Articles containing the keyword 'forest holding'

The profitability of jointly owned forest holdings in the two northernmost forest board districts of Finland was studied by means of ratio analysis. A time series of profit and loss statements and balance sheets from 33 holdings covering the fiscal years ending 1981–1990 served as the database. The studied area was 348,038 ha, the allowable cut 304,300 m³ per year and the average turnover, deflated by the wholesale price index, FIM 57.6 million per year. The key result obtained was that the average annual profit was FIM 107 per hectare and FIM 110 per m³. The time series showed that the ratios had increased significantly over the calculation period.

The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.

• Penttinen, E-mail: mp@mm.unknown
• Kinnunen, E-mail: mk@mm.unknown

The aim of the study was to describe the total change of forest area in non-industrial private forest holdings in southeast Finland, 1986–1991. The average gross decrease of forest area was 1.7 hectares, whereas the average gross increase was 1.2 hectares. Consequently, the average size of holdings decreased from 32.5 to 32.0 hectares. The most important factors affecting the changes of forest area were the inheritance system, resulting in a decrease of 0.7 ha, and reclassification of forestry land, producing an increase of 0.4 ha per holding. The increase of small, under 10 ha holdings accounted for much of the structural change.

The PDF includes an abstract in English.

• Ripatti, E-mail: pr@mm.unknown

The profitability of forestry in the context of recent economic developments in Finland suggest a more systematic analysis of the profit and the cost structure of small-scale forestry than is normally made today. The domestic and international pressure on farming emphasizes the development of rural areas by means of other business than agriculture, in practice this may mean forestry. Financing in terms of the new law concerning agriculture requires projects to be profitable. Thus, the profitability of different lines of production, including forestry, needs to be reported more carefully than is the practice today.

A network of forestry bookkeeping farms covering the whole Austria has existed for 20 years. The organization and the operation of the forestry bookkeeping and the cost accounting system is based on the scientific cooperation and exchange of information between the organizations in charge. The practical experience and recommendations based thereon might be useful for Finland, when implementing a country-wide network of forestry bookkeeping and cost accounting.

The PDF includes an abstract in English.

• Penttinen, E-mail: mp@mm.unknown

Farm forestry in northern Ostrobothnia has met different kinds of obstacles that decrease its profitability, some national, some local. One of the later is partitioning of land. The purpose of this investigation was to survey the division of farm land in the coastal municipalities of northern Ostrobothnia in Finland, where the conditions are among the most unfavourable in the country in this respect. The material used in the investigation was collected in a previous study about the structure of the farms in the area. First part of the paper summarises the history of partitioning of land in Finland.

The results show that division of the woodlots of a farm are in the coastal municipalities of northern Ostrobothnia very disadvantageous for forestry. The average distance of a woodlot to the farmhouse is 8.3 km, but there is a great variation between the municipalities, and the distance varies from 30 to 1.9 km. The form of the lots, as the long ribbon-like woodlots in the municipality of Liminka, complicates often practical forestry. In addition, the number of separate woodlots is high, in average 9.2 per farm.

The great distance of the woodlots from the main farms hinders the use of forests and diminishes the financial result of forestry. Unfavourable form of the woodlots posts similar hindrances to harvesting of timber and forest management as the long distances and high number of separate plots. The problem is heightened by the abundance of peatlands in relation to productive forest lands in the area.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Alho, E-mail: pa@mm.unknown

This investigation studies the significance of forest income to the economy of a farm in Finland. It concentrates on the relationship between monetary income from forestry and the capital of the farm, especially from the viewpoint of investments made in the agriculture. The material is based on results of the accounting holdings of the National Board of Agriculture between the financial years 1925-1926 and 1936-1937.

The study shows that there is a high correlation between farm’s monetary investments and changes of deposits, and changes in the monetary income of forestry. The changes in depts seem not to be as closely related to forest income as could be expected. The most important role of forestry income in farm economy is financing the investments, i.e. operations that aim at developing and rationalizing farming and making it more profitable. In many parts of the country, the investments would have remained low without income from forestry. Income from cuttings provides usually a relatively large sum on a single occasion, which is easier to use to finance a large investment compared to a smaller regular income. The needs of agriculture may, however, lead to overcutting of the forests.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Piha, E-mail: ap@mm.unknown

Forests have been priced by assessing separately the value of the land, small timber and heavy timber, and adding them together. This method of summing up gives a small woodlot the same price per hectare as a large forest area. In real estate sales the actual prices paid per hectare, however, are higher for small woodlots. The summing-up method thus over-values big forest holdings.

