A financial calculator: Software for evaluating plantation scenarios

Abstract

STEPS (Software Tools for Evaluating Plantation Scenarios) has been designed with commercial plantation growers in mind, and is species-independent in its application. It has been used already by DPI Forestry, a commercial business group of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, and has potential to be applied to any timber plantation in Australia or elsewhere. It is particularly useful for growers and managers who need to evaluate different scenarios relating to solid wood products, as it allows comparison of different sawlog classes and a range of other products. STEPS also caters for detailed pricing structures for sawlog products. STEPS is a tool that can be used for strategic and management-level planning as it collates all costs, prices and revenues for thinning and clearfelling regimes into one neat package.