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As a former teacher I tend to watch videos on a variety of subjects and subscribe only when the presenter is clear, articulate, engaging, knowledgeable, has a pleasant voice and uses a vocabulary which is above a 5th grade level. You struck bullseyes on all those characteristics. You are an excellent teacher. There is quite a bit of information for a layman to absorb in this video. While I could certainly stop it at any time and come back later (which I will) my only suggestion would be to either subdivide within this one presentation (parts 1,2,3 for instance) or offer the viewer (perhaps 3) different videos to form a whole on the topic. Having offered my humble suggestion I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed this video.Bravo!!
I think the teacher assumed correctly than most people tuning in would have completed some basic forestry pre-requisites. RUclips courses are designed to appeal to a wide range of learners who can easily press the pause button at any point they feel left behind, or leave the class if the material too basic. These videos are primers and shouldn't be confused with the learning that comes from reading.
I own and live on 10 acres that is packed with beautiful mature hardwoods. I have just converted to burning wood for heat with the economy as it is and have been asking myself this very question. You have really shined a light on it for me. Thanks and good luck with the channel.
I'm currently looking at harvesting 40 acres of my timber full of oaks and walnuts. But don't know much about timber buyer practices, so I'm trying to learn as much as possible and this video helps
Don't cut until you learn . There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there looking for people like you. They will promise you the world, hit and run, and leave you with a god awful mess.
CONSIDER covering All your timber to 2x4s, 2x6s, 2x8, ect, then figure out how much lumber it will take to build a 2500 Sq. Ft. House. I have not seen your timber but I Gan tee you there is a minimum of 40-60 houses on the forty acres. Do the math or get a relative to do the math. Buy a saw Mill and mill ALL your trees your self. WITH that much wealth you can just be the supervisor and hire help to do the milling. Some sawmill companies finance the mills & will sell the mill and provide all the training needed. The ..... will tell you no one build with hard wood but ignore them. The net will show you how. And every harvester heavey equipment do more damage to the land than you would be expecting. 👍👍👍👍
@@obbiebeal3060 good to know, I was considering a sawmill to handle some of my own trees, I would be interested in knowing how or who buys the cut pieces? better to sell to individuals or companies? I have seen what the loggers do to property and I am only wanting to cut a small percentage so I'm on my own I guess.
Well done. Good content. Well explained. I was looking at the surrounding woods in the background as I listened to you, and i was thinking, “that looks a lot like our woods here in Maine.” Then you said you live in Maine! Proud of you; you represent us well. Keep it up.
Retired from logging 30 years ago from NY in the Catskill Mountains. 1 man operation. Paid 40% for veneer and 33 1/3 for the rest. These prices were from the sawmill that I sold to AFTER Trucking charges were taking out which was $50 per thousand board feet. Have not followed prices of course but Red Oak Veneer was $1200 a board foot. In comparison pine and hemlock was only 15 cents a board foot. If a homeowner was concerned with the payment or what the property is going to look like , I had the landowner meet with other homeowners to talk and walk my previous jobs. If you do not like what you hear or what you seen then I am not for you. I also on my contract set up the lot in sections. Say 20 acres divided into 4 5acre sections. I was not allowed to go to the next section until the homeowner and I walked the just logged section to make sure he had no concerns on how his land looks and did he get paid correctly. Had lots lined up for years and years doing it this way but age does have a way of catching up to you. Just remember the only thing worse than a crooked logger is a crooked forester. Happy to answer any landowners questions or concerns.
@@pete8299 $1200 for a thousand board ft. Was selling white oak to germany for $3.50 a board foot. This was in the mid 80"s . Been retired for 30 years so no idea now.
Thank you for the info. I have roughly 300 acres of white oak and red oak with some large pines mixed in. Mostly all veneer. It hasn’t been touched in at least 50 years. I want to make sure I go about it the right way and get as many bids as I can. Maybe sectioning off 5 acres at a time like you mentioned would be a good route to take. West Tennessee.
@@Blindsidetrucker It would not hurt. The one issue that will likely occur is for that amount of board feet and bids are normally paid up front to you, and you will likely contract with a large logging outfit who will go anywhere they want once they start. Normally in that scenerio once you get paid upfront you basically will not have much to say. Perhaps if you could do your homework and find a great forester. Just remember this. The only thing worse than a crooked logger is a crooked forester. Just be cautious as not all loggers or foresters are bad. There are still some that take pride in what they do thank god. If I lived closer and was in better health I would meet with you and fully explain the good and the bad. I will end with 30 years ago my red oak veneer went to Canada and the white oak veneer to Germany. They paid the most and supplied the trailers, I just supplied the picker to load them and they wrote the check before the logs left the header. Best of luck to you. Any other questions ask away.
@@frankszlachetka6382 I’m almost tempted to invest in some equipment and do it mostly myself. There is a stave mill about 25 min away in Clifton TN. Brown-Foreman Cooperage. From what I’ve read they have locations spread out across the Eastern US and even around the world. I want to take my time and do it right. The land has been in my family since before I was born and I have no records of it ever being select cut so I know it needs to be done rather sooner than later. Not to mention I’m an otr trucker and this very well could be my way out of that. I love trucking but I want a normal life where I sleep in my own bed every night. I just don’t want to get screwed over if you know what I mean. I’m pretty green when it comes to forestry but I’m willing to learn and put in the work to become as successful and profitable as possible. Sounds like you had a great career and took pride in your job. They say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. I love driving trucks, heavy machinery and running chainsaws. There is nothing that I’m more passionate about.
Another great video, I love how you are able to break your explanation down in depth but still explain it in a way that is understandable to the layman
I have to say I found this video very useful. You answered just about every question I had about pricing out lumber. Not to mention how surprised I was when you said you were in Maine and then Androscoggin county...I grew up in the Lewiston / Auburn area. Keep these videos coming, you're doing a great job.
He's pricing timber, not lumber. That's a whole other bag of worms. He didn't mention where the stumpage money goes. Here in Vermont it's generally divided equally 3 ways between the logger, the trucker and the landowner.
