Nonindustrial private forest land owners as timber marketers and their sources of information on timber markets and marketing

This study investigates the position of nonindustrial private forest land owners of the United States as timber marketers in the market environment, and the sources from which these owners can acquire information on timber markets and marketing process.;"Active" or "passive" information is provided to landowners by various sources that differ in motives in providing information. Generally, landowners do not appear to be engaged in extensive search and use of the information on timber prices and marketing operations. When timber marketing is considered, landowners depend widely upon the information obtained from buyer-related sources. The extent of using various sources of information does not seem to have robust correlation with ownership characteristics. Despite some limitations, involvement of professional foresters in timber sales is generally found to increase returns to landowners. Lastly, it still remains unanswered whether landowners' disposition toward timber management does change by using the information on timber markets/marketing from various sources.