When evaluating a program like Fields & Forests, it’s important to understand the full financial picture. Beyond the $30 per acre annual payment, the program includes a range of cost savings and income opportunities. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect over the life of your Fields & Forests enrollment. 

How Fields & Forests Covers Your Upfront Costs
Establishing a loblolly pine plantation is a smart investment, but the upfront costs can be a barrier for many landowners. Site preparation, seedling orders, planting, survival checks, and replanting can total around $600 per acre. In addition, developing a Forest Management Plan typically costs around $1,500 for a property of 30 acres, and increases in cost for each additional acre of forested land. Fields & Forests covers all of these expenses and provides a professional forester to oversee the process. With these costs covered, you can move forward knowing your forest is set up for success from the start.

Harvesting Revenue Along the Way
Landowners keep all proceeds from pre-approved thinning and harvesting, averaging about $2,500 per acre over the contract term. A thinning conducted midway through can provide income while improving forest health, and a final harvest near year 30 can bring in substantial returns. By working with your forester, you can also plan harvests to align with timber market performance for maximum profit. If you choose to conduct a final harvest by year 30, Fields & Forests covers the cost of replanting to ensure your land continues to thrive.

Additional Income & Savings Opportunities
Beyond timber, your land can provide other sources of value, such as:
•    Non-timber products like pine straw and decorative pinecones
•    Hunting or recreation leases that generate low-maintenance revenue
•    Conservation easements that may offer financial and preservation benefits
•    Potential to qualify for tax-incentive or cost-share programs
•    A decrease in annual maintenance and operational costs compared to farming or pasture management

These layers of income and savings add up, giving you flexibility and security over the life of the project.

The Bottom Line
Fields & Forests is designed to make planting pine trees on inactive land financially viable by covering upfront costs, providing guaranteed annual payments of $30/acre, and creating new opportunities to profit along the way. When you add it all up, the program offers landowners thousands of dollars in cost savings and income at every stage—without the burden of taking on major costs alone.  We’d love to work with you to help your land reach its full potential through the Fields & Forests program! Learn more or get started at www.fieldsandforests.org.