This is fantastic information and well delivered! your going to be a big hit among farmers and sustainability regenerative farmers . I reposted this video to my Gab gardening group ( gab is not what you have been told it is, so dont be shocked, lol we just love our country and the constitution ) ....and well do all I an to share with you. You should try to network with channels that have anything to do with selling raw land with trees, to get subs but also to inform people, like myself, who are looking for land what to do with their trees, which one to leave up, how to sell their timber. At the cost of homes in Florida, I am looking to buy land and seeing what I can do ..would be very helpful. Thank you and Be Blessed!
Thank you for creating this very helpful. I learned a LOT, which is going to help me tremendously deciding how too best manage some property I recently purchased. Thanks again.
Acorn production is also another way to estimate the vale of a tree like the red oak. Many species of trees have many different ways to provide economic value to humans. I am not trying to downplay the value of timber. I own a tree farm that values trees for timber and others sources of revenue. I own a sawmill myself and I do use my trees for timber value as well. Good video and thanks for supporting trees!
I live in an old Juglans Hindsii orcahrd. Northern Calif Black Walnut, the only real "Claro" walnut. cut 4 trees in 2018-19 and let them cure, bought a mill last year I also pulled the stumps. The root system on Hindsii is monsterous. I just milled two small root/stumps. amazing colors. Cut one tree in late November and sealed it with paint and wax and will mill it 'Soon". Today I am researching Value of my walnut.. Have maybe 2000bdft so far. Each tree has its own special colors, they are amazing, oranges, yellows, reds, greens, chocolat.....
Interestingly enough I got the stick before learning what one was or how yo use it. 5 dollars at a yardsell and it's an antique from 1890s. Has some lettering still but can't tell where it's from but the numbers are still good!
Good explanation of tree estimating. It sure seems owners are suffering a very modest return on timber stumpage prices. Id turn that red oak into firewood before i let anyone have it for $150. Your subtle point is that everyone who touches your tree gets a slice and significantly reduces your income.
How many hours would you have in it to turn it into firewood, then how much profit once you sold the firewood? Figure 1 hour to drop and drag it out of the woods, another hour to cut it into firewood lengths, then 2 hours to split into firewood, that tree would yield a bit over a cord. So sale value of about $350-$400 minus your 4 hours of labor at $50 per hour, is about $150-200 profit. Does that sound about right?
I would suggest that everyone touching your tree is adding value, not getting a slice of your income. To get the board foot price for kiln dried lumber, you need to bring kiln dried lumber to market. It absolutely can be done profitably on a small scale, but there's a significant investment in equipment and a lot of working hours that go into it.
@@peterellis4262 So the math is even worse! All that work turning it into firewood and you would have made more profit doing nothing but letting someone else do the work.
@@peterellis4262 complete BS. Are they adding value to the owner- absolutely not. If they were the owner would be making more money; if value isn’t money it’s not value.
Brings back, old memories of walk in the stand of trees..... writing on the piece of paper 300 500 750..ECT..... Is coming up with maybe 50,00 70,000 -150,000 250,000..... Then I would buy it for round $15 per 1000 board foot...... And I would sell Is the logs to the mill between a $130 TO $150 per 1000 board feet......... It was always real fun. Walking and estimating a standard trees, especially as I got more and more experienced........ You get good with a pencil paper and a wildazz guess......good times...
Great vid. Fantastic resources in your posted comment below vid. Ive been looking for something to help me see potential tree value by species and fell flat. One for the entire country helps a ton. Its its own rabbit hole to figuring out what your trees are worth.
The trees aren't worth that much if you figure in paying taxes on the ground they grow in for 40 to 80 years between harvests. The financial incentive is to buy well stock woodlands, strip it off and then sell it off as cabin lots. Owning and managing forest land responsibly doesn't pay and needs to be incentivised if we want forests to remain in our environment.
most timber cutters work on a percentage pay back to the timber owner. Most states Forestry Departments will cruise your timber and give you a recemdation on harvest processes.
Retired forester here (western Oregon). Great video, nice concise explanation! Nit pick: that's a "Tree & Log Scale stick", not a "Biltmore stick". Suggested graphic for the part where log values are explained: Stumpage Value = Pond Value - Logging Costs
I have about 2 acres of forest to clear and I found your video quite interesting. I'm new to this. Is it best to cut in 8 foot or 16 foot lengths? I'm hoping 8 foot lengths as it would be easier to move around.
Definitely check with the mill you would be selling the logs to. Most will accept 8 footers just fine, but some have a 10 foot minimum. In either case, they will likely have other specifications that will save you trouble to know ahead of time. In a timber harvest I did last fall, the mill accepted up to 16 feet, but I only cut 10 and 12 footers to make it easier for my machinery.
I'd find it more interesting if this wasn't what qualified as a good tree these days. I live on a hill that's pretty inaccessible and one of my oaks at the top is big enough for me to hide behind with my arms around it.
@thetimberlandinvestor a question for you: We have a large property with some large trees. Western Cedars and Douglas Fir, some Maple and Hemlock, with a three foot to five foot diameter. We are looking at clearing some trees from one side of the road, as they drop too many large limbs onto the road now and are throwing too much shade. There are about 15 of these big old trees and we were recently talking to a semi-retired logger who helps us take down some dangerous trees every few year and he offered us a proposition: He will manage the logging of these trees for a fee of 50% of what the mill pays, after the trucking cost. The idea is that we would use the other 50% of the proceeds to re and re the land afterward, getting rid of the limbs and repairing the ground and gravel road. I appreciate this video as a source of gathering information about the value of trees, but it's hard for me to estimate because the way I understand it, we would be selling the mill logs and dividing the proceeds with the logger (We will be the ones getting a timbermark to sell the logs) rather than going through the process of charging a stumpage fee to the logger. I appreciate that the logger doesn't want to get involved financially and buy the logs on the stump, and we have no problem splitting the amount the mill pays once we subtract the trucking fees. My question is, are you familiar with this kind of arrangement occuring for just a truckload or two of logs, and if so do you know of any pitfalls that may be lurking in such an arrangement. Again, these are large, very high quality trees that have been growing in a park-like setting for over a century. Two people can't reach to join hands around many of them. Lastly, if the arrangement is common, do you think the proposition of the 50/50 split is in line with common practice? Thank you for this video. I will be checking out your others.
