Relationships between characteristics of Tennessee woodland owners : their woodland operations and their use of recommended forestry practices and the number of contacts they had with Extension from 1979 to 1983

Author

Kenneth Michael Burress

Date of Award

8-1985

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Extension

Major Professor

Cecil E. Carter Jr

Committee Members

Robert S. Dotson, John B. Sharp

Abstract

The major purpose of this study was to determine relationships between the characteristics of woodland owners, their use of recommended practices, and their contacts with Extension.

A total of 383 woodland owners was interviewed or mailed questionnaires by Extension agents in Tennessee. The analysis of variance was used to determine the association between each dependent variable and each of the qualitative independent variables. F-values which achieved the .05 level of probability were accepted as being statistically significant.

Major findings included the following:

1. The mean number of acres of forest land owned was almost 283; the mean number of acres of forest land grazed was nearly 44; the mean number of acres of forest land never grazed was more than 161; average acres of forest tree seedlings planted was less than 8; the average acres of timber stand improvement was just over 27; the mean number of forestry contacts with Extension personnel was about 2.4.

2. The average number of recommended forestry practices used by woodland owners was less than four.

3. Woodland owners who used forestry practices on more forest acres also used a significantly greater number of recommended practices. Total number of Extension contacts was the woodland owner characteristic which seemed to more accurately predict the total number of practices used.

4. Percent acres thinned that needed thinning and percent acres timber stand improvement were significantly related to number of Extension contacts in woodland management.

5. Woodland owners who used recommended forestry practices contacted Extension more frequently than those not using the practices. This difference was significant for almost all practices.

6. Woodland owners who used most recommended woodland product marketing practices had contacted Extension more than those who were not using the practices. Using trained foresters and knowing the amount of timber ready to sell were the only two practices significantly related to the number of contacts in woodland marketing.

7. Woodland owners who used most of the recommended forestry management practices owned more forest acres. Use of most of the management practices was significantly related to the number of forest acres owned.

8. Woodland owners who used most woodland product marketing practices owned significantly more forest acres than those who were not using the practices.

9. The percent forest acreage use was significantly related to the number of forest acres owned.

10. The total number of contacts in woodland management was not significantly related to the number of forest acres owned, but was significantly related to the total number of practices used.

11. The number of contacts related to woodland product marketing was significantly related to the number of forest acres owned, and was significantly related to the number of marketing practices used.

Recommended Citation

Burress, Kenneth Michael, "Relationships between characteristics of Tennessee woodland owners : their woodland operations and their use of recommended forestry practices and the number of contacts they had with Extension from 1979 to 1983. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1985.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/7457