Logging questions

[scrub-buster]

We have a logger coming to look at our property soon. As a general rule, I trust loggers about as much as I trust used car salesmen. Sorry if I offended any loggers on here. I've just seen and heard to many negative things about them. I'm sure there are some honest ones out there. I caught a logger walking our property without permission earlier this summer. I let him know he wasn't welcomed back.

So my questions are how do I know if he is giving us a decent price? How much are trees worth? We were thinking about cutting ash, walnut, cherry, and whatever else. We want to save all of our oaks. We have roughly 75 acres and about 2/3 is woods. Thanks for any advice.

[Deleted]

You probably should have a state forester come take a look at it before having anything done. They can tell you what you've got and the best plan for your needs. That will give you some info to know if you're getting ripped off or not.

[deadeer]

Only thing I have seen is boy do they ever leave a mess!!! It looks like a tornado goes thru for sure. Have seen it firsthand EVERYTIME someone has logs cut out here in the NW. Good luck.

Jay

[featherduster]

Spell it out clearly on paper what will happen and be there every day to make sure that the job is done as agreed on.
They do leave a mess with the tops but if you or someone you know burns wood that can be cleaned up quickly also you want to make sure they don't cut down any trees that you don't want cut down, they have been known to cut a few extra trees.

After the trees and the debris is removed have a plan in place to plant something in the areas now open to sunlight.

[DEERTRACKS]

1. Have a reputable licensed forester walk & inventory the timber FIRST. Granted this will cost you extra money but it is well worth his fee to follow his professional recommendations for the current & future health of your property for future harvests'. The real benefit will be the post-cut TSI work by the forester to promote seedling growth by eliminating the undesirables to maintain a good mix of the various species on your property. Be sure to inquire about the forester's TSI philosophy & practices. You do not want a forester that is mad at a particular harvestible species. BE SURE THAT ALL PROPERTY LINES ARE CLEARLY MARKED & ALL PARTIES INVOLVED KNOW THE LINES. Notifying the neighboring property owners ahead of the upcoming harvest is the neighborly thing to do for their ease of mind when they start seeing & hearing the harvest activities.

2. Get at least 3 timber bids from reputable loggers thru your research, word of mouth, & recommendations from the forester.You can start with your local IDNR Forestry Division.

3.Timber prices have been low & volatile the past few years but they are on the up-swing this year. If you are not familiar with the quote process, it will be priced by the SCALED BOARD FOOT. You can timber on shares or the logger can buy them on the stump. Be sure that the forester marks both the tree trunks & the root-bases. Don't be surprised when you discover "X" trees & marked trees that are still standing following the harvest. It happens because the cutters & the skidder operators sometimes cannot see the marked trees when the foliage is heavy during the summer months. This is where selling the trees on the stump benefits you since they were paid for by the logger & not harvested.

4.When you send-out the bids for quotes you need to spell-out what you expect from the logger in relation to incidental un-marked tree cutting & damage that WILL happen as it cannot be helped, sacrificial bumper-trees, skidder roads clean-up, water bars if necessary, log yard location, cut-off pile, log truck access, & estimated time-frame for the harvest to start.

5. At your pre-cut meeting/bid-opening with you, the forester, & the loggers your expectations need to be confirmed & agreed upon.

6. It's OK to check on the harvest activities while the men are working but DO NOT create an unsafe situation for yourself, the cutters, skidder/dozer operators, the cut-up man, loader operators, & the semi drivers. They have their hands full with each of their responsibilities without having to keep an eye-out for you wondering around the harvest activities.

7.Do not expect a beautiful landscape following a harvest with modern equipment. There will be tops broken-out of standing tress, multiple downed tree tops, primary & secondary dozer/ skidder trails just to name the most obvious.

8. The harvest will change the way that the deer move thru your property, feed, & where they will bed-down.

[dadfsr]

Scrub-since I work at Purdue this is the guy that I would contact first!

ag.purdue.edu/fnr/Pages/Profile.aspx?strAlias=lfarlee&intDirDeptID=15

Even if he is not the District Forester for your area he would know who you should contact for your area. Lenny also keeps a list reputable timber cruisers/foresters that would be able assist you getting the most bang for your buck.

Also, depending on whether or not you have Emerald Ash borer in your area (quarantined area) you may not be able to have those logs hauled anywhere but will have to have them milled on site or the bark completely stripped before they can be moved.

[throbak]

Jefferson Co. was added to the Quarantine list For the Best price Mike Donnelon usually comes out on top around here

[hunterman]

Is the property in classified forest ? That changes things a little. If not you need to ask yourself are you doing this as a management tool or are you hard up for money and have to do what you have to do. Even though timber is as high as its been for years you will still be shocked how little you will get. I am not a fan of a Forrester because they will get 7% to 10% really for nothing. If you know the difference between species of tree and have common since you can market your timber without a forester. I would go through the woods and mark mature, damage and unwanted species. Number the tree, write down specie, diameter at head height. Call three loggers and give them an idea of what you got and see if they want to bid on it. Have good contract as to when the logging will occur and who gets what percentage. To give you an idea because a lot of people don't realize it, you will probably average $75 to $100 per tree. If you have $1,000 per acre you have an outstanding woods with some veneer.

[featherduster]

If your woods butts up to another woods belonging to someone else make sure you define the exact property lines and mark them clearly.
The last thing you need is to have an angry neighbor because you logger cut down some of their trees.

[tenring]

Get a copy of "INDIANA LOGGING AND FORESTRY BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES" and study it. Lots of information for the landowner.