Assessing Income and Risk of Incorporating Pine Straw Production into Slash Pine Plantations

Slash pine plantation economic returns from both timber and pine straw producing perspectives were compared. Bare land values (BLVs) were calculated for site index 65 (base age 25) across three discount rates (4%, 5%, and 6%), three planting densities [545 (8 by 10 ft), 623 (7 by 10 ft), and 726 (6 by 10 ft) trees per acre], and two sets of timber prices (30-year and 10-year averages). Timber yields were obtained from the Cutover Slash Growth and Yield Simulator. Straw yields were estimated stochastically using a two-parameter Weibull distribution based on findings from a summary of pine straw yields and economic benefits in loblolly, longleaf, and slash pine stands. Straw production at an estimated average of 198 bales per acre (13 by 13 by 26 inches) improved net economic returns across all discount rates and planting densities. Increasing discount rates expectedly lowered BLVs. The BLVs varied much less across spacings, with planting at 7 by 10 ft being the preferred option. From 159 to 164 bales per acre were needed for pine straw operations to break even when planting 623 trees per acre depending on the discount rate. The distance from the average BLV to the 90th percentile was greater than the distance from the average BLV to the 10th percentile across strategies. This implied a greater potential existed for pine straw harvesting to improve BLV, but risk associated with a pine straw enterprise could reduce net income levels below simply choosing to forgo this activity.