This data is from 30 years ago when I lived in central Georgia. Plenty of farmers had gotten tired of plowing for corn, or their kids inherited and didn't want to farm at all.
The deal was, you got a 40 acre farm you plant it in Southern Yellow Pine. This is a prized tree and all the building supply places from Georgia to South Dakota stock pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine. It is uniquely strong wood, and it will take the pressure treating better than other woods.
I don't know how much it costs to plant 40 acres. Then, you wait 20 years, in which, you do nothing to your little forest. At 20 years you cut it, the pros come in and cut half or more of the trees, especially cutting the warped or weird looking trees, this is going for pulp wood.
Here again you do nothing the pros cut your trees. You get $1,000 an acre.
In 20 more years, you clear cut it and this is for timber. Once again, you get One Grand per acre, you do nothing except put the check in the bank.
How this would translate to Maine Yankee land I don't know. I guess SYP_wouldn't grow up there.
Plus, now that I think about it, demand for pulp wood must be down due to the collapse of printed newspapers.