Can you make money selling pine needles?

Can you make money selling pine needles?

The ability to profit from pine needles has benefited longleaf pine forests that for decades have been decimated by logging and development. “You can only sell the timber once. Or, he said, he could earn $1,200 an acre collecting pine needles from the same trees — every year.

How often can you bale pine straw?

Fertile sites can be raked more often than non-fertile sites. To avoid long-term negative effects from pine straw harvests, it is advisable to rake an area no more than 5 times during a 20-year rotation. Studies have shown that productive sites can be managed on a 3-year, ‘rest-rake-burn’ rotation.

Do pine needles have any value?

Nutritional Value Pine needles are high in vitamin C; a tea made with the needles of the Pine tree has been used to stave off scurvy when no other sources of vitamin C were readily available.

Can you sell loblolly pine needles?

Pine straw can be sold by the bale or by the acre. Pine straw can also be sold by the bale. Per bale prices range from $0.25 to $0.40 per bale for loblolly, from $0.50 to $0.65 per bale for slash, and from $0.50 to $1.25 per bale for longleaf paid to the forest landowner in Georgia.

Who buys pine straw?

Landowners growing pine trees to sell for timber may not realize they have an annual cash crop when the trees shed their needles every autumn. Pine needles, sometimes called pine straw, are sold to landscapers, garden centers and nurseries for use as mulch.

Why is there a pine needle shortage?

Reason for shortage: They’re prone to disease. Climate change has increased the temperature and precipitations in the regions where these trees grow. This has led to the spread of fungal diseases like White Pine Needle Drop or blister rust.

How do pine trees grow to make money?

Profits from pine trees can either come from selling them as Christmas trees, selling them as lumber or selling the pine needles that fall on the ground to landscapers who use them instead of wood chips.

Can you make money planting pine trees?

Case studies show existing pine stands can earn an average of about $100 to $150 per acre per year. “That doesn’t mean you plant the trees and get $100 to $150 a year — landowners must properly manage the timber, thinning a few times over the 35-year lifespan.

How much does it cost to Bale a bale of straw?

One laborer with a 25-horsepower tractor and a mini round baler can produce 900 bales, or 16 tons, of baled pine straw in an 8-hour day. That’s the equivalent of about 2100 square bales. A mini round baler can bale as much as 25 humans baling by hand. The typical payment on a mini round baler would be as little as $130 per month for 60 months.

What type of Baler is best for pine straw production?

And while most people are accustomed to balers that produce square bales, many are finding that compact balers which produce small round bales are the most economical and efficient to use for pine straw production.

How many bales does a mini round baler bale per hour?

A mini round baler can average about 2 tons baled per hour, or 100-120 bales. This is the equivalent of about 270 square bales weighing 15 pounds each. One laborer with a 25-horsepower tractor and a mini round baler can produce 900 bales, or 16 tons, of baled pine straw in an 8-hour day.

Why are pine straw producers turning to mechanized baling?

One of the biggest reasons pine straw producers are turning to mechanized baling in general is a lack of dependable and affordable labor. More and more, producers are having trouble finding labor to help get the straw out of the woods and baling by hand is an extremely labor-intensive endeavor.