Forest Landowners Association Stands with Agricultural Partners on National Ag Day
FLA Calls on Policymakers to Fully Recognize Forestry Within American Agriculture on the Nation’s Premier Day of Agricultural Celebration
Washington, D.C. — On National Ag Day, the Forest Landowners Association (FLA) is proud to stand with every farmer, rancher, and agricultural producer in America — and to make a long overdue declaration: forest landowners are farmers too.
More than a century ago, Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, famously declared that “Forestry is Tree Farming” and that “wood is a crop.” Pinchot pioneered sustainable forestry in America by applying science‑based silviculture methods that treated forests not as limitless wilderness, but as renewable, working lands to be managed, harvested, and replanted for continuous human use. His vision remains the foundation of modern private forestry — and it aligns squarely with the core principles of American agriculture.
“National Ag Day belongs to everyone who works the land,” said Scott Jones, FLA CEO. “Private forest landowners grow the timber that builds homes, fuels rural communities, and keeps America’s supply chains running. We face the same challenges as every agricultural producer — and we deserve the same recognition in federal policy.”
America’s nearly 11 million private forest landowners manage 259 million acres of forests, contributing directly to the nation’s Food, Fuel, Fiber, and Housing economy. Their stewardship supports rural jobs, strengthens supply chains, and sustains the natural resources that communities depend on.
Yet forest landowners are too often excluded from agricultural policy conversations — missing from disaster relief programs, underrepresented in farm bill negotiations, and overlooked in rural economic discussions. FLA is calling on Congress and the administration to change that.
“This Ag Day, FLA is joining the agricultural community not just in celebration, but in advocacy,” Jones added. “Policies that protect farmers should protect forest landowners too. We’re asking policymakers to take that step.”
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