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Greenbelt question

double browtine

double browtine

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
8,130
Location
Cheatham/Montgomery County
The entire property is located in the 100 year flood plain. It used to be row cropped but as farmers started using large equipment, there is no way to get equipment in and out due to trees that are along a railroad right of way and the terrain to get over the railroad tracks. The access road crosses the tracks at an angle. About a quarter of the property has a low area that beavers damned up the ditch years ago that usually holds water year round. It's all surrounded by bushes and trees. But it's dry this year due to the drought. Big mature timber along the river. It's about 30-35 acres. We bush hog it and plant food plots and hunt it. It was once jointly owned by two people along with another 200 acres of high ground that was sold. Now owned solely by one person.
Question is which one of the classifications can it be signed up for?

Ag is no
Forestry? But don't want to cut trees down along the river
Open Space?

Anyone know of any property in the greenbelt that is similar?
 
Biggun4214 said:
Forestry doesn't mean trees have to be cut. Set out a row of white oaks and let them grow for the next 100 years.
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Never thought about that! I thought you had to write up the plan for what is going on now. I guess we can just say we are letting a certain area grow back into a thicket and we are planting and growing trees in several different areas.
Thanks!!
 
I'm just going to pull mine out that I did 5 years ago and use it as a template for writing my dads. Mine is in Cheatham County and his property is in Montgomery County. Montgomery County government is a lot bigger than Cheatham but I'll include an aerial map with locations for everything and hopefully they will accept it.
 
The last piece of property I bought wasnt enrolled in the greenbelt program. When I bought it the dipshats at the courthouse told me I would need a professional forester to do a cruise and survey and a management plan. LMAO! I looked at them like they had 3 heads and all 3 were showing and said "do you know what I do for a living!? Give me that paperwork." 15 minutes later I was done.
 
Food plots are also ag in nature. Corn and beans are row crops, wheat and rye are small grains, and clover is used as hay. CRP lands are also ag in nature doesn't matter if it is growing trees or lying fallow.
 
double browtine said:
I thought you had to write up the plan for what is going on now.
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This is all you need. A generic 'plan'. Don't even have to have forester involved.

Something like 'property will be managed/ maintained with a focus on timber production while balancing benefits to wildlife. Mature timber will be select cut along the watersheds, while the previously cleared ag fields are allowed to regrow with natural succession and plantings to benefit wildlife'
 
megalomaniac said:
This is all you need. A generic 'plan'. Don't even have to have forester involved.

Something like 'property will be managed/ maintained with a focus on timber production while balancing benefits to wildlife. Mature timber will be select cut along the watersheds, while the previously cleared ag fields are allowed to regrow with natural succession and plantings to benefit wildlife'
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Depends on the county. Where I live, it is required to have a forester write up a plan.
 
Agriculture Greenbelt you are supposed to be able to show a minimum of $1500 a year of agricultural income off of the property. Forestry Greenbelt you do not have to show an income but you are supposed to submit a copy of a 10 year Forestry Plan from a Forester. This is how it was explained to me, I hired a Forester to come out and write a plan with an emphasis on wildlife habitat improvement.
 
lol said:
I paid $300 for a forestry plan and thought it was money well spent. Learned a lot about my property and he included quite a few suggestions to improve the timber and other vegetation.
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This was my case here in Bradley. He asked what my objective was and I said to kill deer and turkeys. $300 later he wrote up a plan that basically said nothing needs to be done to the property at this time. I'm getting close to renewal so we will see if it's that painless the next go around.
 
G@TOR said:
I had TN department of agriculture (forestry) come out and write up a forestry plan for free. Also check out the NRCS they can help you get federal aid for just about anything being done on the property. This past year I had a control burn and got paid for it.
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Great point. We went through the NRCS and was able to get help with a TSI hack-n-squirt project in 2019.
For your controlled burn...did the TN Forestry Dept build the fire breaks and actually manage the burn? or did you hire a private group?
Appreciate any information on the topic.
Anything you would do different looking back? Did you do a single burn unit or multiple burn units? Do you plan to burn on a 3 year rotation? Or? Sorry to have so many questions but I'm very interested in this topic.
 
DoubleRidge said:
Great point. We went through the NRCS and was able to get help with a TSI hack-n-squirt project in 2019.
For your controlled burn...did the TN Forestry Dept build the fire breaks and actually manage the burn? or did you hire a private group?
Appreciate any information on the topic.
Anything you would do different looking back? Did you do a single burn unit or multiple burn units? Do you plan to burn on a 3 year rotation? Or? Sorry to have so many questions but I'm very interested in this topic.
Click to expand...
Yes the TN forestry did my control burn. They came out about a month before the burn and cut a fire break around my property ( 40 acres). I had a dozer clear out two plots about 3 acres total in 2021. So I had multiple piles of dead trees I was wanting burnt. The forestry guys helped burn them piles also. Nothing I would change in that process. I'm hoping to stay on the 3 year plan.
 
G@TOR said:
Yes the TN forestry did my control burn. They came out about a month before the burn and cut a fire break around my property ( 40 acres). I had a dozer clear out two plots about 3 acres total in 2021. So I had multiple piles of dead trees I was wanting burnt. The forestry guys helped burn them piles also. Nothing I would change in that process. I'm hoping to stay on the 3 year plan.
Click to expand...
Good deal....Thanks for the information.
Appreciate it.
 

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