Liberty Timberlands

Property Features

Located an hour west of Tallahassee, Florida, and five miles northeast of Bristol, the 4,256-acre Liberty Timberlands tract is bank-owned and enjoys a favorable location in the heart of Northwest Florida's wood basket. Access to this tract is excellent with nearly eight miles of paved road frontage. Furthermore, 91% of the timber is merchantable and 85% of the tract is plantable. After accounting for the timber value, the resulting bare land value is only $657 per acre, representing an outstanding investment opportunity.

Wood markets are strong in this area of Liberty County, creating a competitive environment that benefits the landowner. The primary destination for pulpwood is the Rock Tenn container mill in Panama City. In addition, Georgia Pacific operates an OSB plant in Hosford that serves as a backup source for harvested pulpwood along with the Enviva pellet mill in Cottondale. The primary market for sawtimber and chip-n-saw is North Florida Lumber in Bristol. Other mills that also may play a role are Rex Lumber in Graceville and Spanish Trail Lumber near Marianna.

Liberty Timberlands has a long history of use for commercial timber production as essentially all of the land that is capable of growing commercial pine plantations has been converted to that use. Its total plantable area is 3,655 acres including 387 acres of cutover plantable areas and 291 acres of naturally regenerated pre-merchantable pine. The planted pine stands are comprised of sand pine (2,172 acres), slash pine (795 acres), and longleaf pine (10 acres). They are generally fully stocked and appear to be growing at normal rates. The tract is bisected by several small intermittent and perennial streams with associated narrow hardwood bottoms totaling approximately 587 acres. Within the bottomlands, 448 acres contain merchantable timber, primarily comprised of low value hardwood pulpwood, although there is some pine and cypress timber present.

One key advantage to sand pine is that it can be strategically harvested during rainy periods when other sites cannot be accessed, often resulting in local mills paying a premium in order to meet demand. In 2015, pulpwood prices of $21 per ton were reported. This represents a significant upside opportunity for an investor as the pulpwood values for Liberty Timberlands are based on $15.25 per ton. With pulpwood constituting 80% of the merchantable volume at Liberty Timberlands, this is particularly relevant.

The merchantable timber volumes / stumpage value chart and species-age breakdown shown below were calculated as of January 2016 and updated from an original November 2013 timber cruise. Both cruises were performed by Legacy Forestry Services of Lake City, Florida and are available upon request.

All information is believed to be accurate but should be independently verified

All information is believed to be accurate but should be independently verified

Land Gallery   click thumbnails to enlarge