timber prices

[BowGuy84]

Guys, I know several on here are cutting timeber right now. What are timber prices at? Ive got a buddy's grandfather that is thinking about cutting but he doesnt know prices. Thanks and have a good one.

 

[fourwheeler431]

The loggers on our lease told us that hard wood is selling high. The pulp wood is not doing very good according to them.

 

[Football Hunter]

pm BSK,he is having some work done now I believe

 

[ShaneHallum]

I do know the hard wood flooring market is really picking up steam. I made hardwood flooring for several years here in town, and I've never seen the amount of wood that they are bring in right now. I heard they have 9 million board feet of flooring right now.

Hope the market holds..

 

[stirrat]

how much do they pay per acre on a clearcut with good timber?

 

[JCDEERMAN]

how much do they pay per acre on a clearcut with good timber?

We are having our place cut right now. Not clearcut, but we are having it select cut. Timber prices seem to be going very well right now!

We are having them cut trees 14" DBH and greater. As of right now, they have cut roughly 13 acres and we have received numerous checks for logs and chip-wood totalling about $12,000. It's almost running about a thousand dollars an acre. And thats with it only being select cut! I NEVER would have imagined that. Though, I will say, that where they have been cutting are places with very mature timber. Either way, I'll take that any day. Now, other locations may be different, but they are going high right now where we are (Hickman County)

The way I look at it - We are getting paid to have better hunting :)

 

[BowGuy84]

thanks guys, anyone else got any info?

 

[Jarred525]

Met with a logger last week to do our place and he said hardwood was doing well but he had heard that pulp may go down (if it has not already). I hope hardwood stays up through January! Planning on doing ours then.

 

[BSK]

Prices are very high right now, but what you will get is dependent on the quality of the standing timber. With mature timber and only a couple of acres cut so far (down to 12" DBH) I've received almost $5,000 even though I'm only taking a 40% split.


...but then we have some big timber!

 

[ShaneHallum]

Wow your doing good. What terms and conditions did you put in place for the loggers? Like, do they have to clean up all the tops, etc..

I was watching a show the other night that showed a skidder spraying some sort of chemical to kill all the underbrush for the client.

 

[BSK]

Wow your doing good. What terms and conditions did you put in place for the loggers? Like, do they have to clean up all the tops, etc..

That's why I'm only taking a 40% split--because I asked for some extras:

Cuts are all small cuts (3-5 acres each) and there are 12 of them scattered across a large property (only 50 total acres scattered across a 500-acre property).

Most of the cuts are on steep hillsides, requiring a tracked vehicle to pull logs out.

White, red and black oak can be cut down to 12" DBH while we would prefer all other species be completely removed.

Roads must be fixed back to original condition.

All log-loading decks must be cleared and smoothed for food plot use.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow your doing good. What terms and conditions did you put in place for the loggers? Like, do they have to clean up all the tops, etc..

That's why I'm only taking a 40% split--because I asked for some extras:

Cuts are all small cuts (3-5 acres each) and there are 12 of them scattered across a large property (only 50 total acres scattered across a 500-acre property).

Most of the cuts are on steep hillsides, requiring a tracked vehicle to pull logs out.

White, red and black oak can be cut down to 12" DBH while we would prefer all other species be completely removed.

Roads must be fixed back to original condition.

All log-loading decks must be cleared and smoothed for food plot use.

HOLY CRAP BSK! You got 500 acres in the nashville basin and doing that to it,Lord knows what you'll kill and dont even know if he's sure.Did you grow up around here you know were in the same area you SURE we aint related maybe 5th or 6th cousins im SURE we are...LOL

 

[sc8point]

ANYBODY KNOW A YOKLEY LOGGING CREW FROM LAWRENCE COUNTY AND HOW WELL THEY DO?

 

[BSK]

HOLY CRAP BSK! You got 500 acres in the nashville basin and doing that to it,Lord knows what you'll kill and dont even know if he's sure.Did you grow up around here you know were in the same area you SURE we aint related maybe 5th or 6th cousins im SURE we are...LOL

I sure wish my place was in the Nashville Basin!

 

[PickettSFHunter]

TN Forestry Products Bulletin. Gives prices per thousand board foot in your region for the quarter.

http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/fore ... letin.html

 

[BSK]

The latest printout I got from my logger showed a couple of white oak logs he cut and sold went for $1.50 per board foot!

 

[Jarred525]

TN Forestry Products Bulletin. Gives prices per thousand board foot in your region for the quarter.

http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/fore ... letin.html

I had been looking for this, thanks

 

[Truedouble]

We are cutting several small tracts of hardwood just south of Franklin Co. in Alabama. From what I know and have been told now is a good time to cut. We have been happy with the prices we've seen.

 

[BowGuy84]

Great info thatnks guys!

 

[bowfire]

Check with your local forestry agent. As i mentioned in an earlier thread, a timber consultant will grade your timber,negotiate the terms, and shop it to the highest bidder.They work on a percentage basis so they will get the highest price. A logger may or may not low-ball you. Agent should have list of local consultants.

 

[BSK]

I have mixed feelings about using a forester to bid out logging operations. In their favor, I can unequivocally say I HAVE NEVER BEEN RIPPED OFF WHEN USING A FORESTER. And in the logging world, that's saying something! In addition, foresters understand how to cut timber for the long-term viability of a forest. That's another important point. You don't want a single logging operation to ruin a forest for decades, if not longer.

