Walnut log crop?

[db1212]

Anyone have a ballpark of what a fair price would be for logging out walnut? Never heard too much about it. Reputable outfit from what I hear.

[bcreech]

around home he landowner gets 50 to 60 percent of what they scale they came out and scaled ours before they left the farm
the guy who done ours had the buyer come do the scaling and write us and him the check before they loaded them

[kcm]

50% to the landowner is the best I have ever heard of, or done myself, walnut seems to be the only lumber worth trying to sell, I thought oak would be worth something but evidently our Kansas oak is not. I am assuming "scaling" is what I refer to as grading. The guy who cut my logs had 3 firms grade and bid for the logs and took the best bid, I didn't see how there could be a much better method than that. Last timber I sold was in 2006, had I known how much walnut trees were worth I would have tried harder to manage our timber better.

[linsal]

There is a wide range in what loggers will charge, so be careful who you get. And ask what size trees they cut as well. I'm very satisfied with my logger (we have a couple hundred acres of woods and try to manage it for quality timber). We get him in every few years to harvest mature trees...last year, we took out some black walnut. He won't cut anything less than about 16 inches in diameter (walk up to a tree---if you hug it and your fingers can touch, it's too small by his rules). If our logger is taking out hardwoods (e.g., oak, blackwalnut, ash, maple, etc.), he gets 20% of the total. If he's taking out poplar, he gets 40%. He gets 3 bids from area buyers. He pretty much know who is going to have the top bid, but he gets the bids anyway and shows me the bid sheet so there aren't any questions. He also takes the cull logs and tree tops for firewood (that's how he is able to charge such a low percentage when logging.

From what I know, the black walnut market can be "funny" (prices going up and down very fast). You really need to have a buyer who knows the market. Each of the logs that went out of here last year were bar coded, scanned when they were loaded on the truck and apparently scanned again when they got to the mill. We only had one veneer log...but per the logger, we have a lot of young trees coming on which should be money makers.

[db1212]

kcm I had kinda wondered about the oak, guess you answered my question. Thanks for the replies guys, guess I'll see how this goes.

[acfarmer]

You can call a state forester. They will look at the timber, Give you a idea what you will get for money and advise you on which ones to take and which ones you should leave.

[linsal]

Nov 6, 2011 19:59:24 GMT -5 acfarmer said:

You can call a state forester. They will look at the timber, Give you a idea what you will get for money and advise you on which ones to take and which ones you should leave.

You can certainly call a state forester, but temper any recommendations they make with your own common sense. Our local foresters are idiots---all they understand are clear cuts. My recommendation is to take mature or diseased timber.