Cherry Timber Prices

[sixdogs]

How have retail prices held up?

 

[300UGUY]

Your numbers don't add up too well. :confused3:
But maybe you are talking orchard cherry trees, and not black cherry that is a fair different tree. Or low-grade black cherry, such as we have in WI.

Portable mill owners will come to a job for less than that minimum, from my experience.

Maybe it's just that Michigan is pretty well depressed. The cherry around here is called chokecherry, it has a real pretty color and grain. But ya gotta have buyers, and those are pretty rare these days. I have a neighbor that just cut 3 of them down, all 3 30 inches or more in diameter, and straight. The trees were cut to put in a new septic field. The tree service guy cut them up for firewood. He also cut up a huge oak, over 125 years old. I asked the guy about it, but he said that folks ask him all the time about getting some wood, but they want it real cheap.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Maybe it's just that Michigan is pretty well depressed. The cherry around here is called chokecherry, it has a real pretty color and grain. But ya gotta have buyers, and those are pretty rare these days. I have a neighbor that just cut 3 of them down, all 3 30 inches or more in diameter, and straight. The trees were cut to put in a new septic field. The tree service guy cut them up for firewood. He also cut up a huge oak, over 125 years old. I asked the guy about it, but he said that folks ask him all the time about getting some wood, but they want it real cheap.

Choke Cherry must be a local name because the real choke cherry only gets to about 5" or 6" in diameter and less than 20' tall.

Tree guys arn't set up to handle or market saw logs - they make their money cutting hazard or unwanted residential trees. The mills I know won't take back yard trees anyway because of the high risk of finding iron in them from the old tire swing, fence, or whatever. If they can get trees from a wood lot why risk it with residential trees.

 

[beenthere]

Maybe it's just that Michigan is pretty well depressed. The cherry around here is called chokecherry, it has a real pretty color and grain. But ya gotta have buyers, and those are pretty rare these days. I have a neighbor that just cut 3 of them down, all 3 30 inches or more in diameter, and straight. The trees were cut to put in a new septic field. The tree service guy cut them up for firewood. He also cut up a huge oak, over 125 years old. I asked the guy about it, but he said that folks ask him all the time about getting some wood, but they want it real cheap.

As Gordon said, the choke cherry is not a tree for lumber. It is a different species from the lumber tree, black cherry. Firewood is best for chokecherry. Might find someone to use a few pieces for some wood turning, or some novelty items from the sawn wood.
Sorry to say.

 

[dmccarty]

Tree guys arn't set up to handle or market saw logs - they make their money cutting hazard or unwanted residential trees. The mills I know won't take back yard trees anyway because of the high risk of finding iron in them from the old tire swing, fence, or whatever. If they can get trees from a wood lot why risk it with residential trees.

I have heard that tree services will not sell logs and the mills will not take them. I have seen this happen as well.

But....

Some of the tree guys in my area DO sell to the mills. When we lived in the city a tree service cut down a neighbors pine trees and the service cut those trees up on their own mill. Those pine trees were sold when pine was up to $400 per MBF and the trees were big. A big part of the money on that job was in the logs. It took then 4-5 days to take out the trees on the small lot.

When the land for our house was cleared, the marketable logs went to a local mill. The same mill we sold timber too. Pretty sure a neighbor did the same when the tree service took down a bunch of trees.

Later,
Dan

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have heard that tree services will not sell logs and the mills will not take them. I have seen this happen as well.

But....

Some of the tree guys in my area DO sell to the mills. When we lived in the city a tree service cut down a neighbors pine trees and the service cut those trees up on their own mill. Those pine trees were sold when pine was up to $400 per MBF and the trees were big. A big part of the money on that job was in the logs. It took then 4-5 days to take out the trees on the small lot.

When the land for our house was cleared, the marketable logs went to a local mill. The same mill we sold timber too. Pretty sure a neighbor did the same when the tree service took down a bunch of trees.

Later,
Dan

I agree - there can be alot of overlap in what tree workers do. I was just trying to explain why a tree service guy might not be interested in a couple cherries and an oak. A whole building lot full of good trees is a different thing. As you said there can be some money there if the market is right and a mill is within range to make trucking affordable.

 

[forester2]

If you sold cherry 5 years a go for $800 delivered to the mill it was either very poor quality or you got hosed. 5 years ago we were seeing $1500-2000 per MBF on the stump. Currently 800-1100.

 

[beenthere]

There is a lot of difference in the quality of black cherry that will affect the prices.

 

[schoolsout]

worse comes to worst, black cherry is great to smoke meat with

Love some pig over coals of cherry wood

 

[jbos333]

I hope the black cherry market improves soon in Western NY. I have been sitting on 60 acres +/- of it fo a while.......hopefully within the next 2-5 yrs. By then, I will have quite a few at 24" dbh or so....

Also lots of good size hard maple...maybe the baseball bat market will improve....

If not, I figure at worst I can get some good BTU's in the woodburner!