The figures obtained by the summing-up method should be corrected by using a reduction percentage. This value should increase with the growth of the forest area and should be higher for fully-stocked areas than those with small growing stock. A table of reduction percentages is presented, where an effort is made to eliminate the effect upon the statistics of the potential value of the land as building site and field. The results clearly indicate that the effect of area upon the price of a woodlot is fairly marked, even with very small parcels.

On the other hand, determination of the reduction percentages has some theoretical weaknesses. The author recommends a method of price evaluation which takes the factor of area directly into account, excluding arbitrary correction percentages. In this method the marketable part of the growing stock is evaluated at its felling value and its relative role decreases with the growth of the area. The rest of the growing stock together with the ground is priced as rental value. This method of professor Eino Saari does justice both to the area and to the fact that forest land and the growing tied to it form an inseparable whole.

The Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari’s 60th birthday.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Keltikangas, E-mail: vk@mm.unknown

Small-scale forest holdings are a specific research interest of forest research as they have many special questions in the sense of forest management. The article presents the characters of small-scale forest holdings in Germany. In connection to agricultural activities three different forms of forest use can be distinguished. They are forest-agriculture holdings, where forestry has an equal meaning with the agriculture; agricultural holdings with small areas of forest used only for fire wood or other household purposes; and thirdly farms with very small parcels of forest with no economic meaning and also minor household use.   

Forest research disciplines concerning these small-scale forest holdings and the policy instruments to enhance the sustainable management of these forests are discussed.

• Mantel, E-mail: km@mm.unknown

In Finland a large land reform has been accomplished which has increased the number of small farms and forest holdings by over 100,000. It is estimated that 4-5 million ha of forest land has been transferred to these smallholdings. The aim of this investigation was to study the areas of the wood lots of the farms established in connection to settlement activities during the time Finland has been independent.

The study shows that the farms established on the state-owned lands have been given forest areas big enough to enable them timber sales, provided that the forests were in a moderately good silvicultural condition. Relatively largest forest areas have been given to farms established from tenant farms. The farms established on private lands have got in average forest areas that are smaller than would be required for growing of household timber. In Southern Finland the area has been adequate, but in Northern Finland too small in part of the farms. Also, variation in the size of the farms has been larger. The farms established under the Land Acquisition Act have been given in average more than the principle of according to which half of the forests should be suitable for cultivation of household timber and half for timber sales.

The Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari’s 60th birthday.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Kallio, E-mail: kk@mm.unknown

The aim of the investigation was to study the effect of size of a forest holding to its forest resources or state and quality of the forests. The data was collected in the second national forest inventory in Finland, carried out in 1936-1938. The study focuses on farms in two areas in Southern Finland: provinces of Pohjois-Häme and Satakunta, and provinces of Uusimaa and Kaakkois-Häme.

In 1938 about 53% of forests in Finland were owned by private forest holdings, the sizes of which varied from under 5 ha to over 1,000 ha. About 75 % of the holdings were under 50 ha. After 1918 the number of private forest holdings increased markedly, mainly due to settlement and tenant farmers gaining ownership to their farms.

The smaller the forest holdings were, the poorer was the silvicultural state of the forests and the smaller the standing stock. When the area of the forest holding increases, also the volume of the standing stock per hectare, the number of timber-trees, and average size of the timber trees increases. This is due to larger proportion of older age-classes and somewhat better forest management. Fellings have usually been stronger in the smaller forest holdings. The poor state of the forests originates often from use of the forests before the present ownership, such as slash and burn culture, grazing and cutting wood for household use. To improve the state of the forests, education and forest improvement practices are needed.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Linnamies, E-mail: ol@mm.unknown

Only fifth of the farms in Finland had no forests in 1936. Forests have been important for the economy of the farms by providing household timber and income from timber sales. However, forests have not been taken into account in the profitability studies of agriculture. The article analyses the revenues of forestry in private farms, and the different sources of revenue. The revenue is examined in farms of different sizes, different parts of the country and in different financial years in the period of 1925-26‒1936-37.

Forest holdings smaller than 25 hectares give relatively small financial support to the farm economy. Household timber saves costs, and timber sales can give opportunities to investments. The revenue given by bigger forest holdings are, however, important items in the income statement. Finally, the results are compared to profitability studies in other countries.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Piha, E-mail: ap@mm.unknown

To achieve a continuous and constant timber flow over a longer time period, the forest holding structure should be close to normal forest or regulated forest. Concept of normal forest is presented as the model of achieving the highest possible sustainable yield and hence also the best economic return. The article discusses the regulations on the management of a forest holding with the view on regulating the forest yield.   

