2015 Southern A Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year By Paul Hudgins
22
labama’s 2012 Tree Farmers of the Year are now the 2015 Southern Regional Tree Farmers of the Year and I hope that by the time this article goes to print and you are reading it, they will have been crowned the 2015 National Tree Farmers of the Year. But until then, the Cedar Creek Plantation Tree Farm is truly family land, and has been for nearly 100 years. John and his sister Peggy’s grandfather, O.L. “Boss” Boutwell, purchased the original 39 acres of the ‘home place’ in 1917 when their father was not even 2 years old. There was a house on the property when it was purchased, and the family continued to live there until 1963. From 1917 through 1951 “Boss” purchased six additional tracts of land bringing total acreage to about 1,750 acres. “Boss” and his son were cattlemen and farmers— timber and wildlife were secondary. A perimeter fence encompassed the whole place (about 20 miles total), and a cow-calf operation was the main farm enterprise. Corn and hay was grown to support the
cattle operation and some cotton was grown as a cash crop. John’s father worked for the Soil Conservation Service and was interested in other benefits of the land—timber, wildlife and water. In 1961, their property was inducted into the Tree Farm Program. John attended Auburn University and graduated with BS and MS degrees in agricultural economics in 1973 and 1975. He has enjoyed a long career as the farmer and land manager of 5,000 acres of family land. John and Peggy’s grandparents and parents passed away. The cows were sold, and timber became the primary crop of the land. All this happened over several years, with much planning and preparation. John and his wife Ann purchased 3 adjacent tracts which brought the total acreage of the Tree Farm program to approximately 1,867 acres. Timber management is not without risks and challenges. The Boutwells have lived through two devastating events on their property. In the early 1990s, they experienced a terrible pine beetle epiA L A B A M A F O R E S TS | S u m m e r 2 0 1 5