Plant long leafs at about 700 per acre if you have the appropriate site index. You’ll have great deer hunting the first 10 years or so. After that you’ll have a beautifully raked, weed (and wildlife food and cover) free monoculture that will generate $3-400 per year in pine straw production. You can burn all you want until baling begins and don’t have to worry about thinning until they’re 23-25 years old. Pine beetles are less of a problem and you can generate 3-5k per acre in income between years 12-25. It’s a no brainer compared to loblolly if income is your priority, not so much for wildlife during the productive baling years.

Last edited by C3SEAST; 02/25/26 10:14 PM.