As far as farms and forests go, we are tiny fish in a gigantic pond. We know this. Yes, 222 acres seems like a lot. Especially to urban dwellers who would love to get their hands on one acre of land to call their own, this seems like a big farm. Frankly, it is really overwhelming for an individual to take on with minimal resources. It is expensive and most solutions are geared towards the big guys (tens of thousands of acres kinda guys). For the small landowner, just getting started is a daunting task. It's much easier to just ignore the forest and think of it as completely self-sustaining. But, that lack of thought creates hazardous private land forests.
While we understand fully that it is healthy for forests to burn on occasion and to allow nature to take it's course to some extent, the fact remains that thinning and selective harvesting are important for maintaining a healthy forest. I could digress into an entire explanation of this, but there is a lot of info out there from the US Forest Service or your state agency. They do a really good job of educating folks and making it easy to find programs.
At first glance, it doesn't seem like so much. There are Forest Stewardship programs and Conservation programs. Different agencies have different programs. They seem straight forward and the agencies promise to help. Indeed they are quite enthusiastic to help the small landowner (they prefer well over 10 acres, but will consult on as few as 10 acres) with a land plan and suggestions.
A few years ago my brother invited the USDA foresters out to take a look at what we had going on here. They were happy to do so at no charge for us. They reported the need for pasture/grazing land reclamation with native grasses, selective thinning of the forest and development of fire lanes. At the time, we were not trustees of the land and did not have the authority to proceed with the suggestions on the scale they recommended. We were also quite busy with our careers and raising our families. So, the plans were set aside and the forest ignored for a few more years.
Recently, we were named trustees of the farm and given the authority to proceed with whatever needs to be done to rehabilitate and reclaim it. That means cleaning out the old barns and shacks, clearing the old fields/pasture areas and replanting native grasses, thinning the forest, building ponds and conserving resources. That all sounds great, right? We agree. But, all of these cost money and time. They require special equipment which isn't cheap on any scale.
While the big guys will bring in big harvesters, skidders, loaders, etc. to cut and process 100 logs/day, this equipment is too expensive (think hundreds of thousands of dollars) and too specialized for the small landowner to purchase. As a small landowner, we face our task with chainsaws and two smallish tractors (big to urban landowners, small to big farm owners with harvesting equipment - but big enough to do the work). We work hard to produce 18 - 20 trees-logs/week with a payout of about $20/tree or $400ish for two loads up to the sawmill. That helps cover fuel, equipment repairs, supplies, lunch and not much else for the week. It's important to us that we select our trees carefully for harvest and minimize the damage to the surrounding forest floor. We like all of the delicious chanterelle mushrooms and other goodies that result from preserving the integrity of our forest, but this means a much slower and less profitable enterprise.
Obviously, this task is bigger than we are and we need some financial assistance to make it happen. This brings me back to those agencies mentioned earlier. We're going back to them now that we have the authority to sign contracts and loan agreements. A lot of the information we need is online and very accessible. We've really enjoyed using MyLandPlan, which has helped us to detail our goals, map the plan and communicate with one another and the agencies more effectively. While there is a lot to do and some big ideas which concern us greatly (what are we going to do with all of the waste woody biomass?) we've been able to prioritize and begin a phase plan for our operations. Now, it's time to take that plan to the foresters.
When the agencies came out a few years ago, they provided an excellent consultancy service and gave us detailed reports with suggestions to proceed. All of them indicated the next step was to work with a land or forest manager to develop a plan. That's a great idea, but...there are few such folks around in our neck of the woods. The few qualified individuals in the state either work for the large timber companies (Weyerhauser, Georgia Pacific) or are busy with the bigger small farms. None were willing or able to assist us with our land plan. None. But, that's really okay. While I can't legally hire myself out to assist others, I can use my business knowledge and acumen to sift through the information, forms and steps to serve as our land/forest manager and share our story along the way. Our hope is to make it easier for the small forest/land owner to navigate the process and improve the overall forest health.
There is a lot to learn in short order. Fortunately, our father constantly taught us about the woods, the importance of being good stewards of the forest and what that means. That saved me a lot on my learning curve and research. I was able to dive right in to working out the steps to implement the land plan and complete the applications for grants and loans. The first step was understanding the requirements for the applications from the various agencies and finding all the places able to assist us.
In order to apply for the stewardship and conservation grants we need to have a DUNS number and a SAM number, which means we had to have an EIN and to do so we formed an LLC. I completed the steps over the course of about three days. The paperwork was straightforward and simple. During that time we also compiled a list of objectives to take with us when we approached the agencies. Feeling prepared, we are going to meet with folks next week to see what we need to do next. We are seeking their guidance and advice. We hope to qualify for grants which will help fund the expense of our conservation efforts.
So, to summarize in order to get started these are the steps we took this week:
- File for LLC (or incorporate, whatever business structure you see fit) - takes up to 2 weeks to process, depending on state; file and move on. [costs vary on state fees, AR $50]
- File for EIN (federal tax number) - instantly receive [free]
- File for DUNS number (Dun & Bradstreet business registry) - takes 24 hours or so [free]
- File DBA (fictitious business name) - 24 hours [$25]
- Open Bank Account (must have bank routing numbers for SAM registration, must have LLC completed before opening bank account) [Bank minimum opening deposit requirements - $100]
- File for SAM number (Federal System for Award Management) - wait 24 - 48 hours after DUNS # is received before you can file, then takes 4 - 6 days to receive the number [free]
(note: we are 50% female owned and 50% veteran owned, we have noted this on all Federal applications)
- Design land plan, determine immediate and long-term objectives
- Meet with:
USDA - NRCS
Small Business Administration
Women's Business Center
I'll be back to update folks on the next steps after we learn what they are!
No comments:
Post a Comment