Ranking Independent Timber Investments by Alternative Investment Criteria

Book excerpt: A sample of 231 independent timber investments were ranked by internal rate of return, present net worth per acre and the benefit cost ratio--the last two discounted by 3, 6.4. 7.5. and 10 percent--to determine if the different criteria had a practical influence on timber investment ranking. The samples in this study were drawn from a group of timber investments partially financed by Forestry Incentives Program costshare funds. The investment rankings were quite similar among the three criteria. Under constrained investment budgets, the benefit/cost criteria produced the investment selection with the greatest cumulative present net worth. Under less severe budget constraints, all three criteria produced investment selections with essentially the same cumulative present net worth.