Going by the information you provided, that sounds incredibly fair. Splitting revenue after trucking is very common and is increasingly becoming the norm. It helps eliminate variables and risk for BOTH parties. And within those agreements, yeah, 50/50 is basically the industry standard. It can go up to 60/40 for situations with valuable trees and efficient harvest, but you have to remember it is expensive to move equipment and get a job set up for only a couple truck loads. In light of that, it sounds like a fair deal, especially if its someone you already have a working relationship with. Hope that helps. Thanks!
Thanks @@thetimberlandinvestor for the quick and thorough reply. I was thinking along the same lines. The trees are right by the edge of the road, making for easy extraction, but the somewhat remote location and the fact that there aren't that many trees kind of balances against that. We also have a working relationship of sorts already, which we want to maintain, so 50/50 sounds totally fair. Much appreciated.
@@Propsman416cedar, fir, hemlock and maple sounds like the PNW. Most mills pay less for logs with a butt size over 31 inches, although there are a few around still, but they too base their price for large diameter logs off this market reality. The big mills have a retooled for small logs from tree farms. 50/50 is common.
@@HubertofLiege Yes, you're correct. PNW. Thanks for the info and confirmation on the deal structure. Our logger deals with large trees in the area so I'm hoping he knows of mills that can process the large logs. As a woodworker I hate to think of such large trees not ending up as some larger timbers. Timber framers could be the market for some of these logs, as well as furniture makers who do slab tables and such. So here's hoping they will get cut for quality yeild and go to the proper wholesaler. Kind of sad that the larger logs are so few that the smaller logs are driving the market, but I guess that's what we get with improved "efficiencies" in harvesting, building, and the marketing overseas of our logs and timber. Mother nature can't keep up with the demand, not by a long shot.
If you live in the vicinity of a paper mill, they might buy it directly from you in those lengths. I used to deliver pulpwood cars by train to a paper mill. Those pieces were about 5’ long each
There was a houise down the road from me that had a big old tree, can't remember if ti was maple or oak, that just stopped producing leaves. When I saw the crew cutting it down, I walked by a few times during the morning, I saw that it had no rot inside, solid wood, and as it lay horizontally in the sling, comparing it to the guy working next to it, I would say it was between 4' and 5' in diameter. I wondered what the value of that tree was. The number of very wide boards you could get out of it was mind boggling.
Probably wasnt worth as much as you think. I sell a few logs every now and then and yard logs bring the least amount of money. They typically have metal in them. Which kills saw blades. Saw blades for mills are expensive.
Trying to learn more. Sorry if I missed this question... but... So would I contact the sawmill to come assess first? Sounds I cut them down first and then bring them to the saw mill to sell? How does this buisness transaction play out?
Question: How much should the stumpage value from a timber survey figure into the cost of a plot of land? Also - is there a cut off for large diameter trees that are too big and mills just won't take? Very good video. I've helped do a few timber surveys years ago and still remember a lot about it.
At best the timber survey figure minus a logging cost might figure into the cost of land. Most mills cut off the maximum butt size at 31 inches and take about a third off the value as they generally remanufacture it and truck it away to a mill that deals with larger logs.
@@HubertofLiegeThanks for the info! I'm looking at about 140 acres of land that's mostly creek bottom with some very large hardwood and pine. Hilltop areas have all been logged and are replanted pine plantation. I have a decent size (60" blade I think currently on it) circular mill that I want to bring down and set up so I'm primarily interested in the land and the larger hardwood timber and the land itself. Been an outdoorsman and currently construction manager, but I'm very green when it comes to valuing investment timber land or figuring out how to even make an offer. The land is currently held by a timber investment company, but they regularly sell portions of holdings.
That can get really tricky. the various board foot scales are not totally accurate, they are more just a fair and standard custom that approximates yield in a consistent way. So not only is the actual yield going to vary a bit, but it will depend on value-added processes. Is it rough or planed? Green or kiln dried? While the pricing may not be perfect, Ive been seeing kiln-dried, rough red oak going for $5-$8/BF, so at an average of $6.5, that's $3900 in lumber.. Not bad.
I’ve brought veneer wild cherry, red and white oak, sugar maple and walnut. Some 100’ tall and three logs before a branch and the tops were so good that they produced board feet of pallet scrag. And still yielded well under 600 usable board feet of salable timber. This tree can not achieve 400 board feet even if you counted 1”x1”x4’s
let me summarize this real quick: A) A tree's worth depends on a billion variables, like height, width, curvature of the trunk, type of tree, amount of rot, stage at which youre selling, your relationship to the sawmill owner, state of the market, distance to the buyer, and the sausage price in Timbuktu, definitely. xD [Its all connected! Somehow!] B) For stage, you can sell the tree while its standing (least work and money for you), or as logs to the sawmill, or as boards (most work needed from you, but most money gained). C) You can estimate how many boards the tree might give, and thus how much money you'd get, using a stick, a table, or a thousand other tools. D) Take care of your trees, for decades, to improve their quality and your profit.
I have 14 acres of 50-60 ft pine & oak to be removed in Conroe Texas .... where can I find sommeone to mill them for my housing project.... Starts June 2024
Was wondering if I could find someone to buy 2/ 60-70 ft. Chinese chestnut trees. Never produce any nuts so don't want them. So maybe they'd want for something like furniture? Or would there be no interest for only 2 trees?
This was very helpful. I'm now in NH (my dads side of the family is from ME) and looking into logging some of my properties at some point. Let me know if you do consulting (owners rep work you mentioned), and I can email you. Thank you!
If that oak is 605 feet, then 5 of those trees will about fill a triaxle log truck. I know from long experience that is not even close to reality. It will take at least 10 of those to fill a truck, and it will scale out at 3400 feet if the scaler likes you.
Yeah there’s no shot that tree had 600 bf in it, not knockin the guy, maybe he hasn’t cut/scaled/sold many trees. Maybe that oak held significant diameter 48’ up the trunk, I just doubt it.
