selling timber, clearcutting land, anyone have any experience?

[quadrcr161]

anyone have any experience? im looking at 2 plots of land, one with 17 acres and one with 25 acres (the 17 is more expensive then the 25) but im thinking of getting one and clear cutting it and selling the timber to help pay for it. then building a house and practice track. im also wanting to replant several acres for later down the road.

does anyoen have any experience with selling timber? is it worth it and what are some things to look and lookout for? if needed my g/f's brother does cruising and this type of work but he is in another state.

we had someone come in and select cut a few big trees on my parrents 10 acres but they really made a mess, and we really didnt get any money for it after we fixed what they messed up.


how much does it usually pay per acre and what type of timber pays the best? should i try to sell it by a lot or by the load? any help would be great, im off friday and going to walk both lots.

[250exer]

I am in the final phases of selling off the Poplar on my 47 acres. I got a forester listed with the state (MN) to be the middle man on the deal. He takes 15%, but I have a much better feeling I'm getting a fair deal. He also took care of putting the cut out for bid, setting up contracts, holding money in escrow, etc. To my way of thinking it was the way to go. Lot's of stories of people getting taken on timber sales.

Don't know if there are any rules of thumb on what it's worth per acre. A forester can help you get an idea based on quality of wood, amount of it, accessibility and current market rates.

You do have to accept that it will make a mess in the areas cut, but since we use our land for deer hunting, it's actually a benefit. The deer like to browse on the new shoots coming up. I do have a road I need to repair and some trails. You may be able to negotiate some of this repair, but it will be factored into (out of) the price you get.

Good Luck

[MY450R]

what your thinking of doing is a great idea
i dont have any experience with it but i know a guy that did exactly that and got a lot of money for his timber.he had a bunch of oak and other stuff and thge land he bought practically paid for itself or a very large chunk of it
good luck

[sharkinthepool]

My uncle does this for a living. You would be surprised what some wood brings. If you have lots of oaks and cherrys maybe walnuts. That is where the big money is at. Populars and pines can bring big money too as long as they are clean and straight (no fences or signs posted in them). I am not sure what the exact cost is. But I am pretty sure they do it by the property in a whole! Not by and acre or load.

The only thing he ever taught me about it is watch and see what the economy is calling for. If they are wanting Oak then Oak is top dollar. Sort of supply and demand type of thing.

250exer sounded like he had a good way to go. If you do not have someone like my uncle to watch out for you.

[quadrcr161]

thanks guys, im not going to rush out and try to develope it as soon as it was cut so a mess is fine, i will also try and set it up where i can sell firewood from the left over branches and smaller stuff also. plus i have a fwe friends with the bigger bobcats and tractors, i am in alabama :D , when i say they left a mess at my parrents i mean parking the skidder in the front yard, trenching the back yards, busting field lines, trenching my dads garden, taking the fence around the garden down, they also cut trees we didnt mark and made a back road into our property they i now have to put a gate on. im off friday and i am going to go walk both areas, although im leaning more to the 25 acres because its closer to town and its cheaper then the 17 acres.

[JTRtrx250r]

Sounds like a few of these guys have the right idea, I have a couple friends that did this and they both got HOSED!

They both didnt make much and the cost of reparing their yards almost exceeded their profits.They REALLY TORE CHIT UP!! 1 of them has constant flooding in his yard now:(

Just do your research and cover your butt !!

Good Luck! Sounds like a dream of mine!!;) :)

[Quad18star]

I'm not sure of the market in the USA for this kind of stuff , but I know up here in Canada the foresters are starving . My uncle and aunt own a multi-million dollar forestry industry and they are barely making ends meet . I guess it all depends on if there is a need for the wood in your area . Are you planning on selling it to private buyers ( the guys that need firewood) or to larger processing plants ( timber yards , pressed wood plants). I had my whole education paid for to become a forester ( my aunt and uncle would have paid for it), but i decided not to because i seen the struggles they are going through. I will suggest not clear cutting the whole land... heavy rains and high winds will destroy the propery in no time . Trees protect the land .

[quadrcr161]

i plan on leaving the smaller stuff they they cant use, just sellign the larger stuff to whoever offers me the best money. i contacted the alabama state forestry comission and i am going to call my old FFA teacher to help me wth this. what i thought is i would sell the larger stuff then sell the branches and left over to the firewood guys if they needed it. then i am also going to replant. the forestry comission is also sending me information to look into state/gov aid about replanting the land.i havent gotten the land yet but if i get the 25 acres i will replant prob 10-13 acres and have the rest for a house and practice track. i was on the land judging ffa team :D at school and my firends won the state in forestry several years, ive just got to get back in touch with them.

[Quad18star]

If you can get aid to help replant , that would be your best bet . Keep an eye on the market to see when lumber is at it's highs and lows . How do you plan on cutting all the wood?? Chainsaw ?? Cutters?? If you do it all by hand (chainsaw) , you're gunna have one hell of a time cutting that much land . Do lots of planning before jumping into it ... factor in all your costs ( fuel , equipment repairs , etc) .Good luck with it all .

[quadrcr161]

ill prob let someone cut it and haul it to the timber company, usually they will have a crew or a middle man to do it for them. the forestry comission send me a list of people that they had, and my g/fs brother does this type of work also so i will be seeing if he can check the people out also.