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Million Dollar Walnut???

Started by Red Clay Hound, September 18, 2013, 08:42:46 PM

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Red Clay Hound

Well, WDH sent me on a wild goose chase today! :D  Danny got a call last week from a landowner in northeast Georgia who has some walnut trees on his property he wanted to sell.  Danny called me, since I live pretty close to the guy, and asked if I wanted to go look at them.  His plan (if the logs were worth it and could be bought for a reasonable price) was to divide the logs and saw them into lumber to sell.  Sounded like a reasonable plan to me so today I went to meet the landowner and look at his trees.

The old gentleman met me at a truck stop just off the Interstate Hwy.  After we talked for a minute he told me to follow him to his property.  That's when I got my first clue how this gig was going to go!  Before I could even get in my truck, he pulled out on the highway and was gone! :o  I jumped in my truck and peeled out of the parking lot.  I finally caught up with him about two miles down the road.

We got to his tract and he did have some nice walnut trees.  They were growing in the woods, most of them were fairly straight, and varied from 12" to 20" diameter.  After looking for a few minutes he asked me what we could give him for them.  I quoted him the price per board foot that Danny said walnut was selling for.  His response was, "that ain't worth messing with".  He then asked me to scale a couple of trees and tell him what they were worth.  I picked out a couple of nice trees and figured how many board feet were in each and told him what we would pay him for each tree.  That's when he started walking toward his truck!

When we got back to the truck, I got the typical story... He has a friend who planted one acre of walnut trees for each of his grandchildren then they were small.  His friend told him that when his grandchildren reached retirement age, each acre of trees would be worth one million dollars. ::)

The old man has a 9 acres tract with quite a few walnut trees, but since Danny and I don't have 9 million dollars between us, I guess we're out of luck on this deal! whiteflag_smiley
2007 Wood-Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic with 51 hp. Cat; 2007 Wood-Mizer EG200 Twin Blade Edger; Woodmaster 718 Molder/Planer; Stihl MS460 and MS362 Chainsaws; 2011 John Deere 5065 with JD 553 Loader

thecfarm

Better luck next time. Some people will believe just about anything and anybody too.  :D
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WDH

A million $ per acre  ???.

Sorry about the wild goose chase (Snipe hunt).  I should have known better  :)

Lets see, a perfect stand of walnut would yield about 100 tons/acre at harvest.  At $1,000,000 per acre, then that would only be $10,000 per ton or $250,000 per tractor trailer load.  That is only $80,000 per MBF Doyle Scale on the stump.  I don't see what is the problem  :D :D :D. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

dgdrls

Walnut in NYS per the DEC stumpage report goes for low $500/thousand up to $1250/Thousand  median $825/thousand doyle

My past experience with this sheet is its fairly accurate,  and reflects price on the landing.

Where's the little gummybear video when you need it??

Did the gentlemen indicate a price to you??

best
DGDrls

WDH

The price we discussed was up to $800/MBF Doyle ($100 per ton) for good sawlogs.  We would then have to fell them, top them, and skid them out.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Red Clay Hound

Quote from: WDH on September 18, 2013, 09:14:46 PM
The price we discussed was up to $800/MBF Doyle ($100 per ton) for good sawlogs.  We would then have to fell them, top them, and skid them out.
He didn't counter-offer.  I guess he didn't think we were close! :D
2007 Wood-Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic with 51 hp. Cat; 2007 Wood-Mizer EG200 Twin Blade Edger; Woodmaster 718 Molder/Planer; Stihl MS460 and MS362 Chainsaws; 2011 John Deere 5065 with JD 553 Loader

dgdrls

Quote from: WDH on September 18, 2013, 09:14:46 PM
The price we discussed was up to $800/MBF Doyle ($100 per ton) for good sawlogs.  We would then have to fell them, top them, and skid them out.

His Loss,  my last sawing contract for the company I'm with was 50/50 (60/40 veneer) split company/logger.
I just don't understand where folks get these crazy idea's about Raw log prices.

