Price of poplar logs

[welderskelter]

Wondering about buying some saw logs to mill. Wondering what you guys pay for them . Was wondering if I could even afford them or not. I hate to try to deal with people when I have been out of the logging since I was a kid.

[ladylake]

 
 Around here the Amish are paying around 22 to 25 cents a bf  for pallet logs which would include any lower grade logs.  I've been paying around 45 cents for better logs.  White oak logs that will make barrel stave are around 80 cent to $.   Steve

[WV Sawmiller]

  Based on your location I wonder what you are calling poplar? Around here it would be yellow poplar but I understand further north and out west when people say poplar they are talking about cottonwood or such.

   Its probably underpriced but I sell my fresh cut rough tulip poplar lumber for $.75/bf so I'd have to price the logs accordingly if I were buying instead of harvesting my own.

[nativewolf]

I think he's referring to Aspen/Popple/Poplar.  @barbender what's it's running for good logs up there in MN.

[nativewolf]

 Based on your location I wonder what you are calling poplar? Around here it would be yellow poplar but I understand further north and out west when people say poplar they are talking about cottonwood or such.

  Its probably underpriced but I sell my fresh cut rough tulip poplar lumber for $.75/bf so I'd have to price the logs accordingly if I were buying instead of harvesting my own.

FYI, our average YP log price (everything but the very last pallet log) is just at $0.70/bdft now.  You'd be money ahead just selling the logs as we are not too far from you.  YP is quite in demand.   

[welderskelter]

 WV sawmiller I remember cotton wood from Oklahoma and I am sure these are not cottonwood. These are I believe aspen. Rough deep bark on bottom and slick grayish green on top. If not beat up from falling timber these have a tendency to grow straight up. Sold mostly around here as pulp wood for paper. Maybe because it is straight and lays on the truck nicely.  :D Used to be it sold at a higher price if peeled. The only time it would peel is in the spring when the leaves were the size of a squirrels ear. Thats how the old timers referenced it. You would have to score the bark to the sap line from the butt to the top then stick in a tool made from a leaf spring with a handle. Pop the bark loose both ways and leave it lay to dry so it wasnt so slimy to work with. You had to be careful though because many an ankle was messed up stepping inside the bark as your foot would slid around the log. :oJust thought I would throw in some of my old memories.

[barbender]

If you can find someone that will sort aspen saw logs for you, I would expect to pay $120-$150 per cord.The main aspen saw log consumer in the area is Savanna Pallet, they buy them down to 7" or 8" and pay around $120 per cord. So expect to pay more than that if you want a larger size sort.

[jpsheb]

Hi All,
I think the log market's changed a bit since the last post on this topic, so I wanted to check in.  Anyone have know what the going rate, or who are some buyers, in the VA piedmont region?  I have a timber stand improvement cut to do on a 32 acres with quite a bit of poplar, with ages ranging up to 100 years or more.  The grades will be the whole spectrum, but I'd like to get some quotes or bids on the larger, higher grade logs.   I'm not too far from Altavista VA. 

Thanks in advance y'all!

[nativewolf]

I had typed a long post but here is the brief version feel free to pm and we can talk about it further.

The original poster was asking about Aspen (called Popple or Poplar in MN).  The YP is very hot.  Pricing on good logs is great, you will want to know where they logs are going be cause the various mills desire different lengths.  Some mills want a 14' log others 16' and exporters always like 10' logs.  Pricing is from $1 for export veneers to $0.80 or thereabouts for prime sawlogs.  

[bannerd]

I was at the homedpot here and they sell popular, for an 8ft board at 6" wide by one inch thick they wanted $32.

[YellowHammer]

I'm buying yellow poplar logs and lumber about every other week and about 2 months ago poplar exceeded the price of red oak, and this last week is about 40 cents more per bdft wholesale from two different suppliers.   

[WV Sawmiller]

I was at the homedpot here and they sell popular, for an 8ft board at 6" wide by one inch thick they wanted $32.

So they are getting $4/bf for clear, KD, planed poplar boards. I sell my rough, green poplar for $.75/bf. Not really as bad a mark up for the extra finish work as I'd think.

   I don't buy YP logs but either cut my own or have sawed some and split the fee with a supplier who'd cut the logs, drag them to a landing and help me saw them so we each got $.375/bf  but that included sawing help. The provider did not have to transport them to the sawmill to sell so the sawing help was a trade-off with the transport costs.

[Old Greenhorn]

I was at the homedpot here and they sell popular, for an 8ft board at 6" wide by one inch thick they wanted $32.

So they are getting $4/bf for clear, KD, planed poplar boards. I sell my rough, green poplar for $.75/bf. Not really as bad a mark up for the extra finish work as I'd think.

Did I fugure that wrong? Looks like $8/bf to me. Maybe my calulator needs batteries? OH, it's solar.

[WV Sawmiller]

   As they used to say in Okinawa - Go Mingh Assigh (or as close as I can repeat it) meaning "Sorry about that". Thank you for correcting my math error. I was thinking bf vs price. Tom is correct.

   Maybe it is not such a good deal after all.