Excellent information. My only suggestion to make it better is to switch poses/shots every few minutes. Some people tend to lose concentration when you're in the same spot too long. Very minor detail, just thought I'd mention as you strive for excellence.
I have an oak tree at my house back yard that is over 3ft diameter. It is too big . I do not use a camp fire wood. Can I sell it to someone who needs it? Here is the fairfax VA.
The problem is lumber mills grade it once cut and arrives and regularly they cheat the loggers sometimes making them wait 9 months to get paid without any way to despute grades so they may steal 30 percent which means that the loggers cannot give you what they should because the mill might not pay them what they should.
I had acreage in Pennsylvania for years when the timber people got done taking out the timber thank God I had a bulldozer to redo my roads and they also bent over some of the oil well heads because of dragging the logs around I wouldn’t have those people take my land now if I had to starve to death Jerry Mcdonogh
Even if I harvested the the trees.... The saw mills wont even take them if I delivered the logs to the saw mill ! ! They wont even talk to you about a price on the cut log ! Thats because they would have to pay a lot more because the work has been done ! The price would still be firewood price !
Why can't I get anyone to take down the huge oak trees I have at they back of my property then . I have 8 huge ones . All in great shape but I hate the acorns that fall off them . I can only guess they have been here for a long time because this was all uncleared land and I have been here 20 years
How much you want to bet that there is a computer program that does all of this in seconds for very cheap that big companies use to estimate what their forest is worth?
I have Oaks that are 60 in in diameter had to cut them down before they fell on my barn nobody wanted them not a sawmill in the area wanted anything to do with them I sit on 102 a virgin Timber and you can't sell it
Could have been a 30 second video. One 24 inch nice red oak only worth $158. Good lord what a frustrating video. Bla bla bla, when is this guy gonna spit out the fricking answer???????
158 bucks for a red oak that size!? Compared to what red oak lumber is going for these days!? I'd rather burn it for firewood than let the stores make a killing. Not worth it
I promise you no one in the forestry is making a killing. Trees are worth the least because A LOT of work must be done to put it on a shelf in the form of a board. Think of it this way: The tree has to be felled, limbed, and processed into logs. The logs have to be hauled to the road on rough terrain with expensive equipment. Logs then have to be loaded onto a truck and carried sometimes hundreds of miles to a mill. The mill unloads the logs onto a pile, only to later load them back onto a truck for transport into the actual facility. After milling (which is of course incredibly labor and/or capital intensive), the boards must be kiln dried, which is incredibly energy intensive. Then they are planed. Then the mill markets the wood usually to a wholesaler, so wood has to be carried via truck or train often thousands of miles to a warehouse, only to finally be distributed to a regional retailer. Out of all those transactions, the landowner has the highest profit margins in most cases.
@@victorhopper6774 Not true. Timber sales are taxed as capital gains, while every other transaction in the supply chain in taxed as ordinary income. The landowner gets the best deal in the entire industry.
@@thetimberlandinvestor nonsense does not matter as property tax is the killer not income tax. unless you own in a state with huge woodland tax breaks there is no profit. thats why trees are let grow on junk land.
@@victorhopper6774 Property taxes are tricky as they vary from state to state and even town to town, and yes, you need to do your research like any real estate based investment, but broadly speaking they arent a limiting factor for profitability. In Maine for example, we have probably some of the best tax breaks in the nation. But we also have more limited ability to profit on our land due to the tradition of open use of private property. Outside of the northeast, hunting leases alone are an opportunity for revenues that can and often do pay off the property taxes and then some, especially if any habitat improvement is done. The problem is the landowners forget their land is a business. They ignore it for 50 years and wonder why they don't make anything.
Right, so 66 feet away, every 6" increment... Anyone else see anything typically tell-tale about these numbers? It's bad enough that it's all over Hollywood, gaming and entertainment, but in logging too? Sigh...
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interesting ... so that 605 feet of timber-tree ... what's your estimate on it's weight? 1 ton? 3 ton?
As a former teacher I tend to watch videos on a variety of subjects and subscribe only when the presenter is clear, articulate, engaging, knowledgeable, has a pleasant voice and uses a vocabulary which is above a 5th grade level. You struck bullseyes on all those characteristics. You are an excellent teacher. There is quite a bit of information for a layman to absorb in this video. While I could certainly stop it at any time and come back later (which I will) my only suggestion would be to either subdivide within this one presentation (parts 1,2,3 for instance) or offer the viewer (perhaps 3) different videos to form a whole on the topic. Having offered my humble suggestion I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed this video.Bravo!!
I think the teacher assumed correctly than most people tuning in would have completed some basic forestry pre-requisites. RUclips courses are designed to appeal to a wide range of learners who can easily press the pause button at any point they feel left behind, or leave the class if the material too basic. These videos are primers and shouldn't be confused with the learning that comes from reading.
I own and live on 10 acres that is packed with beautiful mature hardwoods. I have just converted to burning wood for heat with the economy as it is and have been asking myself this very question. You have really shined a light on it for me. Thanks and good luck with the channel.
Be careful there are a lot of cowboys in the industry. Get more than several quotes, it's like subcontracting your own home, it's a minefield.
I'm currently looking at harvesting 40 acres of my timber full of oaks and walnuts. But don't know much about timber buyer practices, so I'm trying to learn as much as possible and this video helps
Your gonna be a millionaire
Don't cut until you learn . There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there looking for people like you. They will promise you the world, hit and run, and leave you with a god awful mess.
CONSIDER covering All your timber to 2x4s, 2x6s, 2x8, ect, then figure out how much lumber it will take to build a 2500 Sq. Ft. House. I have not seen your timber but I Gan tee you there is a minimum of 40-60 houses on the forty acres. Do the math or get a relative to do the math. Buy a saw Mill and mill ALL your trees your self. WITH that much wealth you can just be the supervisor and hire help to do the milling. Some sawmill companies finance the mills & will sell the mill and provide all the training needed. The ..... will tell you no one build with hard wood but ignore them. The net will show you how. And every harvester heavey equipment do more damage to the land than you would be expecting. 👍👍👍👍
@@obbiebeal3060 good to know, I was considering a sawmill to handle some of my own trees, I would be interested in knowing how or who buys the cut pieces? better to sell to individuals or companies? I have seen what the loggers do to property and I am only wanting to cut a small percentage so I'm on my own I guess.
