Day in the Life of a Timberland Agent
One of the reasons consulting forestry, and now land focused real estate brokerage, has been so appealing to me is that the job is not monotonous. Each day presents new challenges and, while experience helps navigate those challenges, timberland agents are constantly learning and coming across new things. It is hard to describe a typical day because each one is unique. There are certain characteristics that make timberland brokerage a unique specialty.
I worked as consulting forester early in my career before transitioning into land agency. These early experiences prepared me for the more technical aspects of timberland brokerage. Brokers need a strong knowledge to help them allocate value among the component parts of properties. The value in timberland can be thought of as comprising two major components: the underlying or bare land and the timber growing on the land (there may also be improvement value). The agent must be able to quantify the timber portion separately from the bare land in order to form an accurate purchase or selling price.
The first step in this process is accurately describing the timber on the property. This usually starts with a current forest stand map that details the acreages associated with each unique stand. A forest stand is an area of similar species composition and age. We prepare for the initial tract visit with an aerial photograph of the tract, and the first visit involves touring the property to identify the stands and stand boundaries. We then describe those stands in terms of species composition, age, site quality, silvicultural treatments, and any other relevant features. We take this field information back to the office and, using our GIS system, create an accurate and up-to-date stand map with associated acreages.