Logging Questions

[deerhunter5555]

I was thinking about having some timber cut on my farm and had some questions. How do most loggers pay you for your trees? I mean do they cut it then sell it and split the money with the landowner or do they pay you per tree/board foot? How do you insure that you're getting a fair price? Has anyone had any horror stories or even good experiances for that matter? Also, I relize that walnut,cherry,and oak fetch the highest prices,but is there also a market for maple and ash? Thanks for the help in advance! Erich

[Hammer]

U first need to have a forrester come look at your property. They know what trees are best to cut down and will mark them for the logger. They can also give u an estimate of what u will get out of your woods and even if it's worthwhile. I have been in too many woods where people didn't know what they were doing, and needless trees were cut down and left to rot.

A forrester can tell which trees are hollow in the center (making them undesireable for harvest) and many other things. I have a friend who does this for a living. He travels all over the state, and he has been doing it for close to 10 years now. He has a forresting degree from college, and he is very knowledgeable, and he is a Christian and will be honest and not screw you over. He also knows what the lumber will bring in the market and coordinate that part of the job as well. If u want his name and phone number, click on my profile and email me.

[GSP]

Get bids and referances! Price goes up and down with the market. You can sell on shares, by the foot or sell the boundry. If you have sawmills close, stop by and ask them what the market price is on the differant species. They will also know most of the loggers in the area. Call them and ask for bids. Check their referances. If they are good, they should have know problem suppling them.

I posted same time as Hammer. Getting a forrester is a really good idea.

[ky_great_white_bowhunter]

I would deffinately contact my county forester. I think it is free of charge and this is good because they have nothing to gain from the sell of your timber

[Highbow]

Great White, where you been? I guess you guys are hiting the books hard up at MU? Still Shootin?

[INKYHUNTER]

I would suspect lumber prices are way down now with the economy being slow. When the furniture industry is slow it usually sucks. Do your homework.

[ky_great_white_bowhunter]

Highbow,

Xcutter and myself have been hiding out for a while but we are back up here at msu and I hate to say it but there is no where around here to shoot. The nearest place to here to shoot is in ashland and time and money won't allow me to make it up that way.[:(]Besides I need to start hittin the books hard and get my GPA up.

[LoweBow]

Your state forester will NOT mark the trees for sale. I have recently done a select harvest on my farm. I went through the process of having the state forester for my area come out and inspect the woods. He will then give you his best plan as to what should be done to keep the health of the forest. I hired a consulting forester that then marks the trees and estimates the standing board footage. He will then market the sale of the footage by an auction of some sort. He helps w/ contracts and making sure best stewading practices are followed. That's the way it's supposed to work anyway. After the fact, I feel I'd have been better off dealing direct w/ the loggers. The guy I hired did a good job marking trees, but it ended there. I could not get him to come back to help w/ anything after that. A consulting forester will usually charge 10% of the sale.
Mike

[KY_Xcutter]

Lowebow is right! The Foresters don't mark the trees they just make up timber management plans for your property and can tell you if you should take the logging route. I would also tend to say that your better off w/out the Consultant. The more middle men you cut out the more money you might make. I have family in the logging buisness and I'm sorry to say it but they make alot of money off screwing people. Don't get me wrong there might be some good honest loggers out there. But you can bet that they will always come out with the "SWEETER" end of the deal. The only thing I would suggest is know what they cut and how much!! There is cheap scales that you can buy to help you calculate the board feet. It wouldn't hurt to know how many BF of timber and what kind of trees they cut. As far as how they come up with the pecentage you get I don't know. The place that i use to work for (tree service) Has sold maple and ash. Cherry always brought the highest prices.

Good Luck