Understanding Timber Harvesting Challenges On Small Family Forests In Northern Minnesota, Usa

Family forests are an important landowner group in the United States. A high percentage of family forest ownerships are smaller than 8 hectares in size. A survey of logging business owners in northern Minnesota was conducted to better understand some of the primary obstacles to harvesting timber from small tracts. Results suggest that while logging businesses which harvest relatively small volumes of timber annually tend to focus their procurement on small tracts, small tracts are still an important component for businesses regardless of its annual production. The three factors which increase the likelihood of a logging business operating on a small tract are the tract's proximity to other tracts which have already been purchased by the logging business, presence of high quality timber in the buyer's preferred species and the option for a summer harvest occurring on the tract. As the volume of timber offered for sale increases, loggers are more likely to purchase a timber sale, regardless of whether it is in public or private ownership.