Fiber Farming | Upper Peninsula Tree Improvement Center

Yields Our 6-year-old plantation in Escanaba is growing 3.6 dry tons per acre each year. That’s roughly 3 cords per acre each year – or 2 to 3 times the yield of natural stands.
Costs Cost estimates for site preparation, planting, and maintenance range from $330 to $580 per acre, but vary depending on the site and treatments used.	click to enlarge
Revenue If this fiber sold for $30 per cord, the harvest in year 12 would be worth about $1,100 per acre. Thus, net revenue might range from $770 to $520 per acre after 12 years (without land costs or interest on investment). A 40-acre fiber farm might produce a net return ranging from $31,000 to $21,000 every 12 years.
ALL THESE FIGURES ARE ESTIMATES AND AVERAGES Yields and returns will vary from site to site, among clones, and from time to time. So, as with all agriculture, there are no guarantees. But it is certain that an abandoned field produces no revenue and that fiber farming is one option to make these lands productive again.

Please send any comments or suggestions regarding this site to: Ray Miller, uptic@msu.edu Last Revised: 6-25-04