Own the Forest Floor
Erik Carlsson@costanza
−0.3%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe scarce, productive land only gets more valuable, and forests are the clearest way to own that. The core sits in US timber REITs holding millions of acres outright, wrapped in broad timber ETFs for ballast, then layered with global forest owners, wood processors, and other land-rich businesses. I keep a small cash cushion and spread across names rather than betting on any single one. This is a ten year hold, letting trees and land compound rather than chasing a catalyst.
What it owns
- These REITs own millions of acres of American forest outright, the purest way to own the land itself. · WeyerhaeuserIt owns millions of acres of US timberland outright, the purest version of the land ownership bet, and holds value as long as that acreage and the trees on it keep appreciating., RayonierIt owns and manages timberland in the US South, Pacific Northwest, and New Zealand, offering the cleanest way to own forest acres alongside larger peers.21%
- The same belief, scarce productive land gaining value, applied to ranchland, farmland and development land. · Texas Pacific LandIt owns vast acreage of West Texas land and earns royalties and water fees from activity on top of it, scarce productive land in its rawest form., St. Joe CompanyIt owns large acreage in the Florida panhandle bought decades ago and turns it into communities, gaining value as people move south., Gladstone LandIt owns farms growing fruit, nuts, and vegetables and collects rent from farmers, productive land that cannot be manufactured., LandBridgeIt owns surface acreage in the Permian Basin and charges for its use and access, land that earns without being sold., Farmland PartnersIt owns row-crop acres across the US, capturing the long appreciation record of farmland as a scarce productive asset.21%
- These companies convert standing timber into lumber and panels, so the land generates cash flow while the asset itself appreciates over time. · Louisiana-PacificIt turns trees into engineered wood for homebuilding, the step where forests become income while land appreciates underneath., Boise CascadeIt makes and distributes lumber and plywood, capturing earnings when trees become building materials., UFP IndustriesIt sells wood products into construction, retail, and packaging, spreading the bet on wood demand across many end markets beyond housing., SylvamoIt makes paper and owns forestland that feeds its mills, combining the business that uses trees with ownership of the land beneath them.20%
- Two funds holding forestry companies worldwide, steadying a ten-year hold against any single company stumbling. · iShares Global Timber & Forestry ETFIt holds timber and forestry companies worldwide in one basket, providing steady broad exposure so patience, not timing, does the work., Invesco MSCI Global Timber ETFIt holds a global mix of forest and wood companies that steadies the take with broad exposure when any single owner faces headwinds.17%
- Forest ownership doesn't stop at the US border; these companies own or control huge tracts abroad. · West Fraser TimberIt holds long-term harvest rights to Canadian forests and owns US mills, giving the take a second country's worth of forest access and vertical integration., SuzanoIt owns eucalyptus plantations in Brazil where trees grow several times faster than in North America, compounding land value more quickly.13%
- Cash7%