Farm Bill Provides Millions to Private Forestland Owners

Although the bills’ primary focus is to support agriculture prices and farmer incomes, it also provides millions of dollars for programs designed to assist private landowners and tree farmers. Since the majority of the non-industrial forestland is in the South, this region will be a major beneficiary of this assistance. Key forestry provisions of the bill are:

Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP) is established “to encourage long-term sustainability of non-industrial private forest lands (NIPF) in the United States.” The law mandates funding for the new program of $100 million over six years, a huge increase in the programs that it replaces - the Forest Incentive Program (FIP) and the Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP). Cost-share assistance will be provided to qualifying landowners for a wide range of forestry practices for timber production and conservation purposes. Eligible practices for each state will be developed with the assistance of the State Foresters and the State Forest Stewardship Committees. Cost-share assistance for site preparation and reforestation practices will be among the most important to private forestland owners.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), due to expire this year, will be extended to 2007. Funding of $1.5 billion is provided for the program. This program has provided lucrative long-term contracts with landowners to plant trees on highly erodible cropland and other eligible land in the South. Under this program, landowners are paid cost-share assistance to establish a stand of planted pines on the approved site and they receive an annual payment for a determined number of years (usually 10). There has been no sign-up period in the past few years, due to the lack of funding. A new sign-up period may come as early as this fall.

Another program, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQUIP), which has been a soil and water conservation program primarily for farmers, was amended to include private, non-industrial forest land as eligible for participation. This program also makes cost-share assistance available for certain practices, which may include reforestation practices in the future.

The details and rules of the programs were not available prior to publication of this newsletter. They should be available during the latter part of 2002. Hopefully, the funding will be in place to assist with reforestation in the upcoming planting season. Information will be available at local offices of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the North Carolina Forest Service or contact your consultant.

Reprinted from "Forest Management News" Fall 2002, Volume 22 Number 2, published by Timber Marketing & Management of the Carolinas, Inc.