Timberland management software that keeps the cruise, the prescription and the basis on one stand record
Timberland management is the practice of running forest land as a producing asset: cruising stands, writing prescriptions, scheduling thinnings and final harvests, selling stumpage and regenerating what comes off. The United States held 765 million acres of forest land in 2017, of which 514 million acres was classified as timberland, and the federal inventory rests on roughly 1 plot per 6,000 acres. Neurobird keeps the cruise, the prescription, the harvest and the tax basis on one stand record.
Neurobird Timberland Management in short
- Hold stand inventory, age and basal area where the schedule can read it
- Write and track prescriptions so a thinning window is a date rather than a hunch
- Record stumpage sales, volumes and revenue against the stand that produced them
- 765 million Acres of forest land in the United States as of 2017, of which 514 million acres was classified as timberland, meaning productive land that is not withdrawn from harvest. USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis
- 6,000 The Forest Inventory and Analysis programme installs roughly 1 permanent field plot for every 6,000 acres of forest, remeasured on a cycle of about 5 to 10 years depending on the state. USDA Forest Service, forest inventory
- Pricing runs 130 to 560 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What timberland owners and consulting foresters actually deal with
Why it stays broken
Forestry runs on decades and software runs on quarters. A stand planted in 1998 is thinned around 2016 and harvested around 2028, and the people change 3 times in between, so the record has to outlive the staff who made it.
A thinning entry missed by 4 years costs growth you cannot get back, across all 2,400 acres behind the decision.
Timberlands previously identified as not suited for timber production are required to be reassessed every 10 years.
Neurobird Timberland Management Revenue Recovery Platform
Make the stand the unit of record rather than the plan document. Cruise data, prescriptions, entries and basis attach to it, and the schedule falls out of the ages instead of out of memory.
- 1Hold stand inventory, age and basal area where the schedule can read it
- 2Write and track prescriptions so a thinning window is a date rather than a hunch
- 3Record stumpage sales, volumes and revenue against the stand that produced them
- 4Keep basis, reforestation cost and amortisation attached to the acres they belong to
What changes with Neurobird Timberland Management?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird Timberland Management |
|---|---|
| The management plan is a PDF from 2016 and the stand map is a shapefile only the consulting forester can open | Hold stand inventory, age and basal area where the schedule can read it |
| Basis, reforestation cost and the 84 month amortisation live in the accountant's file rather than on the stand record | Write and track prescriptions so a thinning window is a date rather than a hunch |
| Nobody knows which stands are due for thinning until a mill calls asking whether you have wood | Record stumpage sales, volumes and revenue against the stand that produced them |
Who is this for?
Same stand record, three different owners.
You own 400 to 3,000 acres
The land outlives the paperwork. You need a record the next generation and the next forester can both read.
You manage for many owners
Twenty ownerships, hundreds of stands, one calendar. You need entry schedules that surface without you rereading every plan.
You report to investors
Growth, harvest and basis have to reconcile. You need stand level data that rolls up without a spreadsheet in the middle.
How US timberland is measured and taxed
Useful if you are buying acres or writing a management plan. Each source links out.
Acres of forest land in the United States as of 2017, of which 514 million acres was classified as timberland, meaning productive land that is not withdrawn from harvest.
USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and AnalysisThe Forest Inventory and Analysis programme installs roughly 1 permanent field plot for every 6,000 acres of forest, remeasured on a cycle of about 5 to 10 years depending on the state.
USDA Forest Service, forest inventoryOf US forest land is owned by families and individuals, about 29 percent by the federal government and 22 percent by corporations. Most private ownerships are small and advised by a consulting forester.
USDA Forest Service, forest managementThe reforestation expense a qualifying owner may deduct in a year under section 194, with the remainder amortised over 84 months. Basis and depletion decide what the sale actually nets.
