For example, begin raking when the stand is 10 years old and rake for 5 years. A blanket of pine needles on the forest floor can serve many purposes for the forest. The landowner sells to a pine straw company, which will rake, bale, and market the pine straw. The second method is most common because the landowner spends little time and money during the operation and does not need to own any equipment. Contractor pays landowner.
Contractor rakes, bales, and ships pine straw.
Two ways that a landowner may market pine straw. At age 10, pine straw yield will be between 125 to 200 bales per acre. Thereafter, there is a slight decrease to approximately 200 bales per acre. Because of these differences in yield over the life of a stand, it is important that the landowner obtain competitive bids for each year of baling. After raking a 15 year-old stand, bales of pine straw await shipment to retailers.