Log prices

[SwampDonkey]

I've seen the Mennonites skid firewood 4 miles down pavement, no wheels under it. :D They do a lot of stuff after dark. Including fetching a mystery bale of hay from a field sitting within feet of the US border at 3:00 am in the morning. A field they don't own. ;)

[barbender]

That sort of stuff must make them much loved 😬

[mike_belben]

Theyre pretty good around here.  But theres always a contingent that likes to throw stones. 

[moodnacreek]

And I always herd Maine moose tastes better than Canadian moose.

[SwampDonkey]

And I always herd Maine moose tastes better than Canadian moose.

There's a difference between fact and hearsay. :D

Brings to mind the neighbor making the comment "they say his syrup tastes like wood smoke", when it was not boiled down with wood and she never had any to taste. :D

[Southside]

And I always herd Maine moose tastes better than Canadian moose.

If you had ever seen the games played on the Maine / Quebec border during hunting season.  

[nativewolf]

Not sure how many people sell white oak quartersaw logs but prices are up a bit, the whole quartersaw market looks to be recovering.  Chestnut oak is up to over $2.20/bdft for good 21" and up logs.  Push a bit and get $2.50 I guess.  @stavebuyer might know more, he's closer to the quartersaw market leaders like graff and taylor (whatever they are called today).  

[mike_belben]

What makes a log quartersaw specific say versus a good stave or rotary or slicer veneer?

[ehp]

not really sure why but got $6/ft for that walnut with huge sap ring , thats pretty good for stuff like that 

[nativewolf]

What makes a log quartersaw specific say versus a good stave or rotary or slicer veneer?

Diameter and grade mostly.  18" and up but it  can be a 1 or even no side clear log.  Big is best.  We sent some big 2 sided logs at 2.20, which is good for a 2 side clear log, even if it is 28" dbh.  Big red oak like that is $0.50/bdft.  

[nativewolf]

not really sure why but got $6/ft for that walnut with huge sap ring , thats pretty good for stuff like that

wow, that is good.  Congrats!

[ehp]

Ya walnut seems to be red hot right now.  Some guts are paying crazy prices on standing walnut  right now . Almost done this job and got another small and I mean small job to do about 2 miles away but there is walnut in it so maybe good timing to cut it . Nothing very big . Stuff like 20 to 30 inch 

[SwampDonkey]

I've seen the Mennonites skid firewood 4 miles down pavement, no wheels under it.

"Oh, they would never do that." How much you wanna bet? :D :D :D
Down the pavement by the Royalton church on the Crawford Road. Tractor with Farmi.



Firewood yard a 200 yards from there.

[nativewolf]

Big news here is that the veneer buyers are looking for quality chestnut oak butt logs, $2.5 here in northern VA on the landing.  More as you get closer to Ohio where I bet it is $3 or more now.  

White oak veneer continues to smolder along, we averaged $4.75 on our last load.  Walnut veneer is supposed to be smoking but I have only had good-crap saw logs, $5-1 ($1 is 9" firewood).  Going to find out in a few weeks.

YP veneer is indeed $1.20, $1 on our landing.  I hear $1.5 in Ohio.

YP sawlogs are starting at $0.70 on international and down to $0.350 for no side clear junk on international scale (which is something to think about because 12" limby no side clear YP stems are normally about impossible to move).

[nativewolf]

So I was chatting with the buyer who bought 40k standing walnut from us 2 years ago.  We did well,  no complains . He sold the best log as a 32' veneer triple log $19,620. 8).  $20/bdft 

I am glad he did well, we only sold 1/2 volume maybe cut some more in October.  Maybe sell some myself.  

[mike_belben]

I just heard the price of 'highly valuable' craigslist front yard iron clad walnut triple.  Chaching.

[Walnut Beast]

So I was chatting with the buyer who bought 40k standing walnut from us 2 years ago.  We did well,  no complains . He sold the best log as a 32' veneer triple log $19,620. 8).  $20/bdft

I am glad he did well, we only sold 1/2 volume maybe cut some more in October.  Maybe sell some myself.  

Very nice. How many trees were there in that deal

[nativewolf]

We maybe cut 120 altogether in two sales.  He cut the very best tree and 4 others that were monsters plus maybe 80 others.  Some had a bit of peck, a few were very pecky.  I've got to cut another 20 this year, wish EHP or one of our other real hand cutters were heading south sooner.  They'd have them down while we were fussing with our YP and oaks.  

