Dean Forestry Services

10/03/2026

Something we hear so often is "What's timber doing? I hear it's down." We have to wonder, down as compared to when? In the mid 1990s, yes, pine sawtimber was bringing $50+ per ton. Around the early 2010s, yes, pine sawtimber had decreased to a still respectable $37 per ton average. By the time 2014 arrived, pine sawtimber had stabilized to around $24 per ton, and besides seasonal increases and decreases of a few dollars per ton, up or down, that's where pine sawtimber has remained for the last 12 years. If you take a look at the graphs available online, there aren't huge price upswings and downswings that you used to see. The mills have changed in regards to what they want, which isn't necessarily the biggest diameter tree that you can grow anymore. The mills that exist today have placed themselves strategically in areas where they can reliably get the product(s) they want with minimal competition. Fuel price increases have severely cut back on how far a load of timber can travel to a more distant mill and still make a profit for a logger/truck driver. Pine pulpwood has declined to a near worthless product, and likely will always be that way in our lifetime, while pine chip-n-saw and pine sawtimber have still stayed steady in relative value over the last 12 years. Timber isn't really "up" or "down" significantly anymore short term, and most of us that currently have timber won't be able to hold what we have to ever see and take advantage of a significant, broad, attainable increase, that truly may never come. We are in a new normal that we can only accept and not look back to the 1990s for something that will never return. See the solid, navy blue line on the 10 year average Mississippi price graph on Timber Mart South:
https://timbermart-south.com/resources/state-stumpage-prices/mississippi/

What can you do? There is a period of time when your forest is growing, rapidly increasing volume of wood, changing from all pulpwood, to a forest where there is some pulpwood, some chip-n-saw, and some sawtimber, to a more mature forest that is growing slower, with mostly sawtimber, some chip-n-saw, and less pulpwood. You want your forest to have the scales tipped towards more of the higher end product, with less of the lower end product. Your forest may be far from maturity (in reference to a market maturity by today's standards), or it may be right in the middle where only more time is needed, maybe 5 years, 10 years, or more. Or, you may already be right at that sweet spot when it's time to sell. To maximize profit, you want to sell at the right time. In the meantime, to be ready, consider:

1) Seek advice, reputable advice from a trustworthy Forester or a timber buyer or logger you know personally. Ask questions. Contact us!
2) Make sure your property documentation is correct legally, with only LIVING people listed as owners on your deed with you being one of them, as dead people cannot enter into the conveyance of anything. If anyone listed on your property deed has passed away, that has to be taken care of, legally, prior to selling anything, and that can be expensive and take time. If there are multiple owners listed on the most recent recorded land deed, they all must be living, and they must all agree on doing anything, as all must sign legal documents in order to close a sale.
3) Have enough to sell. In order to gain interest in cutting timber, there has to be both enough acreage (at least 30 good, contiguous acres is a starting point) with enough volume of timber per acre to be worthwhile. Yes, this is very different from how things were 30 years ago, but it is a reality of how things are today. If you own less than 20 contiguous (all in one place, joining) acres, it's nearly impossible to sell the timber and get paid for it.
4) Have identifiable, undisputed boundaries and property corners, and have good, legal access to the timber from a public road that would be suitable for and usable by large logging equipment and trucks.
5) Have realistic expectations. There is a point that will be reached in your forest when more time passing may not yield significant value increase. Factors such as site index (quality of dirt), genetics and makeup/product types of the stand, location of the stand in relation to mills, being cuttable in wet weather conditions, and size of the parcel, are all things that you can't really do anything about and all influence price. Also, please realize that effective management techniques that were utilized when timber prices were significantly higher years ago (such as pine plantation pulpwood thinnings, marked select thinnings) are for the most part no longer feasible today.

Mississippi State-wide Average Stumpage Prices - US$ per ton FAQs Download Product Samples South-wide Price Report › Single State Price Report › Purchase to

08/06/2026

It's been hot, and it's getting time for more bearable fall weather. We are here to answer your questions and provide assistance in appraisals and the sale of your timber. Give us a call when you need the help of a Forester!

