Owning a woodland property in Indiana can be an asset—and it could bring you some extra money to supplement your farm operation.
“In many ways the forest parts of the farm have as much value as the row cropping parts of the farm,” says Dan Lynch of Owen County. He’s a woodland owner and board member of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association (IFWOA).
“I’m a ninth-generation woodland owner in Indiana,” according to Lynch. “Our mixed-use farm in southwest-central Indiana is part woodland, part row crop, and we have a cattle operation. The 400 acres that we have is about one-third timber, about one-third pasture, and about one-third row crop. It’s rough country and we have hills and dales on our farm, but they’ve been cultivated by the family over the years for wood and forestry products.”
Lynch says harvesting the timber from his woodland property is just one revenue stream for his farm.
“I’ve established a pretty good relationship with the hunters that come in from Indianapolis and hunt the property. The demand for hunting just continues to explode. Cash rent prices for hunting leases are pretty high now. They can be $20 an acre. When you have a mixed-use farm with a lot of edging, it’s thick with deer and turkey, so I’ve been leasing to the same people for a number of years and it’s a good relationship,” says Lynch.
He adds that IFWOA has been an outstanding resource along the way.
“I am constantly calling people that I’ve met at IFWOA with questions or I’m looking for consulting advice,” says Lynch. “There’s Purdue Extension, which is very involved. You also have the Forestry Department at Purdue, as well as the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), so it’s a good mix of resources and expertise to help a landowner.”
“Nobody knows everything about these forests, and you can always find somebody that’ll help you with your questions about forestland, water runoff, invasive species—just a number of items,” Lynch says.
Stop by the Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association booth at the Hoosier Hardwood Festival, August 25-27 at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon. For more information, visit IFWOA.org.
Click below to hear C.J. Miller’s radio news report for Hoosier Ag Today.
