Timber Prices
Timber price reporting is essential for forest landowners to fully participate in competitive timber markets, such as those in Mississippi (see article "Timber Price Reporting is Essential").
From 1986 until 2004, the Mississippi Timber Price Report (MTPR) was published six times per year as a price source for Mississippi forest landowners. By 2004, commercial timber price reporting services were readily available in the market. A quarterly timber price report for Mississippi was produced by Forest2Market, Inc. from 2004 to 2013. Starting in 2013, Timber-Mart South agreed to make their quarterly price data available to Mississippi State University. That information is used by MSU faculty to develop a timber price report for Mississippi that will be published quarterly in MSU Extension Forestry's newsletter, The Overstory, and posted on this website. An archive of price reports is available on this website and all future quarterly reports will be added to that collection.
Certain factors may cause a particular tract of timber to be valued higher or lower. For example, a tract that has a high timber volume per acre and can be logged during wet weather may bring a price per unit higher than the average reported here. On the other hand, a tract with less volume at a greater distance from the buyer's mill may bring less. Additional factors that affect timber values are timber quality, tract size, type of product to be made from the timber, access to the tract, and many others. Timber-Mart South, Inc. has more detailed data available by subscription that reflects these market nuances and contains values for other timber products not included in this report.
However, the prices contained in this report are a good price reference for landowners who wish to market timber, but individuals are advised to have their timber evaluated by a professional forester before making a timber sale. To find a registered forester, visit the Mississippi Board of Registration for Foresters website.
News
Although construction costs are through the roof timber prices have not kept pace, and Mississippi forest landowners are waiting for improved markets. Shaun Tanger, a forestry economics specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the recent increase in construction costs is a demand-side phenomena.
In 2019, Mississippi’s agricultural industry faced the prospect of dipping below $7 billion for the first time in eight years, but federal payments pushed its value up enough to post a slight gain over 2018.
The estimated value of Mississippi agriculture in 2019 is $7.39 billion, a 0.2% gain from last year’s $7.37 billion. Included in the total is an estimated $628 million in government payments, the largest amount of federal assistance Mississippi producers have seen since 2006
Mississippi’s timber industry remained its second highest producing agricultural commodity again in 2019.
Coming in with an estimated production value of $1.15 billion, timber followed the state’s poultry industry, which generated an estimated value of $2.78 billion in 2019. Timber’s value of production is estimated by monthly severance taxes collected by the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
Success Stories
During his tenure as an engineer at Boeing, Ottis Bullock helped build machines that went into the air and to the moon, but he always had an interest in the trees that grew from the ground where he came of age.
