Logger walked off the job yesterday.

[jacain]

Here is the site I worked a couple years ago. The guy running the excavator was real good at placing them on the deck so they weren't all loaded/bound up. He new just how to ahake them down. I could do this stuff all day, everyday if my wife would let me and my boss wouldn't have a hard attack if I left. Lol!

Cumberland work site - YouTube

Cumberland Work Site 2 - YouTube

Sawman Dave Husqvarna 562xp - YouTube

Root Ball Removal Oak - YouTube

 

[WoodChuckDad]

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.

Not abandoning the project. Still getting my apples in the ground. Just thinking that maybe I hold off for a year on some of the clearing. It all depends on how I feel after talking to the logger. I'm still open to it but I don't want to lose more woods than I want, just to get rid of the mess the first one left me. Got to make sure it is balanced in a way that works for me.

 

[MossRoad]

Otoh, there is a forestry office right on rt 10 on my way to work. I've been meaning to stop in there and get some info.

Not trying to rub salt in the wounds, but that's where anyone should start with an agricultural project (like an orchard).... your county extension office. They have so many resources available to them that they can give to you, mostly for free! That's what we did with our rural property. We had a 4 acre field, a 6 acre field, and 10 acres of existing woods. They set us up with the state forester, who came out and did a free survey of our land, species identification, tree count, soil mapping, etc.... then he gave us a free forest management plan that included reforesting the 4 acre field, managing the existing woods, and letting the 6 acres go wild (our choice). And they found a soil conservation program for us the covered 75% of the cost of reforestation. He gave us a list of 20 commercial foresters that they work with. One I went to high school with and new his work ethic, so I picked him. They purchased 2150 trees from the state nursery, and we reforested the 4 acre field with alternating rows of pines and mixed hardwoods and manage it for veneer timber, all for $265.00, purchased, planted and side sprayed in one day!!!

We thin undesired species from the existing 10 acres of woods and use that for firewood, developing a maple sugarbush in the front 5 acres for my retirement fun, and managing the back 5 acres of existing woods for firewood and wildlife habitat. The 6 acre field that was left to go wild (some sort of hippie thing I inherited from my parents) was a mistake, looking back on it. I should have put it to wildflowers when it was still a field. Now it a wild cherry forest with trees every 4-5 feet and a complete mess that needs to be dealt with by an excavator! :laughing:

Anyhow.... its never to late to start with the county extension agent. They may be able to help you salvage some more of your valuable time, if anything. :thumbsup:

 

[WoodChuckDad]

This is what it looked like Sunday morning. We spend all of saturday afternoon pulling trees off the piles so we can get the soil ready for planting.

I thin that if we keep our noses down, we can make really good progress. I wish we had more time to do some brush burns but it isn't cleared enough to e save, and it's also "red flag" conditions lately.

 

[jacain]

Not trying to rub salt in the wounds, but that's where anyone should start with an agricultural project (like an orchard).... your county extension office. They have so many resources available to them that they can give to you, mostly for free! That's what we did with our rural property. We had a 4 acre field, a 6 acre field, and 10 acres of existing woods. They set us up with the state forester, who came out and did a free survey of our land, species identification, tree count, soil mapping, etc.... then he gave us a free forest management plan that included reforesting the 4 acre field, managing the existing woods, and letting the 6 acres go wild (our choice). And they found a soil conservation program for us the covered 75% of the cost of reforestation. He gave us a list of 20 commercial foresters that they work with. One I went to high school with and new his work ethic, so I picked him. They purchased 2150 trees from the state nursery, and we reforested the 4 acre field with alternating rows of pines and mixed hardwoods and manage it for veneer timber, all for $265.00, purchased, planted and side sprayed in one day!!!

We thin undesired species from the existing 10 acres of woods and use that for firewood, developing a maple sugarbush in the front 5 acres for my retirement fun, and managing the back 5 acres of existing woods for firewood and wildlife habitat. The 6 acre field that was left to go wild (some sort of hippie thing I inherited from my parents) was a mistake, looking back on it. I should have put it to wildflowers when it was still a field. Now it a wild cherry forest with trees every 4-5 feet and a complete mess that needs to be dealt with by an excavator! :laughing:

Anyhow.... its never to late to start with the county extension agent. They may be able to help you salvage some more of your valuable time, if anything. :thumbsup:

