Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[mtncats <mtncats@yahoo.com>]

Hi Tony,

 

I'm still feeling my way, certainly no expert.  I view my trees as a long term crop.  Two "experts" from large timber companies have bestowed their knowledge on me.  Neither struck me as knowing their asses from a hole in the ground.  Mostly it was clear cut, or not.

 

What I've learned comes not from the internet, but from both buying lumber for many years and sawing several thousand bd ft of my own.  I approach my woodlot management from the perspective of a woodshop.  How do I get the best value from any given tree?  Cut for grade or figure?  What board (thickness, width) gives the best return on investment?

 

Generally your choices are: 1) sell logs to whichever mill pays best, or 2) add value to the logs by cutting and drying.  The latter requires specific knowledge of your local lumber buyers and a willingness to accommodate them.  Could be wholesale or retail.

 

A part of my motivation to add value is that I then have no need for logging companies, who generally expect 50% of what the mill pays.  I've been offered down to 40% (I keep 60), nice trees.  If you start asking around, you'll likely be told that logging companies always cheat the landowner.  I have no need of standard logging equipment, can rely on simple old (large) tractors.  Still thinking about a mill but so far have been content to pay around a quarter/sq ft (not bd ft) for someone to bring in a portable mill.  For that, I have to provide a helper and of course then handle the lumber.  The sawyer almost always gets a learning experience.

 

My interest is small volume, 1-2 thousand bd ft/month, keeping the overhead low.  If it turns out I'm under-cutting my woodlot I'll re-evaluate.  That's just my best guess for now.

 

What are you wanting to do?  If you need a better knowledge of lumber, a strong recommendation is R. Bruce Hoadley's "Understanding Wood", ISBN 0-918804-05-1.

 

Tom (in central Va)

Tony Marzolino <tmarzolino@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hello Tom,

Could you share more of your forestry management knowledge?  Are there specific web sites you found helpful?  Other resources?

Thanks Tony

(in Berkshire NY)

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