ACF Landowner Client Profile

Andrew Taylor – steward of family farm

Minority Landowner Magazine

Caswell County Landowner Andrew Taylor and County Ranger Steve Thompson discuss Forest Stewardship objectives on his property.

Andrew Taylor was like many landowners who are unsure of the best approach to take in managing their own forestland, until he discovered North Carolina’s Forest Stewardship Program.

The Forest Stewardship program is designed to encourage and help those who want to manage their forestland for its natural beauty, wildlife habitat, recreation, or productive timber. The program is also intended to help landowners protect clean water through appropriate soil conservation practices.

Taylor’s journey into stewardship began when he decided to sell timber on the 100 acres of the 320 acre family farm in Caswell County that he owns with his siblings. At the time he didn’t know the N.C. Division of Forest Resources (also known as the N.C. Forest Service) was available to help him and sought the help of a timber buyer.

Taylor and his siblings grew up on the farmland, which has been in the family since 1892. However, little work had been done on the land for a long time, a situation Mr. Taylor wished to correct by becoming a good steward of his land.

After reading about a landowner meeting in the newspaper, Taylor decided to attend and was introduced to David Halley, a consulting forester, and discovered all the benefits of working with the N.C. Forest Service and the Forest Stewardship Program. Part of the meeting involved a tour of properties that had been managed for forestry. Taylor approached the consulting forester about his own property and later the two would tour the family farm where Halley made some suggestions, including working with the N.C. Division of Forest Resources. Taylor admits that he didn’t know the services that were available to him until he met Halley.

“There is a lot of information I could’ve had before I planted, a lot of stuff I had done on my own, stuff that came naturally as an old farm boy, but I still needed help, I was just asking the wrong people,” Taylor said. “After I got involved with the [North Carolina] Forest Service things became productive.”

Steve Thompson, Caswell County Ranger, wants people to know that there are services available to landowners through the N.C. Division of Forest Resources.

“Ideally, we will write a management plan that works with the landowners objectives,” Thompson said. “Some of Mr. Taylor’s stands are not healthy enough to be productive so we’re working with him on that,” Thompson said. “Some of what they are doing includes some site prep work on areas that he wants to plant on several acres. Mr. Taylor has an interest in the land and he’s willing to do the work,” Thompson added.

Taylor’s other goals include restoring trees in harvested areas, thinning trees under the southern pine beetle program and wildlife management. A hunt club leases the property and helps him with keeping the borders well marked.

“If people’s goals change we’ll steer them in the right direction.” Thompson said.

He added that the N.C. Forest Service tries to look at all the objectives of the landowner and works together with other agencies to help them achieve the goals outlined in their stewardship plan. Any good stewardship plan will incorporate a number of public agencies working together to assist landowners by providing educational, technical, and financial assistance, according to Thompson. These resource professionals help landowners realize the benefits of being good forest stewards.

“The key to the success of the Taylor property, or any stewardship property, is to have good communications between the landowner, the consultant, the N.C. Forest Service and any other agencies that are integral to the plan,” Thompson said.

The Forest Stewardship Program recognizes landowners that promote total forest resource management and offers technical assistance in developing stewardship management plans based on the landowner’s objectives. The time schedule for completing the plan is based on the landowner’s resources and ability to conduct the work, with the recommendations focusing on practical modifications of existing conditions rather than costly investment. The program is open to any private landowner who has 10 acres or more of forestland.

Thompson says they get a lot of work through word of mouth, sometimes more than they can handle. In fact, while in the process of helping Mr. Taylor they were introduced to his neighbor who is now also receiving services from the Forest Service and engaged in Forest Stewardship activities in as well. Taylor’s family, who owns the other 220 acres of land, also has a stewardship plan in place.

Mr. Taylor wishes he had known about the opportunities the Forest Service offered earlier but says that he is pleased to be able to move ahead with their assistance in the future. His main goal is to create a healthy stewardship property for all the children and grandchildren of his family so the Taylor family legacy will continue for generations to come.

SOURCE: North Carolina’s Forest Stewardship News, Fall 2009, Vol. 21:3