No he's not.
Ex-Forester here - good content! We typically used a biltmore for the smaller diameter trees but a D-Tape for larger as it's more accurate.
Well done. Good content. Well explained. I was looking at the surrounding woods in the background as I listened to you, and i was thinking, “that looks a lot like our woods here in Maine.” Then you said you live in Maine! Proud of you; you represent us well. Keep it up.
Retired from logging 30 years ago from NY in the Catskill Mountains. 1 man operation. Paid 40% for veneer and 33 1/3 for the rest. These prices were from the sawmill that I sold to AFTER Trucking charges were taking out which was $50 per thousand board feet. Have not followed prices of course but Red Oak Veneer was $1200 a board foot. In comparison pine and hemlock was only 15 cents a board foot. If a homeowner was concerned with the payment or what the property is going to look like , I had the landowner meet with other homeowners to talk and walk my previous jobs. If you do not like what you hear or what you seen then I am not for you. I also on my contract set up the lot in sections. Say 20 acres divided into 4 5acre sections. I was not allowed to go to the next section until the homeowner and I walked the just logged section to make sure he had no concerns on how his land looks and did he get paid correctly. Had lots lined up for years and years doing it this way but age does have a way of catching up to you. Just remember the only thing worse than a crooked logger is a crooked forester. Happy to answer any landowners questions or concerns.
$1200 a board for for red oak? No way, that would make it almost worth it's weight in gold. do you mean $12?
@@pete8299 $1200 for a thousand board ft. Was selling white oak to germany for $3.50 a board foot. This was in the mid 80"s . Been retired for 30 years so no idea now.
Thank you for the info. I have roughly 300 acres of white oak and red oak with some large pines mixed in. Mostly all veneer. It hasn’t been touched in at least 50 years. I want to make sure I go about it the right way and get as many bids as I can. Maybe sectioning off 5 acres at a time like you mentioned would be a good route to take. West Tennessee.
@@Blindsidetrucker
It would not hurt. The one issue that will likely occur is for that amount of board feet and bids are normally paid up front to you, and you will likely contract with a large logging outfit who will go anywhere they want once they start. Normally in that scenerio once you get paid upfront you basically will not have much to say. Perhaps if you could do your homework and find a great forester. Just remember this. The only thing worse than a crooked logger is a crooked forester. Just be cautious as not all loggers or foresters are bad. There are still some that take pride in what they do thank god. If I lived closer and was in better health I would meet with you and fully explain the good and the bad. I will end with 30 years ago my red oak veneer went to Canada and the white oak veneer to Germany. They paid the most and supplied the trailers, I just supplied the picker to load them and they wrote the check before the logs left the header. Best of luck to you. Any other questions ask away.
@@frankszlachetka6382
I’m almost tempted to invest in some equipment and do it mostly myself. There is a stave mill about 25 min away in Clifton TN. Brown-Foreman Cooperage. From what I’ve read they have locations spread out across the Eastern US and even around the world. I want to take my time and do it right. The land has been in my family since before I was born and I have no records of it ever being select cut so I know it needs to be done rather sooner than later. Not to mention I’m an otr trucker and this very well could be my way out of that. I love trucking but I want a normal life where I sleep in my own bed every night. I just don’t want to get screwed over if you know what I mean. I’m pretty green when it comes to forestry but I’m willing to learn and put in the work to become as successful and profitable as possible. Sounds like you had a great career and took pride in your job. They say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. I love driving trucks, heavy machinery and running chainsaws. There is nothing that I’m more passionate about.
Really useful information, you're a natural teacher. Thanks for making the video.
Another great video, I love how you are able to break your explanation down in depth but still explain it in a way that is understandable to the layman
I have to say I found this video very useful. You answered just about every question I had about pricing out lumber. Not to mention how surprised I was when you said you were in Maine and then Androscoggin county...I grew up in the Lewiston / Auburn area. Keep these videos coming, you're doing a great job.
He's pricing timber, not lumber. That's a whole other bag of worms. He didn't mention where the stumpage money goes. Here in Vermont it's generally divided equally 3 ways between the logger, the trucker and the landowner.
This is fantastic information and well delivered! your going to be a big hit among farmers and sustainability regenerative farmers . I reposted this video to my Gab gardening group ( gab is not what you have been told it is, so dont be shocked, lol we just love our country and the constitution ) ....and well do all I an to share with you. You should try to network with channels that have anything to do with selling raw land with trees, to get subs but also to inform people, like myself, who are looking for land what to do with their trees, which one to leave up, how to sell their timber. At the cost of homes in Florida, I am looking to buy land and seeing what I can do ..would be very helpful. Thank you and Be Blessed!
Thank you for creating this very helpful. I learned a LOT, which is going to help me tremendously deciding how too best manage some property I recently purchased. Thanks again.
Acorn production is also another way to estimate the vale of a tree like the red oak. Many species of trees have many different ways to provide economic value to humans.
I am not trying to downplay the value of timber. I own a tree farm that values trees for timber and others sources of revenue. I own a sawmill myself and I do use my trees for timber value as well.
Good video and thanks for supporting trees!
Best explanation I’ve seen thus far, thanks.
Great video my man. This gives a great discussion on lumber pricing
Nice video. A Basis is the best possible action for a landowner to estimate stand value. Helpful when marketing and at tax time.
For a layman like myself this video is super interesting and great to know. Thank you.
Good information. It amazes me that anyone can make any money in any step of the process.
I live in an old Juglans Hindsii orcahrd. Northern Calif Black Walnut, the only real "Claro" walnut. cut 4 trees in 2018-19 and let them cure, bought a mill last year I also pulled the stumps. The root system on Hindsii is monsterous. I just milled two small root/stumps. amazing colors. Cut one tree in late November and sealed it with paint and wax and will mill it 'Soon". Today I am researching Value of my walnut.. Have maybe 2000bdft so far. Each tree has its own special colors, they are amazing, oranges, yellows, reds, greens, chocolat.....