DGDrls

POSTON WIDEHEAD

I got a boat for sale, Red Clay.  ;D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Red Clay Hound

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on September 18, 2013, 09:39:00 PM
I got a boat for sale, Red Clay.  ;D
Poston, I've got a better idea.  I'll sell you some walnut slabs for $200 per bf.  (They'll only cost us $80 per bf on the stump, but we'll have a lot invested in sawing, transportation, drying, etc.). They would make some nice benches! :D :D :D
2007 Wood-Mizer LT40 Super Hydraulic with 51 hp. Cat; 2007 Wood-Mizer EG200 Twin Blade Edger; Woodmaster 718 Molder/Planer; Stihl MS460 and MS362 Chainsaws; 2011 John Deere 5065 with JD 553 Loader

isawlogs

  Might be an improvement to that boat and then he may be able to raise the price some to recoup the cost of the shipping and hagling.   ;D

A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

Magicman

The problem is that one of you is looking at a selling scale and the other a buying scale.  OK, and then there is the "reality" scale.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: isawlogs on September 18, 2013, 09:57:20 PM
  Might be an improvement to that boat and then he may be able to raise the price some to recoup the cost of the shipping and hagling.   ;D

If he'll buy the boat, he can ship it himself. :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

mesquite buckeye

You guys...... He only wanted 100 times a fair price. What is YOUR problem? ;D ;D ;D ;D
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

WDH

A million $ per acre  ???  I have to say, that takes the cake.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Ron Wenrich

Back in about 1978 a company bought a walnut tree for $36,000.  I talked to a veneer buyer about that and asked if he would pay that much for a tree.  He said he would if it was worth it.  But, he's never seen one that was worth it in our area.

I also remember one of the truckers talking about a $50,000 log.  It was 51" at the end of 15', and had a lot to do with ring spacing.  It was destined for Europe.  The trucker might have a hearing problem.   :D

You have to wonder where these guys get their numbers.  Someone put them in their heads.  I assume its people that sell seedlings. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

thecfarm

Or just sitting around talking with a small fire,music and a drink in hand.  ::)
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WH_Conley

Anybody want to buy a bridge? I may have a couple in inventory, cheap. :D
Bill

mesquite buckeye

When I was at the Cedar conference in Springfield, MO several years ago, the foresters started talking about the most valuable log they had ever seen. One of the guys said there was a perfect walnut log, don't remember the diameter, but big, 30 ft long that ended up going to Germany for full length veneer and went for something like $75,000. Sounds like a once in several lifetimes log.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

Ron Wenrich

Come to think of it, I believe the trucker was talking about a log that was 30" and the end of 30'.  Might be the same log. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Dave Shepard

Let's look at the big picture here. The guy said it would be worth 1 mil when his grandchildren were retirement age. Considering the rate that the retirement age is going up, his grandchildren probably won't retire until they are 120. So, accounting for the current rate of inflation, it probably will be worth 1 mil/acre in 2133. You just need to tell him to be patient, and you'll get back to him then with a better number.  :D
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Dave Shepard

The highest number that I've heard was a big veneer cherry from PA going to Germany for $50k.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

mesquite buckeye

Again, you have to consider the source for a reality check. I think those extra special veneer trees show up, but that they are so rare that nobody ever sees them. These rarities are like finding a 50 carat diamond while you are cruising timber. If there were a lot of them, they wouldn't bring the crazy high prices. ;D

Meanwhile, I'm trying my best to grow them in whatever species I can. ;D ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Still waiting for the first one. :o
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

mesquite buckeye

Quote from: Ron Wenrich on September 19, 2013, 09:30:00 AM
Come to think of it, I believe the trucker was talking about a log that was 30" and the end of 30'.  Might be the same log.

Sounds right. Could be. It was the guy who put out the Missouri timber price trends newsletter at the time who told the story. He told it much better than I could. ;D
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

bama20a

I've got a well. FOR SALE,Good water has been tested. Must move. Mark,,,,, ;D
It is better to ask forgiveness than permission

mesquite buckeye

You got a pipe to run it to AZ we'll talk. ;D 8) 8) 8)
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

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