Private timber sale transactions are vital to the forest products industry in the US South. Consulting foresters often assist private landowners in administering timber sales, and their decisions and practices have a major impact on landowner compensation, satisfaction, and market efficiency. This study used a mixed-mode survey of consulting foresters in 11 southern states to examine contract terms, timber sale practices, and market conditions on private sales. Responses were received from 430 consultants, resulting in a 37 percent response rate. Final harvests are primarily offered to bidders, whereas thinnings are more likely to have timber prices negotiated. Pay-as-cut payment terms are typical for thinnings, but less common in the Mountains where lump sum is relatively more common. Well under 50 percent of firms from the Coastal Plain and Piedmont conduct presale inventories on thinnings, whereas nearly two-thirds of firms in the Mountains use inventories on these types of harvests. Fewer than 25 percent of responding foresters suggested that restrictive quotas reduced landowner revenue on pay-as-cut timber sales. Consulting firms reporting that sawtimber quotas were never a problem in their area reported at least two more sawtimber outlets than those concerned about restrictive mill quotas. Study Implications: Consulting foresters play an important role in the management of nonindustrial private forests. It is important for landowners and policymakers to understand timber sale practices employed by consulting foresters to evaluate the availability and quality of advice offered to private landowners. For foresters, this information is useful for benchmarking purposes. There are four important implications from this survey of consulting foresters in the US South. First, most consulting foresters worked on relatively small sales, indicating forest management advice is available for landowners with small parcels. Second, most consulting foresters were compensated on a commission basis. With commission rates averaging less than 10 percent, the assistance of a consulting forester should be affordable to most landowners, especially given the downside risk of selling timber without assistance from a forester. Third, consulting foresters varied their timber sale selling and payment methods based on timber sale characteristics, and their choices were consistent with previous research findings. Finally, even after market consolidation following the Great Recession, foresters reported multiple outlets for most products and received an average of four to seven bids on final harvests, indicating reasonably strong markets in most areas.