Felling need to be planned according to the forest site and tree species. The main tree species for silvicultural purposes are pine, spruce and birch. After the widely used controlled burning of forests the state of Finnish forests is mostly weak and far from the “normal forest”. Majority of forests are of young and there are lots of broadleaved forests.  Because of the great variation of the forest sites and their productivity as well as the small size of holdings in Finland, the selection of forest management regime, mainly the felling style (clear cut or light selection) is also important. The idea of management plans is represented.  

• Lönnroth, E-mail: el@mm.unknown

Questions of the small size of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) holdings in Finland are considered and factors affecting their partitioning are analysed. This work arises out of Finnish forest policy statements in which the small average size of holdings has been seen to have negative influence on the economics of forestry. A literature survey indicates that the size of holdings is an important factor determining the costs of logging and silvicultural operations, while its influence on the timber supply is slight.

The empirical data are based on a sample of 314 holdings collected by interviewing forest owners in 1980–86. In 1990–91 the same holdings were resurveyed by means of a postal inquiry and partly by interviewing the forest owners. The principal objective was to collect data to assist in quantifying ownership factors that influence partitioning among different kinds of NIPF holdings. Thus, the mechanism of partitioning was described and a maximum likelihood logistic regression model was constructed using seven independent holding and ownership variables.

One out of four holdings had undergone partitioning in conjunction with a change in ownership, one fifth among family owned holdings and nearly a half among jointly owned holdings. The results of the logistic regression model indicate, for instance, that the odds on partitioning is about three times greater for jointly owned holdings than for family owned ones. Also, the probabilities of partitioning were estimated and the impact of independent dichotomous variables on the probability of partitioning ranged between 0.02 and 0.01. The low value of Hosmer-Lemeshow test statistics indicates a good fit of the model, and the rate of correct classification was estimated to be 88% with a cut-off point of 0.5.

The average size of holdings undergoing ownership changes decreased from 29.9 ha to 28.7 ha over the approximate interval 1983–90. In addition, the transition probability matrix showed that the trends towards smaller size categories mostly concerned the small size categories. The results can be used in considering the effects of the small size holdings for forestry and if the purpose is to influence partitioning through forest or rural policy.

• Ripatti, E-mail: pr@mm.unknown

The aim of this study was to explain both theoretically and empirically the formation of the unit price of a woodlot in the early 1980’s in Finland. The structure of the market in which woodlot transactions take place is described by analysing the volume of markets, the heterogeneity of the woodlots, institutional regulation of woodlot ownership and information concerning the market. The decision-making processes of both woodlot seller and buyer are examined using a theoretical model. Using a woodlot transaction sample for 1983 and 1984 woodlot unit price is explained empirically.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Vehkamäki, E-mail: sv@mm.unknown

The aim of the study was to discover a model by which the determination of the discount value of a woodlot can be simplified so as to make it possible to avoid both the computation of a cutting budget and the customary discount procedure itself. The regression analysis of the cutting budget data that indicates the discounted amount of the fellings to be expected and the assortment composition can be discovered rather accurately as a function of the measured stand characteristics only.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Ahonen, E-mail: la@mm.unknown

This methodical study aims at assessing discount value and its nature and function in setting a price for a forest holding. The aim is to study how the subject interested in buying or selling a woodlot could in the most meaningful way use discount value to prepare the sale and aid the decision making, taking account his personal interests. The paper includes a literature review on the determination of value.

It is concluded that woodlots have no «correct and real» values and, therefore, they cannot be calculated. Value is formed for the woodlots only in connection to the subject running the household, and his environment and actions. A discount value can be defined as a discount value of future net incomes. In the study different ways to calculate discount value are analysed.

The PDF includes a summary in German.

• Ahonen, E-mail: la@mm.unknown

The aim of this study was to develop cutting budget methods for a forest undertaking. Cutting budget provides information on the future income from the forest undertaking, and on the development of the forest.

Two cutting budget models have been developed, by the application of simulation and linear programming. Both of the models are deterministic in nature, i.e. there is only one possible outcome once the stated input information has been given. To make the models simpler, it has been assumed that thinning and clear cutting with reforestation are the only activities that can occur in the forest. The models are directly applicable only to forests consisting of even-aged Scots pine stands at three different forest types. However, they can easily be extended to cover forests comprising several tree species and more sites.

In the light of this study, simulation seems today to be more appropriate than linear programming in the preparation of cutting budgets. However, the increasing capacity of computers may even in the near future make linear programming quite competitive, especially as if it is borne in mind that the theoretical basis of linear programming is much firmer than that of simulation. The most advisable cutting budget method might consist of a combination of simulation and linear programming. Simulation could be employed to find a rough cutting schedule, and linear programming to test and improve the solution.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

• Kilkki, E-mail: pk@mm.unknown