I just picked up 3.2 acres and had to pay more than I wanted for it. I want to keep the view from my house untouched, but to recoup some of the cash, I'd consider having some loggers in to selectivly cut some of the more valuable trees. Any idea what trees are worth? I've no idea if its $19 for a big one or $350... If I could get $10,000 back I would do it. I probably wouldn't want them in there messing it up for $3000.
What are trees (lumber) worth?
- Thread starter r0GuE
- Start date
Youare
Platinum Member
The value of your trees is very dependant on the type and quality of the wood. Around here the market has some bearing on prices paid.
My quess is that your 3.2 acres will not produce the $10,000 amount you would like unless you have a grove of black walnut or something like that.
Your county or state may have a forester with an extension service who would inspect your timber and give you a ball park idea if your plan would work or not.
Randy
My quess is that your 3.2 acres will not produce the $10,000 amount you would like unless you have a grove of black walnut or something like that.
Your county or state may have a forester with an extension service who would inspect your timber and give you a ball park idea if your plan would work or not.
Randy
MadReferee
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I had 8 of my 10 acres selectively cut a few years ago. It was mostly white pine anywhere from 12"-24" in diameter with some large red oak and other hardwoods mixed in. The price I got was totally dependent on what the various sawmills and electric plants were paying per board foot. Each type of tree has a different value depending on its diameter and length and straightness, etc.
You should contact a few local loggers and have them quote you a price. Here in New Hampshire, the logger has to give you a copy of the sawmill paperwork indicating how much wood was transported to the mill. The logger then pays the property owner, then the property owner pays the 10 percent timber tax to the town that issued the cutting permit. The town can also tell you the current going rate for different types of wood as the state publishes the current averages.
I had prime timber and got over $20,000 before tax.
You should contact a few local loggers and have them quote you a price. Here in New Hampshire, the logger has to give you a copy of the sawmill paperwork indicating how much wood was transported to the mill. The logger then pays the property owner, then the property owner pays the 10 percent timber tax to the town that issued the cutting permit. The town can also tell you the current going rate for different types of wood as the state publishes the current averages.
I had prime timber and got over $20,000 before tax.
Seat_Time
Member
You might want to get a consulting forester...go to either or both of these sites:
www.forestryforum.com
www.arboristsite.com
As mentioned, many factors will go in to the the value of your standing timber: dbh (diameter at breast heigth), type of wood, straightness, accessibility, distance to mill, etc. Check out those two sites, then go to www.woodplanet.com to list your offer to sell. Good luck
www.forestryforum.com
www.arboristsite.com
As mentioned, many factors will go in to the the value of your standing timber: dbh (diameter at breast heigth), type of wood, straightness, accessibility, distance to mill, etc. Check out those two sites, then go to www.woodplanet.com to list your offer to sell. Good luck
BillyP
Veteran Member
Think about the big mess you'll be left with afterwards.
fivestring
Veteran Member
<font color="red">"Think about the big mess you'll be left with afterwards." </font>
Yeah.
And... you might need to buy another tractor to manage the extra 3 acres. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Yeah.
And... you might need to buy another tractor to manage the extra 3 acres. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Ole_Hickory
Silver Member
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How big of diameter are you talking IE: chest high ? I would not cut anything under 22".
What species do you have,Red Oak/White Oak/Hard Maple/Soft Maple?Poplar/Ash/Cherry/Walnut?
On the amount of land you are describing I seriously doubt you would have $10,000 in marketable timber unless you have a fair amount of veneer timber or high grade logs.
As far as the mess goes you would be suprised how fast nature reclaims itself. I have cut/staged etc 37000 board feet on my days off from work with my JD4400 and Fransguard winch,I started out with skidding tongs and converted to the Fransguard winch.
If you are really serious about selling your timber I would talk to a forestry consultant or contact your local department of Agriculture and maybe they could come out and look at your timber and tell you if you have enough marketable timber .
What species do you have,Red Oak/White Oak/Hard Maple/Soft Maple?Poplar/Ash/Cherry/Walnut?
On the amount of land you are describing I seriously doubt you would have $10,000 in marketable timber unless you have a fair amount of veneer timber or high grade logs.
As far as the mess goes you would be suprised how fast nature reclaims itself. I have cut/staged etc 37000 board feet on my days off from work with my JD4400 and Fransguard winch,I started out with skidding tongs and converted to the Fransguard winch.
If you are really serious about selling your timber I would talk to a forestry consultant or contact your local department of Agriculture and maybe they could come out and look at your timber and tell you if you have enough marketable timber .
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Rogue,
Get a forester that works for YOU to come out and give you a price. DONT ask a logging company. Don't even think about that as an option. Get a forester.
