Applied Forest Finance and Timber Forecasting
Agenda
Location: DoubleTree Hotel Lloyd Center, Portland, OR
9:00 am Key Concepts of Forest Finance:
- Time value of money;
- Nominal vs. real rates;
- Cash flows: common mistakes and how to correct them.
10:00 Forest Economics:
- Faustmann and Bare Land Value (BLV)
10:30 Break
10:45 Financial Criteria:
- Ranking investment options
- Case study: maximizing returns from existing stands
12:15 pm Lunch
1:00 Marginal Analysis and Discount Rates
- When does forest management pay?
- Estimating risk in discount rates for timberland investments
2:30 Break
2:45 Developing and Applying Timber Forecasts
- Developing a macroeconomic view/framework and establishing relationships
- Identifying and applying timber price drivers
- Building scenarios: what happens when key drivers shift?
4:15 Adjourn
The course includes hard copies of all course materials and electronic copies of supplementary reference materials, Excel based examples and models for take-home application, plus the book: Forest Finance Simplified, 5th Edition.
About the Instructor
Dr. Brooks Mendell is President at Forisk, where he leads the firm’s research program. Founded in 2004, Forisk provides research and education to senior management and investors in the forest industry and timberland investing sectors. Forisk has been a four-time “Bulldog 100 Fastest Growing Business.” Dr. Mendell has over twenty years of operating, research, and consulting experience in forest business, bioenergy and finance. His experience includes roles in harvest operations and wood procurement with Weyerhaeuser, in management consulting with Accenture and in academia at the University of Georgia. A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Mendell publishes analysis of timber markets, forest business and operations, and wood bioenergy. His forestry-related books include “Loving Trees is Not Enough”, “Forest Finance Simplified”, “Aunt Fanny Learns Forestry: Managing Timberland as an Investment” and “Wood for Bioenergy” (co-authored with Amanda Lang). Dr. Mendell earned BS and MS degrees at M.I.T., an MBA at the University of California at Berkeley, and a PhD in Forest Finance at UGA.
Dr. Brooks Mendell is President at Forisk, where he leads the firm’s research program. Founded in 2004, Forisk provides research and education to senior management and investors in the forest industry and timberland investing sectors. Forisk has been a four-time “Bulldog 100 Fastest Growing Business.” Dr. Mendell has over twenty years of operating, research, and consulting experience in forest business, bioenergy and finance. His experience includes roles in harvest operations and wood procurement with Weyerhaeuser, in management consulting with Accenture and in academia at the University of Georgia. A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Mendell publishes analysis of timber markets, forest business and operations, and wood bioenergy. His forestry-related books include “Loving Trees is Not Enough”, “Forest Finance Simplified”, “Aunt Fanny Learns Forestry: Managing Timberland as an Investment” and “Wood for Bioenergy” (co-authored with Amanda Lang). Dr. Mendell earned BS and MS degrees at M.I.T., an MBA at the University of California at Berkeley, and a PhD in Forest Finance at UGA.
About the Conference
Course offered by the Western Forestry & Conservation Association (WFCA) and the Forisk Continuing Education Program (FCEP).
Who Should Attend?
Forestry consultants and investment analysts, timberland owners and investors, and anyone else who needs to understand the identification, valuation, and ranking of timber-dependent and forest-related investments and future cash flows.
What Will You Learn?
This course is designed for professionals and investors seeking to develop, improve, and refine practical analytical skills for immediate application to forestry-related valuation models and investment decisions. You will learn how to: 1. Identify and correct common forest finance errors; 2. Correctly apply financial tools to screen and rank forestry investment decisions; and 3. Develop approaches and better understanding to use and apply softwood stumpage forecasts in the Pacific Northwest and US South.