Interestingly enough I got the stick before learning what one was or how yo use it. 5 dollars at a yardsell and it's an antique from 1890s. Has some lettering still but can't tell where it's from but the numbers are still good!
Good explanation of tree estimating. It sure seems owners are suffering a very modest return on timber stumpage prices. Id turn that red oak into firewood before i let anyone have it for $150. Your subtle point is that everyone who touches your tree gets a slice and significantly reduces your income.
How many hours would you have in it to turn it into firewood, then how much profit once you sold the firewood? Figure 1 hour to drop and drag it out of the woods, another hour to cut it into firewood lengths, then 2 hours to split into firewood, that tree would yield a bit over a cord. So sale value of about $350-$400 minus your 4 hours of labor at $50 per hour, is about $150-200 profit. Does that sound about right?
@@blackbeardlawncare7811 Nope, it's likely not enough hours in processing ;)
I would suggest that everyone touching your tree is adding value, not getting a slice of your income. To get the board foot price for kiln dried lumber, you need to bring kiln dried lumber to market. It absolutely can be done profitably on a small scale, but there's a significant investment in equipment and a lot of working hours that go into it.
@@peterellis4262 So the math is even worse! All that work turning it into firewood and you would have made more profit doing nothing but letting someone else do the work.
@@peterellis4262 complete BS. Are they adding value to the owner- absolutely not. If they were the owner would be making more money; if value isn’t money it’s not value.
Best video ive seen on this! Thank you!
Now I can figure up the value of a tree. Thanks.
Brings back, old memories of walk in the stand of trees..... writing on the piece of paper 300 500 750..ECT..... Is coming up with maybe 50,00 70,000 -150,000 250,000..... Then I would buy it for round $15 per 1000 board foot...... And I would sell Is the logs to the mill between a $130 TO $150 per 1000 board feet......... It was always real fun. Walking and estimating a standard trees, especially as I got more and more experienced........ You get good with a pencil paper and a wildazz guess......good times...
Great vid. Fantastic resources in your posted comment below vid. Ive been looking for something to help me see potential tree value by species and fell flat. One for the entire country helps a ton. Its its own rabbit hole to figuring out what your trees are worth.
The trees aren't worth that much if you figure in paying taxes on the ground they grow in for 40 to 80 years between harvests. The financial incentive is to buy well stock woodlands, strip it off and then sell it off as cabin lots. Owning and managing forest land responsibly doesn't pay and needs to be incentivised if we want forests to remain in our environment.
most timber cutters work on a percentage pay back to the timber owner. Most states Forestry Departments will cruise your timber and give you a recemdation on harvest processes.
Retired forester here (western Oregon). Great video, nice concise explanation!
Nit pick: that's a "Tree & Log Scale stick", not a "Biltmore stick".
Suggested graphic for the part where log values are explained:
Stumpage Value = Pond Value - Logging Costs
We called it a biltmore stick forty years ago at WSU
Can I use it for Vietnam's forest?
Thank for you information. I want know to estimate intrinsic value company
I have about 2 acres of forest to clear and I found your video quite interesting. I'm new to this. Is it best to cut in 8 foot or 16 foot lengths? I'm hoping 8 foot lengths as it would be easier to move around.
Definitely check with the mill you would be selling the logs to. Most will accept 8 footers just fine, but some have a 10 foot minimum. In either case, they will likely have other specifications that will save you trouble to know ahead of time.
In a timber harvest I did last fall, the mill accepted up to 16 feet, but I only cut 10 and 12 footers to make it easier for my machinery.
As a person who sees trees frequently I found this to be interesting.
I'd find it more interesting if this wasn't what qualified as a good tree these days. I live on a hill that's pretty inaccessible and one of my oaks at the top is big enough for me to hide behind with my arms around it.
Thank you for making this video
What is the best use for a not loggable tree? Seems like a wood chip product or burning logs.
Whats the best plan B and plan C?
@thetimberlandinvestor a question for you:
We have a large property with some large trees. Western Cedars and Douglas Fir, some Maple and Hemlock, with a three foot to five foot diameter. We are looking at clearing some trees from one side of the road, as they drop too many large limbs onto the road now and are throwing too much shade. There are about 15 of these big old trees and we were recently talking to a semi-retired logger who helps us take down some dangerous trees every few year and he offered us a proposition: He will manage the logging of these trees for a fee of 50% of what the mill pays, after the trucking cost. The idea is that we would use the other 50% of the proceeds to re and re the land afterward, getting rid of the limbs and repairing the ground and gravel road.
I appreciate this video as a source of gathering information about the value of trees, but it's hard for me to estimate because the way I understand it, we would be selling the mill logs and dividing the proceeds with the logger (We will be the ones getting a timbermark to sell the logs) rather than going through the process of charging a stumpage fee to the logger. I appreciate that the logger doesn't want to get involved financially and buy the logs on the stump, and we have no problem splitting the amount the mill pays once we subtract the trucking fees.
My question is, are you familiar with this kind of arrangement occuring for just a truckload or two of logs, and if so do you know of any pitfalls that may be lurking in such an arrangement. Again, these are large, very high quality trees that have been growing in a park-like setting for over a century. Two people can't reach to join hands around many of them.
Lastly, if the arrangement is common, do you think the proposition of the 50/50 split is in line with common practice?
Thank you for this video. I will be checking out your others.
Going by the information you provided, that sounds incredibly fair.
Splitting revenue after trucking is very common and is increasingly becoming the norm. It helps eliminate variables and risk for BOTH parties. And within those agreements, yeah, 50/50 is basically the industry standard. It can go up to 60/40 for situations with valuable trees and efficient harvest, but you have to remember it is expensive to move equipment and get a job set up for only a couple truck loads. In light of that, it sounds like a fair deal, especially if its someone you already have a working relationship with.
Hope that helps. Thanks!
Thanks @@thetimberlandinvestor for the quick and thorough reply. I was thinking along the same lines. The trees are right by the edge of the road, making for easy extraction, but the somewhat remote location and the fact that there aren't that many trees kind of balances against that. We also have a working relationship of sorts already, which we want to maintain, so 50/50 sounds totally fair.