National Timber Tax programme36 CFR Part 223 governs the sale and disposal of national forest timber: appraisal, advertisement, bid, contract and scaling. Private sales borrow most of their vocabulary from it.
eCFR, 36 CFR Part 223The ownership, stand by stand
A working preview. Tick an entry to record it against the stand.
| Line item | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Timber sale, tract 22 | $1,840 | |
| Reforestation, 120 acres | $620 | |
| Boundary line paint, north tract | $3,275 | |
| Thinning prescription, third row | $455 |
Click recover to add a missed line to the invoice.
How does Neurobird Timberland Management work?
Hold the stand
Acres, species, planting year, age, basal area and site index, updated when a cruise happens rather than when a plan is rewritten.
Schedule from the data
Thinning and harvest windows come from stand age and stocking, so a mill call is answered from a list instead of a guess.
Keep the tax file attached
Reforestation cost, basis and depletion sit against the acres, so the sale and the return are built from the same numbers.
Timberland management software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is timberland management?
- Timberland management is the practice of running forest land as a producing asset: cruising stands, writing prescriptions, scheduling thinnings and final harvests, selling stumpage, and regenerating what comes off. It works on decade long cycles, which is exactly why the record has to outlive the people keeping it.
- What is a forest inventory plot?
- The Forest Inventory and Analysis programme installs roughly 1 permanent field plot for every 6,000 acres of forest, remeasured on a cycle of about 5 to 10 years. It is the only nationally consistent forest inventory in the country and the benchmark most regional growth assumptions rest on.
How much timberland is there in the United States?
The Forest Service recorded 765 million acres of forest land in 2017, of which 514 million acres was classified as timberland. About 37 percent of forest land is owned by families and individuals, which is why consulting foresters carry so much of the actual management work.
How is reforestation treated for tax?
A qualifying owner may deduct up to $10,000 of reforestation expense per year under section 194 and amortise the remainder over 84 months. Timber basis, depletion and holding period all matter at sale, and getting them wrong is the most common timber tax mistake.
Does this replace our GIS?
No. Stand boundaries and mapping stay in GIS. What lives here is what happens on the acres: cruise data, prescriptions, entries, sales and basis, joined to the stand so the schedule and the tax file agree.
Why we are building this
Timberland is the longest cycle asset most people ever manage, and it is usually recorded in the shortest lived format available. A plan written in 2016 describes decisions that will be executed in 2028 by someone who has not been hired yet.
The federal inventory is careful, public and consistent. Individual ownerships almost never are, and the loss shows up as a missed thinning window or a basis nobody can substantiate at sale.
We would rather build this with foresters than with software people. Tell us how you keep your stands, and where we have got it wrong.
Where the requirement comes from
Public sources on forest inventory, management and timber tax.
- USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis The national forest inventory: plot design, area and volume estimates, and the data behind regional growth assumptions.
- USDA Forest Service, forest inventory How the inventory is designed and measured, including plot density and remeasurement cycles.
- National Timber Tax programme Timber basis, depletion, reforestation deduction and amortisation, maintained in cooperation with the Forest Service.
- 36 CFR Part 223, sale of national forest timber Appraisal, advertisement, bidding, contracts and scaling for federal timber sales, and the source of most sale vocabulary.
How much does Neurobird Timberland Management cost?
Priced per thousand acres under management, because that is what the work scales with. Stands, users and sales are unlimited on every tier.
- Stand records
- Cruise data storage
- Prescription tracking
- Entry scheduling
- Email support
- Everything in Small ownership
- Multi client ownerships
- Stumpage sale records
- Basis and reforestation tracking
- Named contact
- Everything in Consulting forester
- GIS import and export
- Harvest schedule modelling
- Owner reporting packs
- Onboarding included
Get free early access
If you manage timberland, tell us where the stand record actually lives today and who can open it.
Straight answer on where this is: In development. Early access gets the working preview, influence on what ships first, and early access pricing. It does not get you a login today.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.