Any experience with small-scale log sales? Here is the situation. We have just purchased a tract of land that has 26 acres of woods, a mix of pine and hardwood. I am thinking about pulling much of the pine out to thin a much to thick timber stand but hate to see the destruction loggers with skidders will do to the woods. I was thinking that if I bought a tractor skidding winch I could selectively harvest the pine and stage it on a power easement we have to be picked up by the load. Might just get enough to pay for the winch over time.
I understand that it is hard to get anyone interested in small amounts of logs at a time. Guess I just don't understand why when all they would have to do is load and haul to the mill. Anyone have any experience in this area?
I have similar plans on my place...need a lot of thinning done but don't want my land destroyed by big logging equipment.
I stopped by a local sawmill (the biggest in the area) and asked if they would buy logs if I cut them down and stacked 'em by the road for pickup....they said definetely yes...just call anytime I had a full-truck load ready to go.
Talk to your local mills..if the first says no, try another. There defintely are people that will buy them...at least in my area. You'll also want to ask them how long they would prefer them cut etc to maxime the amount they will pay.
Mark,
Just my .02 worth.I have sold timber before(10 years ago) and the woods look like a mess when the loggers are done,but I was suprised how fast the woods recovered,The woods are beautiful again,and I am talking 2 to 3 years at my place the woods started looking good again.
Of course you are right Steel Wheels. Nature is pretty remarkable in its ability to recover. We had 90 acres of family land selectively logged a number of years ago and it looked like a war had gone on there. After a few years you'd be hard pressed to know it had happened at all. Although I know this is the case, this is the first time the wife and I have a chunk of heaven that is our own and I am being a bit protective at this point. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] We are going to bring in a forester to evaluate the wood lot and see what they think.
Before we bought our land the woods were logged. The selection of trees was not a problem. The fact that the logging company had to cross an oil pipe line and did not get the necessary permits was a big problem. All the trees were down when the logger was shut down. He just walked away leaving about forty trees down but not sectioned. Most are more than 30 inches in diameter.
Over the last year I have cut up some but most are still waiting for me to get the time. I need to pull them out this summer and stack the logs off the ground. All I need is more time in the day.
I have piles of old stumps and tops that I need to get rid off, left over from the previous owners activities. I bet he hired it out becasue the piles are in steep places that only a dozer or skidder would be able to handle. Very hard with a tractor.
I am planning on a dozer to move these piles away from live trees enough that I can burn them. Expenive equipment rental and worse to hire out.
This will take a long time to cleanup (pile and burn).
So either make it part of a contract or be prepared to have the mess left over for you.
I hear you fellows! I have heard and seen more horror stories due to logging than I care to remember. That was the main reason I was thinking of doing it the slow way by cutting, skidding and stacking myself. I am also going to look into bringing in someone with a portable mill. I will have a barn to build in the future and that may be an option for the pine I want to thin.
Have you decided what you want to do with the timber?
If you are going to sell, talk to a state forester. In NC there
is an 800 number to call that will give the last quarters price
on timber by type and location. So at least you would have
a clue as to a fair price. Timber prices are cyclical so you
might be able to time the sale to you advantage.
I know my local mill will buy off the truck.
Have you found a portable sawyer yet? I'm pretty sure that
the manufactuers of the saw have lists of people who do the
work.
How would you dry the wood if you get a guy to saw it up?
Sorry for the slow reply. I just haven't checked the site lately as we struggle through the entire house buying and selling issues. The research continues though and I do have a few new ideas.
We have talked to a forester that will be coming out to look over our wood lot and recommend a management plan for what we have and want to do. As several of you mentioned he has told us that the prices fluctuate considerably depending on the local demand of the mills. Also it looks like the availability of people that will do low impact selective logging of a small tract is almost non existent were we are. So doing the work ourselves still looks like a pretty good option.
The portable saw mill is becoming a stronger possibility. There are several in the area with portable mills and several smaller mills that will custom saw logs you bring to them. We have several building projects that will be happening over time and I kind of like the ideal of using lumber that came off the property. I need a bit more education before I can accurately crunch the numbers and see how practical it would be for the amount of work involved.
Drying I am told can be an issue depending on the intended end goal for the lumber. From what I get for rough sawed lumber to use for barns and such the proper stacking in and open sided shed for a couple of years will bring the moisture contend to a useable level. For finish lumber you would still want to take the lumber for kiln drying and planing somewhere. We kind of like that rustic rough sawed look so we might be fine stack drying.
For those interested www.FORESTRYFORUM.COM has a great deal of information and a pretty nice group of people.
Thanks for the interest. We close on the new place in three weeks and can't wait to truly join the rural living group. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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