$16.3 BILLION of FLORIDA ECONOMY

LAST WEEK, I attended the three day meeting of the Florida Forestry Assn. in Panama City, together with almost 300 others who are interested in the woodlands.  As Florida Land Realtor of the Year 2014, that is where I find much of the land is known and owned. 

The timber people are mostly conservatives who believe in honesty, the Bible, good government and producing wood products.  We blessed our meals and saluted the flag frequently.  Lectures were about conservation easements, effects of Amendment I passed last year that will put hundreds of millions into land, wildlife management, personal finances, forest inventory, chemicals used for vegetation control, and taxes. Many suppliers had booths.

Forestry is a major business in this state with $16,300,000,000 of the economy from 80,700 jobs in various functions.  The roughly 17 million acres of woodlands are about 47% of the 37.53 million total acres in the state.  See the article below from Adam Putnam.

If you need help with land, please call me at 904-421-8537

Henry Rogers, CCIM, ALC
Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark

Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 3:00 pm

Statewide forestry inventory results released By Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Communications SuwanneeDemocrat.com

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• Posted on Sep 1, 2015
  by Amber Vann                   
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced today the results of an inventory of Florida's nearly 17 million acres of forestland. The study, led by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Florida Forest Service, evaluated the distribution, availability, ownership and sustainability of Florida's timber resources. Florida's forestry industry employs 80,700 Floridians and infuses $16.3 billion into the state's economy. “This study confirms that Florida's forest owners are good stewards of the land, taking excellent care of their working forests so that they are available for future generations,” Commissioner Adam H. Putnam said.

Findings from the 2015 Comprehensive Statewide Forest Inventory Analysis Study update include:

• Forests cover nearly 17 million acres, or 47 percent of land in the state.
• Forty-nine percent of forest area is pine, 45 percent is hardwood or mixed hardwood-pine, and 6 percent is cypress.
• Almost 90 percent of state's 8.3 million acres of pine occur in North Florida.
• Nearly two-thirds of Florida's forests are privately owned, with the highest proportions of private ownership in the northern part of the state.
• Federal, state, county and municipal governments own 34 percent of forest land.
• There are 62 primary active wood-using mills in Florida. The most common are sawmills, mulch, chip-and-saw and pulp mills.
• Pine pulpwood is in the highest demand among all timber products, followed by pine sawtimber.
• Cypress forests showed slight increase in acreage while mangroves held steady between the original 2013 and 2015 release of the study.

The Florida Legislature required the original Comprehensive Statewide Forest Inventory Analysis Study in 2012. The 2015 update focuses on mapping forestland cover, identifying forestland ownership and analyzing the growth and demand for timber resources. To view the Comprehensive Statewide Forest Inventory Analysis Study in its entirety, visit FreshFromFlorida.com/Forest_Inventory. The Florida Forest Service, a division within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of public forestland while protecting 26 million acres of homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire. Learn more about Florida Forest Service programs.