Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

a big year
“Trees are a crop,
but you don’t
harvest a tree every
day. When a farmer
thinks about it, it’s
a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.”
— Ben bruggeman
“Trees are a crop, but you don’t harvest
a tree every day,” said Ben Bruggeman, a
fourth-generation logger from Monticello.
“When a farmer thinks about it, it’s a once-ina-lifetime
opportunity.”
Trees are big business in Iowa. Iowa State
University Extension estimates that the state’s
three million acres of forests contribute to
about 18,000 jobs and $4.9 billion in annual
economic output in Iowa.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
district forester David Bridges says that, when
thinking about timber, farmers have to transition
from thinking about an annual harvest to
considering a harvest that might come 20 or 40
years in the future.
“If they’re not as worried about the here
and now, and they want to make something
better for their kids and grandkids, that’s when
forestry seems to click,” Bridges said. Then,
landowners can reap both economic and the
ecosystem benefits.
Labor of love
Jim Piper has painstakingly managed his
woodland in northwestern Clinton County.
“I’m really into my trees,” he said, echoing the
David Bridges,
Iowa Department of
Natural Resources
district forester
passion of many timber
landowners.
A recent, five-acre
timber harvest took
some trees that had at
least 132 rings on them,
which means the seeds
would have started
growing when Grover
Cleveland was president.
“A man that plants
trees to read the newspaper
in the shade is a
fool,” Piper joked.
He may not be eyeing
up shade for himself in
doing so, but Piper has planted thousands of
trees on his land, a crop that may not reach maturity
during his lifetime. He’s planted a diverse
mix of species, including sycamore, river birch
and Kentucky coffee trees.
Over time, he’s thinned them and cared for
them, constantly working to improve his timber
stand. He leaves some “junk” trees hinge-cut to
provide habitat.
Piper lost a few beautiful trees in the storm.
Head
From
To Toe,
Dr. randy Burger has you covered.
Burger Chiropractic
If you have aches and pains from climbing on tractors or
a back out of whack from hauling seed bags, I can help you.
I also do sports physicals.
Burger Shoe Repair
While you’re here, leave that favorite pair of worn out
work boots for me to resole and bring back to life. I am
continuing a 35-year family legacy with my shoe, boot,
and leather repair business. I also do medical inserts.
Call 563-582-1188
Both businesses are located at 1340 Delhi Street, Dubuque — just down the
road from Finely Hospital and across from The American Legion.
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