However, a forester has to make a living too. They take a cut from the winning bid. This reduces your profit margin. In addition, when conducting logging through a bid process, the loggers are going to underbid as much as possible to cover any contingencies. Although I've never been ripped off in a forester-run bidding one-time-sale of timber, I can also say, unequivocally, I've never gotten the real value of the timber from this process either. In addition, most foresters don't understand cutting timber primarily for wildlife purposes. They understand cutting timber for timber value, both now and in the future, but not what type of logging produces the best habitat and hunting.

Without question, the best profit I've seen from logging is in a profit split, per load operation. But that type of operation also opens the door to all sorts of problems, from loggers "hiding" loads going out the door, to unrecorded sales, to loggers walking away from an uncompleted job if they feel profit margins aren't high enough. Yet when working directly with the logger, I can have the timber cut any way I want, and considering wildlife habitat is what I'm usually trying to create, detailing that directly to the logger is the best option.

Positives and negatives exist with each type of logging process. If you know nothing about logging, and just want to generate income from logging over the long term, ABSOLUTELY use a forester and a bid process. If you know a bit about logging, want to maximize profit from logging, and/or produce great wildlife habitat, you might considering working directly with a logger. But make sure that logger has a VERY good reputation.

 

[8 POINTS OR BETTER]

One thing I want to add is you do not have to use a forester to take seal bids. You can send out invitations and a copy of your contract to mills in your area. I seen it done both ways (% split and sealed bids with a good contract), and sealed bids seem to bring in more money and you don't have to accept the hightest bid if its not what you want.

 

[BSK]

I've never seen a sealed bid cover the real value of the timber. The only way to get that is per load. However, per load is also a way to get ripped off if you get an unscrupulous logger.

 

[pass-thru]

I've never seen a sealed bid cover the real value of the timber. The only way to get that is per load. However, per load is also a way to get ripped off if you get an unscrupulous logger.

If you have high value timber, are you apt to get a better price through sealed bid? They know the value of your timber based on the market and their cruise of your timber. High quality logs will yeild a much greater profit than lower grade lumber. That isn't reflected in pay per load percentages, but it may be when they by the stand.

Consider, it doesn't cost the logger any more to cut and haul high grade lumber than it does a load of pulp. Same with logs. Let's say the logger knows that he can get a 100 loads of high grade at 2.00/per foot. 50/50 and he gets a 1.00/foot. That is a huge windfall to him for doing the same amount of work as he would if he were getting 50/50 on .67 per foot grade lumber (still good quality) on which he would yield only .33$/foot. It would be very difficult to account for that in a contract for pay per load. However the loggers can and do account for that in the bidding process. That is one reason selling a boundary can be very lucrative.

 

[BSK]

When conducting a sealed bid, timber companies have to bid somewhat low to account for all sorts of things, especially equipment breakdown. They may know very well what the value of the timber is, but offer 30% of what it's going to be worth at the mill to cover their total cost. If you get 50% of the actual value in a per-load basis, you've gotten 50% of value instead of 30% that was offered by bid.

 

[pass-thru]

When conducting a sealed bid, timber companies have to bid somewhat low to account for all sorts of things, especially equipment breakdown. They may know very well what the value of the timber is, but offer 30% of what it's going to be worth at the mill to cover their total cost. If you get 50% of the actual value in a per-load basis, you've gotten 50% of value instead of 30% that was offered by bid.

How can you say 30% of the timber value will go to cover their cost, without knowing the actual value of the stand? As I indicated above, it doesn't cost more for them to harvest a load of grade timber than it does a load of pulp. But they will get paid a lot more for the timber. If they cruise a stand that is high grade logs, they can pay a lot more than 50% and still make out with a very good profit. That will be reflected in their bid. If you sign a contract that goes 50/50 on lumber, and you high value logs, you will not get paid as well.

Not everybody has high $$ logs though. If you are interested in loggers thought process, check out some logger forums...

 

[BSK]

They offer YOU 30% of the value, giving themselves 70%, to cover all their overhead, plus profit.

 

[Camp]

Just to be straight about this,

Odds are, if you don't live there and can't count every log that leaves your property and you don't call around and price mills yourself regularly......

1) You're probably gonna get screwed regardless. By the loggers or the mills.

2) You're gonna get screwed by some of the mills undergrading your timber and you get less. Some loggers will watch them count and grade and argue about each log they drop at the mill. (That's a good logger) Others just drop them and get the check the next trip. They never count or grade anything themselves. (That's not such a good logger) Then you hear comments like.....
"I shore thought theyz more money on that last load than what it brung. I might havta start countin' them logs if the next'un or two comes up light."

3) Often you can make more money by sending different type logs to different mills. Cedar to one place; clean #1 ash/hickory to a handle factory, oaks to another mill, etc.. Most mills don't pay top dollar on everything. By sending all of it to the same place you don't usually see the top dollar. And if they KNOW every load you cut will be coming to them....often they start paying just a little bit less since they're not having to really compete.

I HATE DEALING WITH LOGGERS AND MILLS!

I always feel like I need a DNA test kit done on me when it's over. :eek:

 

[BSK]

I always feel like I need a DNA test kit done on me when it's over. :eek:

You aren't kidding!!!

 

[BSK]

Basically:

A forester and sealed bid process will take much of the worry and problems out of your hands, and will ensure you don't get ripped off. But you won't get what the timber is really worth.

Working directly with a logger is the only way to maximize your profits, but greatly increases your odds of getting ripped off. Plus there is the headache--the SERIOUS headache--of finding a good logger.