Much appreciated.
@@Propsman416cedar, fir, hemlock and maple sounds like the PNW. Most mills pay less for logs with a butt size over 31 inches, although there are a few around still, but they too base their price for large diameter logs off this market reality. The big mills have a retooled for small logs from tree farms. 50/50 is common.
@@HubertofLiege Yes, you're correct. PNW. Thanks for the info and confirmation on the deal structure.
Our logger deals with large trees in the area so I'm hoping he knows of mills that can process the large logs. As a woodworker I hate to think of such large trees not ending up as some larger timbers. Timber framers could be the market for some of these logs, as well as furniture makers who do slab tables and such. So here's hoping they will get cut for quality yeild and go to the proper wholesaler.
Kind of sad that the larger logs are so few that the smaller logs are driving the market, but I guess that's what we get with improved "efficiencies" in harvesting, building, and the marketing overseas of our logs and timber. Mother nature can't keep up with the demand, not by a long shot.
Great video, presented very well.
Thanks for a great video
Great video !
Now i have an idea what my timber is worth.
Great video! Thank you !
Great video
How would you value lumber from kiri tree/ paulownia elongata hybrid? I don’t see much from mills or buyers valuing price per board foot
What is pulp worth and can you sell it in small amounts. Pulp plants have many 40 ft trucks delivered, would they bother with smaller truck loads?
If you live in the vicinity of a paper mill, they might buy it directly from you in those lengths. I used to deliver pulpwood cars by train to a paper mill. Those pieces were about 5’ long each
There was a houise down the road from me that had a big old tree, can't remember if ti was maple or oak, that just stopped producing leaves. When I saw the crew cutting it down, I walked by a few times during the morning, I saw that it had no rot inside, solid wood, and as it lay horizontally in the sling, comparing it to the guy working next to it, I would say it was between 4' and 5' in diameter. I wondered what the value of that tree was. The number of very wide boards you could get out of it was mind boggling.
Probably wasnt worth as much as you think. I sell a few logs every now and then and yard logs bring the least amount of money. They typically have metal in them. Which kills saw blades. Saw blades for mills are expensive.
Trying to learn more. Sorry if I missed this question... but...
So would I contact the sawmill to come assess first?
Sounds I cut them down first and then bring them to the saw mill to sell? How does this buisness transaction play out?
Very good qestion 👍👍 Like a painting, how much someone want to pay.
Question: How much should the stumpage value from a timber survey figure into the cost of a plot of land? Also - is there a cut off for large diameter trees that are too big and mills just won't take?
Very good video. I've helped do a few timber surveys years ago and still remember a lot about it.
At best the timber survey figure minus a logging cost might figure into the cost of land. Most mills cut off the maximum butt size at 31 inches and take about a third off the value as they generally remanufacture it and truck it away to a mill that deals with larger logs.
@@HubertofLiegeThanks for the info!
I'm looking at about 140 acres of land that's mostly creek bottom with some very large hardwood and pine. Hilltop areas have all been logged and are replanted pine plantation. I have a decent size (60" blade I think currently on it) circular mill that I want to bring down and set up so I'm primarily interested in the land and the larger hardwood timber and the land itself. Been an outdoorsman and currently construction manager, but I'm very green when it comes to valuing investment timber land or figuring out how to even make an offer. The land is currently held by a timber investment company, but they regularly sell portions of holdings.
@@entrepreneursfinest keep in mind prices and log grades are regionally influenced so what works in one area doesnt in another.
@@HubertofLiege I had thought about that. I need to find someone local I believe that understands the market. I'll have to do some looking around.
@@entrepreneursfinest where are you?
Harvest in winter when the ground is frozen and there is snow. Much less ground disturbance from machines.
excellent video, what could be the income from the same red oak if you sell it as logs or boards?
That can get really tricky. the various board foot scales are not totally accurate, they are more just a fair and standard custom that approximates yield in a consistent way. So not only is the actual yield going to vary a bit, but it will depend on value-added processes. Is it rough or planed? Green or kiln dried? While the pricing may not be perfect, Ive been seeing kiln-dried, rough red oak going for $5-$8/BF, so at an average of $6.5, that's $3900 in lumber.. Not bad.
For logs, though, you can usually predict the value of logs by doubling the stumpage rate.
What's the market value for Afzelia africana commonly known as doussi
I’ve brought veneer wild cherry, red and white oak, sugar maple and walnut. Some 100’ tall and three logs before a branch and the tops were so good that they produced board feet of pallet scrag. And still yielded well under 600 usable board feet of salable timber. This tree can not achieve 400 board feet even if you counted 1”x1”x4’s
good information.
let me summarize this real quick:
A) A tree's worth depends on a billion variables, like height, width, curvature of the trunk, type of tree, amount of rot, stage at which youre selling, your relationship to the sawmill owner, state of the market, distance to the buyer, and the sausage price in Timbuktu, definitely. xD [Its all connected! Somehow!]
B) For stage, you can sell the tree while its standing (least work and money for you), or as logs to the sawmill, or as boards (most work needed from you, but most money gained).
C) You can estimate how many boards the tree might give, and thus how much money you'd get, using a stick, a table, or a thousand other tools.
D) Take care of your trees, for decades, to improve their quality and your profit.
Ah truer words are rarely spoken. 0:24
I have 14 acres of 50-60 ft pine & oak to be removed in Conroe Texas .... where can I find sommeone to mill them for my housing project.... Starts June 2024
good video! thanks
Good info, thanks
I enjoy your videos.
Was wondering if I could find someone to buy 2/ 60-70 ft. Chinese chestnut trees. Never produce any nuts so don't want them. So maybe they'd want for something like furniture? Or would there be no interest for only 2 trees?
Where are you located?
@@danielheisig4258 Southeast.
China@@danielheisig4258
I wished you would have used an updated price sheet. White Oak has gone way up and Red Oak way down
What kind of tree in pricing
Thank you very much!
This was very helpful. I'm now in NH (my dads side of the family is from ME) and looking into logging some of my properties at some point. Let me know if you do consulting (owners rep work you mentioned), and I can email you. Thank you!
