For Weyerhaeuser’s shareholders, watching grass grow may be less frustrating than watching the farm bill trudge through Congress. The legislation, for now, contains a provision that could slash Weyerhaeuser’s logging tax bill. Until its fate is sealed, Weyerhaeuser is waiting to decide whether to convert into a tax-advantaged real estate investment trust (Reit).

Facing the same dilemma, loggers Rayonier and Plum Creek have sold most of their non-land assets and converted to Reits. Temple-Inland and International Paper chose the opposite tack, selling land to concentrate on other operations. Weyerhaeuser, which is selling its $6bn containerboard and packaging unit to International Paper, has made clear its plans to build a corporate structure around its timberland assets. But whether it will convert to a Reit may depend on how painful and uncertain an existence it would face otherwise.