If these are hardwoods they will have to be really big and good quality to make lots of money on that size lot. If they are big pine trees you might have a chance at least from the timber market I have seen here in my area of NC.
Get a forester. Talk to the state Forestry people as well. They should have info about all of timbering. NC has a hotline set up they will provide the market price of timber over the previous thee months. If your state has this then you might get a quick questimate for you trees.
Later,
Dan McCarty
Get a forester that works for YOU to come out and give you a price. DONT ask a logging company. Don't even think about that as an option. Get a forester.
If these are hardwoods they will have to be really big and good quality to make lots of money on that size lot. If they are big pine trees you might have a chance at least from the timber market I have seen here in my area of NC.
Get a forester. Talk to the state Forestry people as well. They should have info about all of timbering. NC has a hotline set up they will provide the market price of timber over the previous thee months. If your state has this then you might get a quick questimate for you trees.
Later,
Dan McCarty
Tom_Trees
Bronze Member
It's like they say -- depends.
I've had three outfits ask to walk my lot (4.5 acres) to quote; two of them actually did. one was 20 trees, $3600. The second came up with 20 trees at $3850. Three months later, the second guy was back -- he had a crew in the area and was willing to do $5000 for the 20 trees.
I took him up on it. 20 black cherry, 20 to 26 inches in diameter going off to be used for veneer somewhere.
He said I've another 8 or 9 trees that will be worth looking at in another six to ten years.
Anyway -- about $250 a tree in my case, and I've still got the tops. I wasn't around when they did the cutting, but it looks like they chunked the trees into roughly 9 foot sections based on what got left.
Tom
I've had three outfits ask to walk my lot (4.5 acres) to quote; two of them actually did. one was 20 trees, $3600. The second came up with 20 trees at $3850. Three months later, the second guy was back -- he had a crew in the area and was willing to do $5000 for the 20 trees.
I took him up on it. 20 black cherry, 20 to 26 inches in diameter going off to be used for veneer somewhere.
He said I've another 8 or 9 trees that will be worth looking at in another six to ten years.
Anyway -- about $250 a tree in my case, and I've still got the tops. I wasn't around when they did the cutting, but it looks like they chunked the trees into roughly 9 foot sections based on what got left.
Tom
MadReferee
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I just went back and looked at what was cut on my 8 acres and how much it was worth in January 2001.
Best White Pine (over 16' lengths) was $140
medium white pine (12'-16' lengths) was $95
average white pine (8'-12') lengths was $65
Red oak was $350
beech, hemlock was $75
ash, maple was $150
birch was $175
pallet wood was $50 and was mostly the bigger branches and smaller diameter trees
All prices are per 1000 board feet.
I had cut about 151,000 board feet of timber, with an average price of $138 per 1000 board feet, and left plenty of trees standing. The logger made a moderate mess but most of it was cleaned up and sent to an electric plant as pallet wood.
As others have suggested, get a professional logger or a professional forest person to evaluate and quote on what you have. Then get more than one opinion/estimate as they will vary considerably depending on who they sell the timber to and what their overhead is. My original estimate was only about 2/3 of what was actually cut.
One more thing, if you do have it cut make sure you get a bill of lading from the logger and the actual sawmill receipts to make sure you are not getting shorted. It happens. This is required by law in some states. Do not have your timber cut on a per tree basis. You will get screwed price wise.
Also some states require a permit to be issued to harvest timber. I do not know about PA but NH does. Since the state may get to tax your profits, receipts are really necessary. This will tend to keep the licensed loggers honest.
You might be surprised at how much you actually have. Good luck.
Best White Pine (over 16' lengths) was $140
medium white pine (12'-16' lengths) was $95
average white pine (8'-12') lengths was $65
Red oak was $350
beech, hemlock was $75
ash, maple was $150
birch was $175
pallet wood was $50 and was mostly the bigger branches and smaller diameter trees
All prices are per 1000 board feet.
I had cut about 151,000 board feet of timber, with an average price of $138 per 1000 board feet, and left plenty of trees standing. The logger made a moderate mess but most of it was cleaned up and sent to an electric plant as pallet wood.
As others have suggested, get a professional logger or a professional forest person to evaluate and quote on what you have. Then get more than one opinion/estimate as they will vary considerably depending on who they sell the timber to and what their overhead is. My original estimate was only about 2/3 of what was actually cut.
One more thing, if you do have it cut make sure you get a bill of lading from the logger and the actual sawmill receipts to make sure you are not getting shorted. It happens. This is required by law in some states. Do not have your timber cut on a per tree basis. You will get screwed price wise.
Also some states require a permit to be issued to harvest timber. I do not know about PA but NH does. Since the state may get to tax your profits, receipts are really necessary. This will tend to keep the licensed loggers honest.
You might be surprised at how much you actually have. Good luck.