Timing of harvest

[loggerman1959]

Is it truethere are some trees that should be harvested in winter only ? I've heard people talk about it but I am not sure . If so , which , and why ????Thanks in advance

[Ianab]

There are a couple of reasons you might harvest in winter. First is ground conditions and access. Some areas it's just more practical to get in and harvest when the ground is frozen, rather than fighting through mud and bogs. The other is to do with log storage and drying conditions. Logs degrade slower and lumber air dries better if it's cold.

But if you can work around these problems there is no reason you can't harvest all year round. More harvesting would be done locally in summer because winter is more mud and rain. Then logs are sprayed with a stain reducer, milled promptly and kiln dried to reduce degrade.

The actual wood properties don't change, but the weather / season can certainly affect harvesting.

[Southside]

Around these parts winter harvested pine will keep a lot longer before it stains and spring harvested poplar will loose it's bark like a banana, so there are some potential considerations. 

[mike_belben]

I can get up to 70 cents a ft for export poplar thats winter cut but only 40 cents summer.  Theres too much water in summer cut.  I dont know if they blow apart in the container from drying too fast or if its mold, but thats the story i got.