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Monroe County’s Forest Economy

F-78
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Date: 
09/21/2012
Eric McConnell, Ph.D., Forest Operations and Products Specialist, Ohio State University Extension
Mark Landefeld, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, Monroe County

 A small yellow and black tractor in a forest with a stack of brown logs on the side.Monroe County contains 456 square miles (291,840 acres) of land and is home to 14,642 citizens[1]. There are 119 industries in the county, with the median household earning an income of $37,080. Major employers include businesses in the sectors of extraction of oil and natural gas, alumina refining and primary aluminum production, and state and local governments[2]

The land resources of Monroe County provide many economic benefits. The county's 630 agricultural farms produce cattle and calves, dairy and milk, and oats and hay, among others[3]. Over 90,000 acres of land are in farms. 

An abundance of forested acres are also present in Monroe County. A white map of Ohio with Monroe County shaded in black.Responsibly managing these woodlands provides community support by producing economic activity in four forest industrial sectors. These businesses directly generate $10.8 million in industrial output and $715,000 in taxes[2]. This fact sheet presents some key terms and figures for describing the many contributions Monroe County's forests and forest industries provide to the local economy. 

Forest Resource Terminology[4]

Acre: A unit of land measure equal to 43,560 square feet (208.7 feet x 208.7 feet). One square mile equals 640 acres.

Forest Type Group: A classification of forest land based on the species forming a plurality of live-tree stocking. Forest types sharing closely associated species or site requirements are often combined into major forest type groups.  

Growing Stock Volume: Net volume A pie chart showing that 32.7% of Monroe County is farmland and 67.3% is forestland., in cubic feet, of growing-stock trees 5.0 inches in diameter and larger, measured at breast height (4.5 feet). Height is recorded from a 1-foot stump to a minimum 4.0-inch top diameter outside bark of the central stem, or to the point where the central stem breaks into limbs. Gross volume minus deductions for cull equals net volume.  

Sawtimber Volume: Net volume in board feet, by the International ¼-inch rule, of sawlogs in sawtimber trees. Gross volume minus the deductions for rot, sweep, and other defects that affect use for lumber equals net volume.

Forest Industry Impact Analysis Terminology[6]

Direct Economic Impact: The effect generated by the industry of A pie chart showing that 11.6% of land is federally owned, 86.2% is privately owned, and  2% is state owned.interest in an economic impact analysis. This is measured through employment, value-added, and industrial output produced to meet demand for the manufactured product(s).

Employment: The total wage and salary and self-employed jobs in a geographical area. This number includes both full- and part-time jobs in an industrial sector. 

Direct Federal Tax Impact: Taxes collected by the U.S. government. These taxes are generated from labor income, indirect business taxes, households, and corporations associated with the industry of interest.

Direct State and Local Tax Impact: Taxes paid to state, county, and municipal governments. These taxes are generated from labor income, indirect business taxes, households, and corporations associated with the industry of interest.

Indirect Business Taxes: A pie chart showing 28.5% of forestry is maple, beech, or birch, 64% is oak or hickory, and 7% is other types.These taxes are primarily sales and excise taxes paid by individuals to businesses through normal operations. They do not include taxes on corporate profits and dividends.

Industrial Output: The total value of production measured as the sum of value-added plus the cost of buying goods and services to produce the product(s).  

Labor Income: Wages and benefits paid to employees plus proprietary income for self-employed work.

Value-Added: The sum of labor income, interest, profits, and indirect business taxes.

Why Should I Manage My Woodland?

  • Properly managing your woodland improves forest health, aesthetics, and wildlife habitat. It also provides soil stabilization, clean water, self-satisfaction, and aA bar graph showing the height of the wood in million cubic feet at different diameters. potential source of income.
  • Managing timber requires less long-term inputs compared to many other land uses.
  • You are able to obtain cost share funds to establish your woodland, tax credits while managing your forest property, and preferable tax treatment at harvest. 
  •  Standing timber is a stable form of wealth, often comparable in performance to mutual fund investments. 

How Can I Learn to Better Manage My Woodland?

  • Become actively involved in the stewardship of your property. A pie chart showing that yellowpoplar is 18% of forestry, red oaks are 17%, hard maple is 13%, hickory is 6%, white oak is 10%, and other species are 36%.
  • Join your local forestry association. 
  • Search Ohio State University Extension's website Ohioline for further study of forestry-related topics: ohioline.osu.edu.
  • Contact your local service forester to help you develop a management plan for your property. 
  • Obtain soils information from your local Soil and Water Conservation District. 
  • Enlist the assistance of a professional forester when planning a timber sale.
  • Consider hiring an Ohio Master Logging Company to conduct your harvesting operation

Resources  A bar graph showing how much revenue is made from different agricultural industries.

School of Environment and Natural Resources

The Ohio State University
2021 Coffey Road
Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: (614) 688-3421
Fax: (614) 292-7432

Ohio State University Extension, Monroe County

101 North Main St., Room 17
Woodsfield, OH 43793-1070
Phone: (740) 472-0810A bar graph showing how much money is spent on industrial output, employment, labor income, and the value added.
Fax: (740) 472-2510

Ohio Division of Forestry  

2050 East Wheeling Ave.
Cambridge, OH 43725-2159
Phone: (740) 439-9079
Fax: (740) 432-7711

Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District

117 North Main St., 3rd Floor
Woodsfield, OH 43793
Phone: (740) 472-5477
Fax: (740) 472-5581

Ohio Society of American Foresters

Ohio Forestry Association

Master Logging Company Program
Office: 746 Morrison Road, Columbus, OH 43230
Mail: 1100-H Brandywine Blvd.,
Zanesville, OH 43701
Phone: (614) 497-9580
Fax: (614) 497-9581

Call Before You Cut

Phone: (877) 424-8288
 A bar graph showing about 250 thousand dollars are spent on state and local taxes and 500 thousand are spent on federal taxes.

References

National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2010). Agricultural Statistics 2010. United States Department of Agriculture.
downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/j3860694x/pv63g307d/np193c978/Agstat-05-03-2010.pdf.

United States Forest Service. (2012). Moving from Status to Trends: Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Symposium 2012. United States Department of Agriculture.
fia.fs.usda.gov/sciencestakeholder/proceedings/pubs/2012_FIA_Proceedings-opt.pdf.

Woudenberg, S.W., Conkling, B.L., O’Connell, B.M., LaPoint, E.B., Turner, J.A., & Waddell, K.L. (2010). The Forest Inventory and Analysis Database: Database Description and Users Manual Version 4.0 for Phase 2. United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr245.pdf.


We thank David Apsley, Ohio State University Extension; Nathan Irby, Mississippi Forestry Association; John Lusk, Ohio certified tree farmer; and Dave Schott, Monroe County SWCD, for their reviews of this fact sheet.

1All other crop farming includes (1) growing crops (except oilseeds and/or grains; vegetables and/or melons; fruits and/or tree nuts; greenhouse, nursery and/or floriculture products; tobacco; cotton; sugarcane; or hay) or (2) a combination of crops (except a combination of oilseeds and grains; and a combination of fruits and tree nuts) with no one crop or family of crops accounting for one-half of the establishment's agricultural production (i.e., value of crops for market).

Originally posted Sep 21, 2012.
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