Clint Flowers of National Land Realty told members that timber land valuation has become an exact science thanks to technology and an improved understanding of tree genetics.

He talked at length about the dynamics involved in valuing a piece of timber land. Because of advances in the understanding of genetics and technology, the process of forecasting the yield of a piece of timber land decades in advance has become finely honed. Advanced software can predict the profitability of a piece of timber land by accounting for factors such as soil quality, the genetic make-up of a give stand of trees, and tree density. Because of this, timber lands have become a valuable commodity that can even be leveraged as a component of IRAs.