Tree Farmer - Fall 2012 - (Page 12)

Enhance the VALUE of Your Woodlot By can prepare to add any value to it. You should also take an accurate inventory of your family’s goals and objectives for the Tree Farm. Compare what you and your family value from the Tree Farm with what the marketplace values, and focus on those resources where you find intersections. Swearingen KURt Jim Birkemeier and his family own Timbergreen Farm, a 200-acre Tree Farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin. In the past, the family has had success in turning their trees into premium hardwood flooring, which they install and finish in customers’ homes. “But those sales are now down 80 percent as a result of the recession,” he says. Fortunately, in recent years the family has diversified its product line, creating everything from cutting boards to photo frames to jewelry to picnic tables onsite and marketing these items through the Internet. “We would have been out of business had we not been selling so many other products, many to international customers over the Internet,” Birkemeier says. Whether it’s by creating unique wooden ornaments or offering recreational activities, there are endless ways that you, too, can enhance the value of your Tree Farm. All it takes is some thoughtful management and a clear understanding of the marketplace for Tree Farm goods and services. However, you should understand what you have on your woodlot before you markets. Accessing profitable retail markets is done by identifying a niche for your Tree Farm goods and services. Timbergreen Farm initially did this by creating premium hardwood flooring, which it sold directly to, and installed in, customers’ homes. Another example of an operation that has found and exploited a profitable niche is Fatwood (www.fatwood.com), a company that sells a special type of high-resin fire starter. With a price of around $3.55 per 2-pound box, the company is bringing in nearly $4,000 per cord of wood! Birkemeier notes some barriers new Tree Farmers may run into. The main one is often customer perceptions. “Customers are so preconditioned to buy the cheapest flooring, it’s a big challenge for them to consider anything else,” he says. His approach: Principles of Adding Value There are three general ways to add value to your Tree Farm products and services. These are • Enhancing current products; • Creating new products; and • Preserving the value of all products. Whether you are dealing with an existing product or a new one, perhaps the most important way to add value is by skipping traditional commodity markets and selling directly into retail 12 Tree Farmer FALL 2012 http://www.fatwood.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - Fall 2012

Tree Farmer - Fall 2012
Contents
From the Director
A Conservation Heritage
Enhance the Value of Your Woodlot
A Passion for Forestry
Tree Farmers Gather
Sustainability on Display
Wildlife Matters
Ties to the Land
Tools & Techniques
Woodland Security
Taxing Issues
Connecting Kids to Nature

Tree Farmer - Fall 2012