Logging started......

[Woody65]

After consulting with numerous foresters and loggers, I decided to have 60 of the 106 acres logged of red and white oak that are larger than 18" in diameter. The parcel has not been logged in 30 yrs so there was plenty of mature trees. I had many offers and requests to cut down to 14" trees but opted to cut conservatively and keep the character of the woods intact. Found a forester who agreed with my ideas and a logger that cares for the trails and the woods. He will be cutting down the tops, that are left in the woods, to waist height and leaving as little a footprint as possible. I have seen some lands that were logged and it looked as if a bomb went off when they were done. Slash left everywhere, trails left rutted, damaged healthy trees, etc. These pics are of the first loads of timber that has come out of the woods.

 

[ericher69]

Wow that a lot of wood!

How many more loads this size?

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[Depmandog]

Looks like beautiful property. Should be a nice payday! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Thomas]

Glad you got a good crew...3-4 man logging crew?

Looking forward to more pics.

 

[Woody65]

Wow that a lot of wood! How many more loads this size? Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

This is the timber from 12 acres on my upper north ridge. Mostly red oak that was reaching its mortality lifespan. I expect that there should be 6 to 8 more loads this size before we are done.

 

[Woody65]

Looks like beautiful property. Should be a nice payday! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks

 

[Woody65]

Glad you got a good crew...3-4 man logging crew? Looking forward to more pics.

Yes, father with his 2 sons and another worker.

 

[clemsonfor]

any loggert should flat lap the tops if you ask.

your doing right staying on top of them.

 

[dave1949]

Nice Woody! That's going to be quite a harvest. I didn't mess with IRS Form F and establishing a basis for my 15 acre chip harvest, but I bet you will.

Waist high slash sounds right to me in the Northeast with natural regeneration. That's what they recommend around here to provide some shade for seedlings and protection from the deer.

 

[Jim Timber]

My neighbor's just had their's done and they only left the stuff 6" and under and any mature trees that were crooked. The trails for the machines were so wide and close together, they would've been better off clear cutting it.

I just saw it/found out yesterday, and it's still not sitting well. A real shame, but he doesn't live there, and his farm is on the other side of the lake so it's nothing but a payday for him.

 

[forgeblast]

When all is said and done you will be so happy you had the forester on your side. Congrats on a nice harvest!!!

 

[SPIKER]

I would also look at some methods of firewood sales either thru local paper or friends & family. A lot of that wood on the tops is great firewood and would make you more $. It is labor intensive but as a farm you can offer it in the woods and let people cut tops for their use at lower than going rate prices & still be cash ahead of leaving it rot & be in the way for a decade or longer as the White Oak don't rot very fast and Red Oak while rots will still take a decade or more to have woods that can be walked without stepping over large limbs.

and REALLY nice wack of logs!
Mark

 

[Jim Timber]

Hauling it all out also removes the nutrients from the area. Once gone, they're not going to be replenished.

Leaving the tops is better for the dirt and successive trees than removing it. The tops also provide needed shelter for the next generation to grow under for the first few years.

 

[Woody65]

I was out at the property for 3 days so sorry I didn't reply back to all of you. Thanks for the kind words. The progress is astonishing and the woods that were packed in with mature trees and fallen timber is now thinned out a bit and looks so much healthier. For those of you that said to leave the tops that were flattened out for regeneration, that is exactly what the logger and forester recommended. Also, regarding firewood, the logger is skidding out all logs down to 6" for firewood and I am getting a cut. These firewood logs come from the tops of the 18" oaks. Normally they would be left in the woods for me to deal with but he is skidding them out and loading them to be sold.

Regarding the sale, 60% percent of the landing ( the timber in the pics at the beginning of the thread) was tallied and most logs came back as veneer quality making for a larger payday for myself and the logger. Needless to say, all parties were happy. The veneer quality timber will be shipped via container to Asia and the saw logs to Canada.

While they were doing their work I spent my days clearing 20 yrs of overgrown brush from around my pond with my newly acquired ETA wicked grapple. What a back saver that thing is!

 

[dave1949]

You are having too much fun. :laughing: Glad it is going smoothly for you.

 

[Jim Timber]

Wow, 60% going to veneer is certainly a big boost in income. Congrats!

 

[Woody65]

Wow, 60% going to veneer is certainly a big boost in income. Congrats!

Jim,

60% of the landing was tallied. Not 60% veneer. It came out around 30% graded as veneer quality.

 

[bitternut]

An 18" limit is no different than a 14" limit, its still a diameter limit cut which is high grading the woods. Most of those smaller leave trees are actually the same age as the larger trees. You will now be left with a lot of inferior trees as your seed source for regeneration. Also you did not mention where the tree is being measured. Is it the stump or diameter at breast height ( 4-1/2' ). A lot of woodlot owners also get snookered by where the reference measurement is being taken. An 18" diameter tree is not at its size limit or end of its life span by any stretch of the imagination. Still lots of potential growth for 18" trees measured at dbh. You also have to consider that as trees add diameter they usually go up in grade also which will add value.

I would suggest that you join an organization called New York Forest Owners and get some good advice if your goal is to be a good steward of your woods. It is a non profit organization of woodland owners and there are local chapters all over the state.I would also be looking for a new forester if I were you for my next timber sale unless your goal is to high grade your woods ( take the best and leave the rest ).

At the end of the day its your woods and if your satisfied that's what counts. Good luck, looks like some nice wood.

 

[forgeblast]

With the forester present I am thinking they picked these trees to do a release cut to let the others grow faster and cut down on the competition of resources.

 

[Woody65]

An 18" limit is no different than a 14" limit, its still a diameter limit cut which is high grading the woods. Most of those smaller leave trees are actually the same age as the larger trees. You will now be left with a lot of inferior trees as your seed source for regeneration. Also you did not mention where the tree is being measured. Is it the stump or diameter at breast height ( 4-1/2' ). A lot of woodlot owners also get snookered by where the reference measurement is being taken. An 18" diameter tree is not at its size limit or end of its life span by any stretch of the imagination. Still lots of potential growth for 18" trees measured at dbh. You also have to consider that as trees add diameter they usually go up in grade also which will add value. I would suggest that you join an organization called New York Forest Owners and get some good advice if your goal is to be a good steward of your woods. It is a non profit organization of woodland owners and there are local chapters all over the state.I would also be looking for a new forester if I were you for my next timber sale unless your goal is to high grade your woods ( take the best and leave the rest ). At the end of the day its your woods and if your satisfied that's what counts. Good luck, looks like some nice wood.

The diameter is being measured at breast height. The 18" is the minimum diameter. There are many 20, 22, 24" and larger red oaks that are on the woodlot. The forester is a friend of the family and has been totally honest in his evaluation of the timber. Believe me, I have been harassed by many foresters and loggers ever since I purchased this property. I have heard every angle, lie, excuse to cut more than I care to discuss. This forester agreed, because this woodlot has not been logged in 30 yrs, that we could just take the 18" at breast height trees, the damaged trees and the diseased trees. This will leave the woods enough 12, 14' 16" trees to grow and be harvested, if I wish, in 10 yrs. If he was looking to screw me he would have suggested, as others did, to cut out all the mature trees. This would make him a considerably larger payday since he is working off a percentage. He is 72 yrs old and probably won't be around for the next cutting so he is loosing out by advising me to not cut more trees. He is monitoring and supervising the logging crew as to when they can skid so that the woods and trails do not get ruined during the thaw season we are in now. He is on site for the scaling and grading of the timber. After all the BS I heard from other foresters, I think I will stick with him, and hope he is still with us for the next culling.