Thank you
If that oak is 605 feet, then 5 of those trees will about fill a triaxle log truck.
I know from long experience that is not even close to reality.
It will take at least 10 of those to fill a truck, and it will scale out at 3400 feet if the scaler likes you.
I'm a hardwood logger also. You're right at 3300 to 3400 ft
Most hardwood individual trees isn't worth as much as people think
Takes a pretty good size tree to be 600ft
Them trees better be good ones to yeild that much money per acre. Things like this makes land owners think they have more than they do.
Yeah there’s no shot that tree had 600 bf in it, not knockin the guy, maybe he hasn’t cut/scaled/sold many trees. Maybe that oak held significant diameter 48’ up the trunk, I just doubt it.
Excellent information. My only suggestion to make it better is to switch poses/shots every few minutes. Some people tend to lose concentration when you're in the same spot too long. Very minor detail, just thought I'd mention as you strive for excellence.
I have an oak tree at my house back yard that is over 3ft diameter. It is too big . I do not use a camp fire wood. Can I sell it to someone who needs it? Here is the fairfax VA.
Curious. How many ‘trees’ have you sold?
Subbed. Thank you!
How much is it worth? How much will it cost to get rid of it?
The problem is lumber mills grade it once cut and arrives and regularly they cheat the loggers sometimes making them wait 9 months to get paid without any way to despute grades so they may steal 30 percent which means that the loggers cannot give you what they should because the mill might not pay them what they should.
Thanks
Do trees really have "sides"? Good info.
Insides and outsides.
On the sawmill, they do
I nod my head pretending to understand. I would hire you to come and give me an estimate and trust your opinion.
I had acreage in Pennsylvania for years when the timber people got done taking out the timber thank God I had a bulldozer to redo my roads and they also bent over some of the oil well heads because of dragging the logs around I wouldn’t have those people take my land now if I had to starve to death Jerry Mcdonogh
Most sawmills do not take 16 foot red oak logs. Logs are 8 foot 10 foot 12 foot 14 foot .
Even if I harvested the the trees.... The saw mills wont even take them if I delivered the logs to the saw mill ! ! They wont even talk to you about a price on the cut log ! Thats because they would have to pay a lot more because the work has been done ! The price would still be firewood price !
Great video. You've earned a like and subscribe from me.
Cheers
Why can't I get anyone to take down the huge oak trees I have at they back of my property then . I have 8 huge ones . All in great shape but I hate the acorns that fall off them . I can only guess they have been here for a long time because this was all uncleared land and I have been here 20 years
How much you want to bet that there is a computer program that does all of this in seconds for very cheap that big companies use to estimate what their forest is worth?
I’d be excited at $5 per tree.
I have Oaks that are 60 in in diameter had to cut them down before they fell on my barn nobody wanted them not a sawmill in the area wanted anything to do with them I sit on 102 a virgin Timber and you can't sell it
i am bored from my head to my feet watching this
Board...😂
Meanwhile in the metric world a french architect watches on in terror
Good lord. Did you say "long story short"? WRONG. Lol. Good video, about double or more what it needs to be. Thanks for the info.
Firewood all the way up
Could have been a 30 second video. One 24 inch nice red oak only worth $158. Good lord what a frustrating video. Bla bla bla, when is this guy gonna spit out the fricking answer???????
noice... my guy... noice
When I sell a tree to myself its worth millions of dollars. No wait, it's only worth a few cents. So confused.
Ugh so how much is the tree worth finally?
!
Hmmmm how many logs are in a " log " ????? Come again ???? A " log " is a log......I always thought !
A standard log is usually defined as a 16' piece, sometimes 8' or 10' depending on the scale
@@thetimberlandinvestor Again...as you state here.....a " log " then how can there be two logs in one ????? An interesting tree !
glad I didnt destroy my woods. neighbor did what a freakin mess
350 bucks a cord.
Holy shit this should have been a 3 minute video
Got wondering if I should lmfao greedy
Way too long winded. We are not going to go out and start working for a lumber company. We just want a quick overview.
158 bucks for a red oak that size!? Compared to what red oak lumber is going for these days!? I'd rather burn it for firewood than let the stores make a killing. Not worth it
I promise you no one in the forestry is making a killing. Trees are worth the least because A LOT of work must be done to put it on a shelf in the form of a board. Think of it this way:
The tree has to be felled, limbed, and processed into logs.
The logs have to be hauled to the road on rough terrain with expensive equipment.
Logs then have to be loaded onto a truck and carried sometimes hundreds of miles to a mill.
The mill unloads the logs onto a pile, only to later load them back onto a truck for transport into the actual facility.
After milling (which is of course incredibly labor and/or capital intensive), the boards must be kiln dried, which is incredibly energy intensive.
Then they are planed.
Then the mill markets the wood usually to a wholesaler, so wood has to be carried via truck or train often thousands of miles to a warehouse, only to finally be distributed to a regional retailer.
Out of all those transactions, the landowner has the highest profit margins in most cases.
@@thetimberlandinvestor after taxes the landowner loses
@@victorhopper6774 Not true. Timber sales are taxed as capital gains, while every other transaction in the supply chain in taxed as ordinary income.
The landowner gets the best deal in the entire industry.
@@thetimberlandinvestor nonsense does not matter as property tax is the killer not income tax. unless you own in a state with huge woodland tax breaks there is no profit. thats why trees are let grow on junk land.
@@victorhopper6774 Property taxes are tricky as they vary from state to state and even town to town, and yes, you need to do your research like any real estate based investment, but broadly speaking they arent a limiting factor for profitability.
In Maine for example, we have probably some of the best tax breaks in the nation. But we also have more limited ability to profit on our land due to the tradition of open use of private property. Outside of the northeast, hunting leases alone are an opportunity for revenues that can and often do pay off the property taxes and then some, especially if any habitat improvement is done.
The problem is the landowners forget their land is a business. They ignore it for 50 years and wonder why they don't make anything.
Terrible
Interesting video, but completely useless with this units
Right, so 66 feet away, every 6" increment...
Anyone else see anything typically tell-tale about these numbers?
It's bad enough that it's all over Hollywood, gaming and entertainment, but in logging too? Sigh...