Resources / Forestry / Internal rate of return
Forestry · Financial · Return

Internal rate of return

8.5% real

The discount rate at which the rotation’s discounted revenue exactly offsets its discounted costs — the annualised return on capital, accounting for the long wait between planting outlay and harvest income.

Worked example · % real IRR · vs hurdle rate
Hurdle 7% 7.2 6.2 7.1 8.5 2011 crop District Prev K7 K7 2026
% real IRR · vs hurdle rate
The benchmark

Well-sited short-rotation hardwood plantations typically target a real IRR of around 6–9%, above a commercial hurdle rate.

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What it signals

IRR is how forestry is judged against every other investment competing for the same capital. Clearing a commercial hurdle rate is what keeps land in trees rather than converted to a faster-paying use, so it frames every replant decision.

Data required to calculate
Establishment & tending cash flows$Harvest revenue$Rotation lengthyr

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Bring revenue forward by harvesting at the MAI culmination age.

02

Keep establishment spend disciplined — it discounts the hardest.

03

Raise yield and price so the single harvest cash flow lands larger.

Questions & answers

What is internal rate of return?

The discount rate at which the rotation’s discounted revenue exactly offsets its discounted costs — the annualised return on capital, accounting for the long wait between planting outlay and harvest income.

What data do you need to calculate internal rate of return?

You need: Establishment & tending cash flows ($), Harvest revenue ($), Rotation length (yr). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good internal rate of return benchmark?

Well-sited short-rotation hardwood plantations typically target a real IRR of around 6–9%, above a commercial hurdle rate.

How do you improve internal rate of return?

Bring revenue forward by harvesting at the MAI culmination age. Keep establishment spend disciplined — it discounts the hardest. Raise yield and price so the single harvest cash flow lands larger.

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