Many corporate fire departments and EMS agencies are installing computers with GIS software in response vehicles. Having your data in a GIS will allow you to share information with people who have GIS/GPS equipment without letting the whole world know the layout of your club. Probably one of the most cost-saving functions of a GIS is aerial herbicide application. If you can send a GPS file to the helicopter pilot, you will save valuable flight time because most companies begin by flying around and mapping the areas to be sprayed. How much will it cost? There are many factors that go into determining the cost of implementing a GIS. Do you want the data collected on the ground or digitized from photos? How do you want to access your GIS through the web or on one or five computers? A simple GIS that still gives you ten times the information and flexibility of a paper map could cost as little as $500to set up, depending on acreage. A much more useful and user-friendly GIS would be one that is accessed online, similar to some county tax maps, if you are familiar with those systems. Just because your GIS is online doesn't mean everyone can see it. Password protection can be added to web pages to allow different levels of access to your clubs GIS. Probably the biggest advantage to having an online GIS is the immediate update of information for everyone using the system. Imagine sitting at your office on Monday morning and being able to see the weight, sex, and location of every deer shot on the club over the weekend! If wildlife follows a pattern, a GIS will help you figure it out. If you try to establish a GIS on your own, do your research about what GPS units are compatible with different software packages and be careful collecting data with recreational-grade GPS units. While these units are great for navigation, they are not mapping grade and they may not be able to communicate with higher end GIS software. If you have any questions concerning GIS or would like to propose a project, let us know and with the help of Carolina Mapping, we can meet your GIS needs.

GIS-What is it and How Can it Help my Hunt Club?

Over the past ten years, almost everyone has been introduced to the terms GPS (global positioning system) and GIS (geographic information system). What most people do not know is how valuable information in a GIS can be. Geographic information systems will provide you with accurate information to make better and quicker decisions, and they may even help you kill more deer! Obviously, having a map of an area is helpful, but labels on paper maps can only go so far. A paper map of a hunt club could probably label all roads, water bodies, and deer stands, but there are several problems. Paper maps of large areas such as hunt clubs are usually large and cannot be reproduced when information on the ground changes. It is difficult to reflect those changes on the large map. These things may be okay if the only people who ever need a map are lifetime members of that hunt club and the land has never changed. What happens when it is time to have some gravel delivered for a road, or a culvert needs replacing, or worst-case scenario, you have a wildfire? Unless someone lives on the land, the responsibility is often rotated among members to meet people and lead them into an area on the hunt club that requires work and that's usually on a weekday. A GIS allows you to ask your map questions such as what is the shortest way to get from my location to the bunk house without crossing a bridge, or what timber types surround the three most successful deer stands over the past five seasons? For the man delivering the culvert, a GIS can print a map showing only roads, culverts, and streams. After all, do you want him knowing where all your deer stands are? With recreation-grade GPS receivers priced as low as $100, you can give not only directions, but also latitude & longitude coordinates. The SC Forestry Commission presently uses geographic coordinates to dispatch wardens to wildfires. Many corporate fire departments and EMS agencies are installing computers with GIS software in response vehicles. Having your data in a GIS will allow you to share information with people who have GIS/GPS equipment without letting the whole world know the layout of your club. Probably one of the most cost-saving functions of a GIS is aerial herbicide application. If you can send a GPS file to the helicopter pilot, you will save valuable flight time because most companies begin by flying around and mapping the areas to be sprayed. How much will it cost? There are many factors that go into determining the cost of implementing a GIS. Do you want the data collected on the ground or digitized from photos? How do you want to access your GIS- through the web or on one or five computers? A simple GIS that still gives you ten times the information and flexibility of a paper map could cost as little as $500 to set up, depending on acreage. A much more useful and user-friendly GIS would be one that is accessed online, similar to some county tax maps, if you are familiar with those systems. Just because your GIS is online doesn't mean everyone can see it. Password protection can be added to web pages to allow different levels of access to your club's GIS. Probably the biggest advantage to having an online GIS is the immediate update of information for everyone using the system. Imagine sitting at your office on Monday morning and being able to see the weight, sex, and location of every deer shot on the club over the weekend! If wildlife follows a pattern, a GIS will help you figure it out. If you try to establish a GIS on your own, do your research about what GPS units are compatible with different software packages and be careful collecting data with recreational-grade GPS units. While these units are great for navigation, they are not mapping grade and they may not be able to communicate with higher end GIS software. If you have any questions concerning GIS or would like to propose a project, let us know and with the help of Carolina Mapping, we can meet your GIS needs.