Good stuff. I'm getting into raising meat goats to somewhat manage my wooded areas. All of the fallen stuff I use for firewood. The 5+ acre pine stand is coming up on 20 years since it was last harvested. It needs to be thinned though to really bank. There is 4 landlocked acres behind me that I would like to purchase too. It has some real nice hardwoods on it. I'm thinking of doing hogs back there though. Lol! Me and my brother want to get into high end cured pork products like they produce in Spain. I figure if I fail at it, I could just harvest the timber as a backup plan. I'm definitely going to stop by the forestry office tomorrow or Friday and get some info. Thanks for sharing your experiences and opinions. Definitely food for thought on maximizing the use of property.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Good stuff. I'm getting into raising meat goats to somewhat manage my wooded areas. All of the fallen stuff I use for firewood. The 5+ acre pine stand is coming up on 20 years since it was last harvested. It needs to be thinned though to really bank. There is 4 landlocked acres behind me that I would like to purchase too. It has some real nice hardwoods on it. I'm thinking of doing hogs back there though. Lol! Me and my brother want to get into high end cured pork products like they produce in Spain. I figure if I fail at it, I could just harvest the timber as a backup plan. I'm definitely going to stop by the forestry office tomorrow or Friday and get some info. Thanks for sharing your experiences and opinions. Definitely food for thought on maximizing the use of property.

Under the provisions of Title 58.1-3230 of the Code of Virginia, a county, city, or town may adopt an ordinance that provides for use-value assessment under four categories: real estate devoted to agricultural use, horticultural use, forest use and open space use. Land used in agricultural and forestal production in an agricultural district, a forestal district, or an agricultural/forestal district is eligible for use value assessment in the absence of a local ordinance. The State Land Use Advisory Council (SLEAC) was created in 1973 to estimate the use value of eligible land for each locality participating in a use-value taxation program.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

That would be great! Feel free to pm me his info. I would like to have a couple/few come out and assess everything.

Btw, does anyone know what the minimum acerage required for applying for tax reduction/relief on property designated for timber? I need to do some surveying to see just how big my pine stand is. Otoh, there is a forestry office right on rt 10 on my way to work. I've been meaning to stop in there and get some info.

I believe it is 20 acres. Chesterfield county participates. Details are here.http://www.chesterfield.gov/content.aspx?id=2426

 

[jacain]

I believe it is 20 acres. Chesterfield county participates. Details are here.http://www.chesterfield.gov/content.aspx?id=2426

Thank you sir! After reading your previous post and doing some googling I was able to find that site.

As it stands, I have 27 acres and about 2/3 of it is wooded. I have a 5+ acre pine stand on one side that I could part with and maybe another 5 acres on the other side of mixed pine/hardwoods. I could part ways with that, but would prefer to keep the back half intact and just harvest what naturally falls for firewood. That means I fall short of the acreage required. I may pick up 4 to 5 more of mostly hardwoods, but it's hard for me to part ways with the hardwoods on land. I guess I could always have the areas thinned instead of clear cut and maybe that would still allow me to satisfy the requirements.

The reality is, I need to consult with a forrester and the ag extension office to see which direction to go. The meat goat operation is eminent as I have already completed part of the fencing project and have purchased 2000' more field fence for the next paddock.

Thanks again for the info and look forward to your planting progress once you get the site work figured out.

 

[dmccarty]

When we bought our land, I had to learn about the timber business FAST. I started with the NC extension office and it was a treasure trove of information. Very impressed with the county officials and the information on the state website.

If one is doing ANYTHING related to farming, timber, land use, etc, they need to talk to their state extension office and I would look at nearby state offices as well. Much of the information on farming, livestock, tree farming, business development, etc. will be the same.

Later,
Dan

 

[MossRoad]

Thank you sir! After reading your previous post and doing some googling I was able to find that site.

As it stands, I have 27 acres and about 2/3 of it is wooded. I have a 5+ acre pine stand on one side that I could part with and maybe another 5 acres on the other side of mixed pine/hardwoods. I could part ways with that, but would prefer to keep the back half intact and just harvest what naturally falls for firewood. That means I fall short of the acreage required. I may pick up 4 to 5 more of mostly hardwoods, but it's hard for me to part ways with the hardwoods on land. I guess I could always have the areas thinned instead of clear cut and maybe that would still allow me to satisfy the requirements.

The reality is, I need to consult with a forrester and the ag extension office to see which direction to go. The meat goat operation is eminent as I have already completed part of the fencing project and have purchased 2000' more field fence for the next paddock.

Thanks again for the info and look forward to your planting progress once you get the site work figured out.

Just because its log-able, doesn't mean you have to log it.

What I'm getting at is, check with your extension agent. See if you can come up with a forestry management plan. If you have 27 acres of which only 19 are in woods and you need 20 to qualify, plant a couple more into trees. They'll be ready for harvest in 40-50 years. Forestry doesn't always mean lumber, or pulp wood. It can be firewood. Start a small firewood company if you have to prove income from the land and sell a few cords to break even. Sometimes that's all it takes to reap the tax benefits.