03/16/2026

If you look at the end of a pine tree branch this time of year, you might see these conical structures. What are they? Most of them, the ones that resemble ears of corn 🌽, are developing male pollen cones. These will soon mature and release their pollen into the breeze, coating the world in “yellow chalk dust.” Because pine trees rely on random chance for pollination, and don’t use a courier service like bees or butterflies, they must release a ton of pollen for some of it to reach a young female cone and fertilize its eggs.

The conical structure with brown spikes on the right is something different. It’s the end of the tree branch and is covered in developing pine needles. The needles are starting to emerge as new growth.

Take a look at some pine trees this time of year and it won’t take you long to find these structures. 🌲

02/10/2026

Does a lightning strike 🌩 ⚡️ always kill a tree? No! Take a look at how deep this lightning burn is on this loblolly pine. The crown isn't healthy, it looks stressed, but the tree is still alive and the scar is healing over. What a deep scar the lighting made!

02/01/2026

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01/05/2026

A new tax year is underway. If you're thinking about selling your timber but have questions or doubts, contact us. We offer advice, help with decision making and planning, timber appraisals, and we also offer marketing services to sell your timber on your behalf on a commission basis, similar to how a Realtor assists with the sale of a home. Newton, Lauderdale, and surrounding counties. We are Mississippi Registered Foresters.

01/03/2026

Driving down a forested road in winter, you might see patches of trees that have retained their light yellowish-brown leaves. These trees are often young American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). It’s a common native tree in moist forests across the eastern US.

So why do American Beech retain their leaves in winter (the technical term for this is marcescence)? There are several hypotheses, one of which is that old beech leaves cover up the buds and twigs, particularly on young trees and on the lower branches (see pics in comments). This may deter browsing by White-tailed Deer relative to deciduous trees that drop their leaves. Sounds like an interesting study, I guess you’d just have to check the deer’s browsing history. 😉🦌

12/23/2025

11/13/2025

This time of year, it’s fun to look at newly fallen leaves and figure out what tree they come from. The leaves on this park bench are from four of our common oak trees in the Piedmont. From left to right they are: White Oak (Quercus alba), Post Oak (Q. stellata), Northern Red Oak (Q. rubra), and Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata). For scale, the Virginia Pine needles on the bench are 1-1.5 inch long. Here’s how you can tell these leaves apart:

White Oak - like other members of the white oak group, the leaves have rounded lobes that lack bristly tips. The number of lobes is variable, ranging from 7 - 10 and they can show considerable variation, being shallow or deep, depending on the leaf. White Oaks also hybridize with Post Oaks and Swamp Chestnut Oaks, which adds to the leaf variation. White Oaks are probably the most common oak you’ll see here in the southern piedmont. They’re native to the eastern US in both uplands and bottomlands.

Post Oak - a member of the white oak group, so notice the rounded lobes that lack bristles. Post Oaks have 5 lobes that form a Maltese Cross shape. The leaves have a leathery texture as well. Post Oaks are native to the southeast in dry, rocky soils.

Northern Red Oak - like other members of the red oak group, it has pointed lobes with bristly tips. The leaves get wider past the midpoint and have 7 - 11 shallow lobes. Northern Red Oaks will hybridize with Black Oaks, leading to some confusion with leaf identification. Northern Red Oaks are found in bottomlands and ravines across much of the eastern US but they are absent from the Coastal Plain. Northern Red Oaks are more common in the north, where they contribute to the beautiful scarlet colors of autumn in New England.

Southern Red Oak or Spanish Oak - it’s a red oak, so notice the pointy lobes with bristles. There’s quite a bit of variation to leaf shape in this species (see post in comments), but look for a U-shaped base where it joins the leaf stalk (petiole). The last lobe at the end of the leaf tends to be long and narrow with 3 bristly tips. The underside of the leaves have rusty hairs as well. Southern Red Oaks are common across the southeast in dry uplands.

09/15/2025

Post Oak (Quercus stellata) leaves have 5 lobes that form a Maltese Cross shape. The leaves have a leathery texture and a glossy sheen that shimmered in tonight’s sunset. On the underside of its leaves are lots of forked, somewhat star-shaped, trichomes (hairs). This is the origin of the specific epithet of its scientific or botanical name (stellata = star-shaped in Latin).

Post Oaks are native to the southeast in dry upland forests, piedmont prairies, and oak savannahs. Its common name ‘Post’ Oak comes from the use of its rot-resistant wood for fence posts.