> Empress trees grow very fast but there is not much of a market for their wood because it is very light.
"Market" for wood is measured in decades, not months. The trees we are harvesting today are the result of a "market" selection made by our fathers and grand-fathers (typically, oak in western Europe).
Saying that Empress trees is out of fashion today because their wood is too light, might be true, but it's not the answer you should be giving. So, either you have the ability to see 40 years into the future, or you simply don't know and don't assume it won't be likeable for the next generation.
In the conversations we have had with landowners, they are much more interested in planting Loblolly pine or poplar, which are naturalized and / or native than Empress. I think Empress trees are very cool but hybrid poplar and loblolly pine are better suited for the types of sites we are planting seedlings on.
Don't listen to what people want or like. As I said, tree selection is not for one's lifetime : it's a gift for the next generation.
If you're approaching landowners by telling them they can turn a profit in X years, you are doing it wrong. If your motivation is greed, then you set yourself up for failure, first because price forecast 25 years in the future are absolutely idiotic and meaningless (as we have seen in the past two years), then because trees are very complex organisms that take a very long time to grow. By modifying their genome you expose them to potential rejection by their peers and more things that you will discover in two decades. And also getting bared from planting them in Europe.
So, get your marketing straight : no more profit, and grow what you want. Take those carbon credits home, that's the most profitable thing you can do.
"Market" for wood is measured in decades, not months. The trees we are harvesting today are the result of a "market" selection made by our fathers and grand-fathers (typically, oak in western Europe).
Saying that Empress trees is out of fashion today because their wood is too light, might be true, but it's not the answer you should be giving. So, either you have the ability to see 40 years into the future, or you simply don't know and don't assume it won't be likeable for the next generation.