VARDAMAN VIRTUAL FORESTRY COMPANY

JMV:

What new things are you up to?

KRM:

We have put together a new company called Sustainable Forest Technologies, Inc. (SFT). The purpose of SFT is to promote sustainable forestry, particularly on non-industrial lands. We are especially interested in planning and reforestation and have shaped SFT for the convenience of the landowners - to take away the guesswork and hassles.

JMV:

Why are you concerned with this?

KRM:

We recognize that non-industrial landowners (NIPF) own forestland for a variety of reasons. One area that many landowners will have in common over time is timber harvest, and the data do not speak well for the percentage of NIPFs who actively reforest following harvest. I believe strongly that by promoting reforestation early in the process, preferably before harvest when options are the greatest, a greater percentage of landowners will reforest.

JMV:

How are you going to help landowners with regeneration?

KRM:

We have learned a lot about reforestation in the South. SFT, in association with IPCO's nurseries and orchards group, makes available to landowners our collective knowledge of the reforestation process. We believe that no part of the process should be left to chance, so we offer planning and execution of the work. Our experience shows that success is directly related to how well you do each part of the operation. So we help landowners by providing knowledge, convenience, and performance.

JMV:

Let's say that JMV&CO prescribed all of the details to regenerate a tract. How could you help us?

KRM:

Our SFT foresters can assist in the prescription and overall planning process. We accomplish our regeneration work through a network of qualified contractors that share our view on quality and performance -- and just as important, we guarantee results.

JMV:

We agree completely. In our use of contractors for regeneration work, we are far more interested in getting each part of the job done right than in the cost. We must produce a stand of living, vigorous, free-to-grow seedlings evenly spread over the site, or the stand won't generate the predicted income, and we'll have to pay a penalty for lost income. If one link in the chain breaks, what good did it do to save a few dollars on it?

KRM:

That's exactly right. Spending a few extra dollars up front to prevent a failure is far better than spending many dollars to correct a failure or losing timber revenue in the future.

JMV:

What information will you provide about what seedlings should be planted on a given tract?

KRM:

One of the strengths of IPCO is that we have mapped all the soils under more than 4,000,000 acres that we own in the South. Over many years we have learned that certain pine families do better on certain sites. We use this knowledge to recommend the families to plant on each tract.

JMV:

Do you mean that they survive better or grow faster?

KRM:

Actually they do both. We've conducted studies with a number of families on very wet, mid-range, and very dry sites and identified those that will do better on each kind. It appears that different families have developed genetic adaptations to various site conditions. These findings come from both our own research and research in cooperation with the US Forest Service and others.

JMV:

How do you determine the characteristics of each site?

KRM:

We use data from the county's Soil Survey, and on the site itself we inspect the soil for limiting factors, such as rooting barriers, texture, and wetness. Measurement of trees in the existing stand help in determining site index, which is an important factor in our prescription process. This enables us to fine-tune our prescriptions for all phases of reforestation.

JMV:

Can you provide seedlings grown at low densities in the nursery bed?

KRM:

We think that such seedlings are an important ingredient in plantation success in both survival and growth. We continue to grow the low-density seedlings that you require, and we have generally reduced seed-bed densities for all seedlings. We now grow 20 to 24 seedlings per square foot, depending upon the growth characteristics of each family and customer specifications. We grow the true low-density stock at 16 to 19 per square foot.

JMV:

When should we order seedlings to assure that we get a certain kind?

KRM:

Now! Last year many of our seedlings were sold by the time we sowed the crop in April. Even though we grow more than 200,000,000 seedlings, it pays to order early, especially if you want low-density stock.

JMV:

Are your contractors accustomed to planting seedlings of this size?

KRM:

That has taken education and training because low-density seedlings have larger root systems that require different planting techniques. We require larger planting tools like shovels or modified dibbles. With a normal dibble there is very little disturbance of the soil in what will be the rooting zone. With a shovel we get movement in a greater volume of soil, what I call better "micro-site preparation." This gives us much better root placement in the planting hole and better root development.

JMV:

We require that a qualified JMV&CO inspector be on the ground whenever regeneration activities are going on; he won't merely spot check later. Will this be OK with your contractors?

KRM:

I think in-process inspection is important and critical to quality, whether it is a JMV&CO inspector or an SFT forester. Feedback to tree planters should happen in "real time", not a week later.

JMV:

What is your attitude toward J-roots and L-roots?

KRM:

That is one of the great mysteries of forestry. The literature of the past 50 years contains results that will confirm whatever you want to believe on this subject. I come down to the notion of commonsense, i.e., roots grow down and out and not up, and you pay just as much to plant a J-rooted seedling as to plant it right, and you've already spent a lot of money on site preparation and seedlings. We don't take chances on J-roots; we say plant it right in the first place and give the seedling every advantage.

JMV:

Do you have site-prep contractors?

KRM:

Yes, mechanical as well as chemical.

JMV:

What has been your experience with controlling volunteer pines?

KRM:

That was the question I was going to ask you. I see them as a major threat on some sites, mainly through overstocking. The best technique we have now is fire, which often requires delaying regeneration a year until the fuel builds up enough for a hot burn. We are also experimenting with techniques to control volunteer pines in young plantations.

JMV:

What is the horizon for SFT?

KRM:

We will continue to build our business by helping landowners accomplish their objectives and to complement the work of others who provide services to NIPFs. We all have a stake in promoting sustainable forestry. My closing thought is a quote from our new SFT brochure, "The wisest choices are sometimes the easiest. Creating a productive forest on your land is one of them."