Replies to post #2183 on Investing in Timber

[planbtotrade]

schaef,

So in sports you have some control over the results by continuing to participate, besides, you are on the field, what else is there to do? Yes, I used to play some sports as well. In TATF, you only have faith in Steve (apparently you do) and no control, except to give TATF more of your money.

So what are your solutions besides to stop with posts that reiterate the points of failure (a cover up is no solution)?

Have you visited your trees? Have you researched teak plantation prices, teak products? Have you met or talked with Steve? Have you seen TATF facilities? Have you any forestry reports of your trees? Have you seen all the wood rotting in the fields in CR? Have you seen solar kilns filled to the top with young lumber that apparently cannot be sold? These are the actions of someone actively continuing to play the second half of a game on the field or the pragmatist.

Or do you just continue to ask those of us that have done some or all of the above to not post negatives here (Speaking of Don Quixote)

Our investment with TATF is now a lottery ticket.

You say--
"I am being pragmatic in this way: the money I invested is too much for me to lose easily. It costs me nothing to continue reading and posting, and I will keep up to date with any events at TATF and the experience of others....."

Good luck with that strategy. You want to keep up with our experiences from visiting our trees, yet you actually do or say or contribute little except to debate a lot of existentialistic things.

Like I have recommended to Jan, go see your trees, and then compare them to other plantations, the website, and your expectations. The neglect in care and management is obvious on many of the farms. There is no substitute for on site, eyes on trees. If you do not have lumber from your trees, nothing else matters - that is a pragmatist point of view that I have repeated many times in posts here.

planb

[planbtotrade]

schaef,

When I visited CR and TATF (I have posted this before) to see my trees, I was not even shown one of the lots of trees and the lot that I saw had plenty of issues. The TATF office was not even sure what trees I owned-as I had to specify the details pre-trip (field, rows, etc). This was years ago, before this forum.

How would you feel if you coordinated the trip through TATF and did everything that was expected of you and you were not shown all of your trees? (Steve and an employee went out and took pictures of my trees many months later and sent them to me).

My fundamental question to you is - Given that there is no or very little information coming from TATF, at what point do you acknowledge or accept your investment loss? Do you visit your trees to try to obtain some information, or do you place a lot of words on this forum debating the type of information that is useful?

The reality is that even if Steve is successful with the value added products this time, it will be many years before most tree owners see any returns. AB trumpeted the 17yr harvests, but we have heard nothing. How many more years of no communications are you willing to overlook before you turn negative?

planb