Logger walked off the job yesterday.

[dickfoster]

If he knows the loggers in Nelson then he probably knows this guy.

Doesn't sound like he's worth knowing so maybe not but he may have heard of him as in stay away from that guy. LOL

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Doesn't sound like he's worth knowing so maybe not but he may have heard of him as in stay away from that guy. LOL

I have learned that it's a small county out there. Some really good folks and a few slipshod. Same in the area my property is in, in Crozet. I called a local guy who does some bulldozer work and he came out and met me on the property today to look at what can be done with all the slash. He named 3 people who had already been talking to the guy working for me about coming to their properties to do some work.....word was out that I ran him off and they all wanted to know why, and one of them asked if he could call me. Small town news travels fast. I hadn't told anyone there about it. Once he got a look at my spread, he knew why. I was getting robbed. The learning curve is steep and fast. Many of the folks on TBN have already stated some of this. Contract should state specifically how often my forester would be coming onsite to manage and inspect. Contract should state what area of land is to be cut first and what is required before being able to move to another area. The contract should say something about the condition of the equipment used. I'm going to be cleaning up from hydraulic spill under the guys knuckleboom truck.
My forester has another logger coming out to look at the property and talk to me. I'm hesitant. Not feeling particularly trusting. I might want to pull back for 6 months or a year and just deal with the issues I have and then revisit it all. I'm going to meet with him and consider it.

 

[dickfoster]

I have learned that it's a small county out there. Some really good folks and a few slipshod. Same in the area my property is in, in Crozet. I called a local guy who does some bulldozer work and he came out and met me on the property today to look at what can be done with all the slash. He named 3 people who had already been talking to the guy working for me about coming to their properties to do some work.....word was out that I ran him off and they all wanted to know why, and one of them asked if he could call me. Small town news travels fast. I hadn't told anyone there about it. Once he got a look at my spread, he knew why. I was getting robbed. The learning curve is steep and fast. Many of the folks on TBN have already stated some of this. Contract should state specifically how often my forester would be coming onsite to manage and inspect. Contract should state what area of land is to be cut first and what is required before being able to move to another area. The contract should say something about the condition of the equipment used. I'm going to be cleaning up from hydraulic spill under the guys knuckleboom truck.
My forester has another logger coming out to look at the property and talk to me. I'm hesitant. Not feeling particularly trusting. I might want to pull back for 6 months or a year and just deal with the issues I have and then revisit it all. I'm going to meet with him and consider it.

Well at least it's reversed from what most city people are like, mostly slipshod with a few good folks. LOL
I guess that's because news does indeed travel faster in smaller communities so the flakes move on along and settle in the cities.

 

[brasco426]

WoodChuckDad I've been following this post and I hope something good comes from this. Can you atleast clean up enough of a clearing to get your Apple Trees in the ground? I know from my own life's experiences and where I've been, all you can do is keep doing the right thing and eventually good comes around, fwiw.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Roanoke is closest city live in small community south west of Roanoke

Me too. Was up in Roanoke today. Great little city.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I have learned that it's a small county out there. Some really good folks and a few slipshod. Same in the area my property is in, in Crozet. I called a local guy who does some bulldozer work and he came out and met me on the property today to look at what can be done with all the slash. He named 3 people who had already been talking to the guy working for me about coming to their properties to do some work.....word was out that I ran him off and they all wanted to know why, and one of them asked if he could call me. Small town news travels fast. I hadn't told anyone there about it. Once he got a look at my spread, he knew why. I was getting robbed. The learning curve is steep and fast. Many of the folks on TBN have already stated some of this. Contract should state specifically how often my forester would be coming onsite to manage and inspect. Contract should state what area of land is to be cut first and what is required before being able to move to another area. The contract should say something about the condition of the equipment used. I'm going to be cleaning up from hydraulic spill under the guys knuckleboom truck.
My forester has another logger coming out to look at the property and talk to me. I'm hesitant. Not feeling particularly trusting. I might want to pull back for 6 months or a year and just deal with the issues I have and then revisit it all. I'm going to meet with him and consider it.

This might sound lame, but try not to be discouraged. Don't let this clown ruin your dream.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

WoodChuckDad I've been following this post and I hope something good comes from this. Can you atleast clean up enough of a clearing to get your Apple Trees in the ground? I know from my own life's experiences and where I've been, all you can do is keep doing the right thing and eventually good comes around, fwiw.

I have a great employer. And my manager is a really good guy. I requested another week of leave, so I will be up there for 9 days, running the excavator and tractor to get the downed trees moved off. I'm trying to do it orderly so they can be moved to a burn pit or, hopefully taken away to make paper. But I think that at the end of the week I will have enough space to put my trees in. It's a bit late in the year....but I can only do what I can do. The whole thing tears at me because I really didn't want to drop most of the oaks to start with...it was what needed to be done to get the land cleared to get my apples in. To lose the hardwoods for a couple grand in mill receipts is a kick in the gut. However, I've never been one to sit on my backside after I get knocked down. I like to take my whipping standing up and walking forward. As my Brother in Law said recently, "this country wasn't built by vegetarians. You had to get bloody just to get dinner."

 

[farmer2009]

The mills are also a good place to look for loggers. If you know somebody at a mill they'll know who to stay away from. But you also have to scan the mills as some can be just as dishonest as the loggers.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The guy that had the thread about building a house in 90 days, lives in nelson co. He timbered some and hauled to a local mill.

 

[Coyote machine]

I wouldn't abandon the project for a year to get things back on track. I'd do what needs to be done and move forward without hesitation. THis experience was steep, but now you have a much better idea what needs to be done, how to do it and what to look for when choosing the people to work your land.
Absentee ownership presents it's own set of problems; not being on site every day can cost you.

You could plant what you can for this year to get ahead of the curve. Then re-access, move forward, and be closely involved with everyone. If communication breaks down, put a stop to the work and get things back on track.

Overall this could be a good thing in the end result. At least you halted the damage before it spiraled totally out of control. You could have ended up worse off.

Go about it systematically, without getting into a fight with the logger- just get him off your property and gone from your focus.
Start over with your new found knowledge.