Forestry now Florida's economic heavyweight

Florida's forests have the greatest economic impact than any other sector in the state's $67 billion agricultural industry -- beating citrus, vegetables and other plants.

Forests and the products made from them generated $16.6 billion in economic activity in 2003, creating 133,475 jobs, the study said.

By comparison, the fruit and vegetable sector had a $12.8 billion impact in 2002, the most recent year that comparable statistics are available. That same year, the environmental horticulture sector (which includes landscaping services and the growing of landscape plants) generated $8.9 billion in activity.

A truck driver walks away from his rig as equipment moves in to unload pulp timber at the Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.'s paper mill Tuesday in Fernandina Beach. RICK WILSON/The Times-Union

"Citrus is the crop most people associate with Florida ... but our study indicates forestry is now the economic heavyweight in the state's $67 billion agricultural and natural resources industry," said Alan Hodges, an economist at the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Hodges said that forestry likely has been the top agricultural sector for years. It's just that nobody has documented it before now.

"Forestry has maintained a steady, if not modest growth, over the last decade or so, while citrus has been steadily declining. It probably [surpassed citrus and vegetables] some time ago. We don't really know when because this is the first study of its kind," Hodges said.

Florida's forests cover 16 million acres of land, or nearly half the state's land area, Hodges said. In terms of outdoor recreation, environmental impacts and the products made from trees, it isn't hard to imagine why those forests are valuable, he said.

A driving force behind the industry's growth is the demand for new homes, Hodges said.

"It's due in part to the housing boom that's been going on across the country over the last four years. All that represents a large demand for wood," he said.

Rayonier forester Early McCall, at a Nassau County pine plantation, conducts research for the company's reforestation programs in the Southeast. Special to the Times-Union

The Florida Forestry Association paid for the study.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. spokesman Mike Branch, who was president of the forestry association in 2004, said the study's results show how significant the forestry industry is to the state's economy and environment.

Mike Bell, a spokesman for Jacksonville-based Rayonier Inc., agrees.

"As long as people are using forest products, there will be incentives for landowners to continue to plant trees," Bell said.

Economic impacts considered in the forestry study include the manufacturing and sale of forest products, outdoor recreation like camping and hiking, and environmental benefits such as the creation of wildlife habitats and cleaner air and water.

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