In the two years since then Walnut has gone up and down but $5/bdft standing was a rich rich price in that year.  We were very happy.  Today with good sawlogs hitting 5 I think we'd do even better but still we would likely have cut it ourselves.  

[mudfarmer]

120 people out of work in the black hills, this mill relied on 80% of their material coming from USFS and I guess that's not happening Hill City saw mill closes, eliminating 120 jobs | Local | rapidcityjournal.com

Doesn't matter if the price is low or high if you can't get material at any price :

Someone buy up the equipment and move it down south where that oversupply is before it ends up overseas ;D

[stihlsawer]

Here's a link that I use. Tennessee Prices | Timber Update 

[mike_belben]

Thats a ripoff unless its stumpage pricing. I didnt see a stipulation.  For example $425/thousand on white oak "sawtimber" lumps all of it into one grade.  A WO tie log brings about $400/mbf.. Staves are $1,000 to $2,000 so theyre gonna pay tie for a stave?  

.70cents a foot on walnut?

The vagueness of the site makes it a challenge to know if theyre sharks looking for a little old lady with a back 40 or not.  I suspect the price sheet is claiming those are delivered to mill prices and youll get a cut of it.  If so, theyre ripoffs claiming not to be.  If theyre paying those prices for stumpage upfront, then its a totally different situation.  I cant tell.


Buying the entire forest at the lowest sawlog price is one common ripoff strategy.  Everything thats better than pulp will make a tie. Paying "shares" of say 50/50 to the landowner at a tie log rate for all harvested WO means that everything better than tie log isnt shared with the landowner.   Everything better than a tie will be sorted and sold for its top price but the landowner will get paid as if it were a tie.   Logger keeps the spread, so on really good logs the lamdowner might only get 10 or 20% of the true value.

"I will go 50/50 on the white oak at $425/mbf" is how that will sound.  

A better deal for the landowner is "i will go 50/50 on everything WO and i get $425/mbf for tie, 550 on common sawlogs and about $1500/mbf avg on staves, maybe better on some other stuff.  

If you ask the ripoff artist a rate on the prime A, stave and veneer he will know you arent gonna be fooled by the lump pricing. 


These are realistic prices in middle TN without much marketing.. Savy guys like EHP, native wolf and so il logger do much better in specialty marketing.

[stihlsawer]

Thats a ripoff unless its stumpage pricing. I didnt see a stipulation.  For example $425/thousand on white oak "sawtimber" lumps all of it into one grade.  A WO tie log brings about $400/mbf.. Staves are $1,000 to $2,000 so theyre gonna pay tie for a stave?  

.70cents a foot on walnut?

The vagueness of the site makes it a challenge to know if theyre sharks looking for a little old lady with a back 40 or not.  I suspect the price sheet is claiming those are delivered to mill prices and youll get a cut of it.  If so, theyre ripoffs claiming not to be.  If theyre paying those prices for stumpage upfront, then its a totally different situation.  I cant tell.


Buying the entire forest at the lowest sawlog price is one common ripoff strategy.  Everything thats better than pulp will make a tie. Paying "shares" of say 50/50 to the landowner at a tie log rate for all harvested WO means that everything better than tie log isnt shared with the landowner.   Everything better than a tie will be sorted and sold for its top price but the landowner will get paid as if it were a tie.   Logger keeps the spread, so on really good logs the lamdowner might only get 10 or 20% of the true value.

"I will go 50/50 on the white oak at $425/mbf" is how that will sound.  

A better deal for the landowner is "i will go 50/50 on everything WO and i get $425/mbf for tie and about $1500/mbf avg on staves, maybe better on some other stuff.  


These are realistic prices in middle TN without much marketing.. Savy guys like EHP, native wolf and so il logger do much better in specialty marketing.

It's my understanding that it's stumpage and not delivered to the mill. I could be wrong though. 

[stihlsawer]

I wished the State still published a quarterly like they did a few years ago.

[mike_belben]

it would be very prudent to verify.  I dont mean to slander anyone and i have no knowledge of them.  Such practices give loggers a very bad reputation throughout the state.  Terrible pay and terrible practices.  The freedom we enjoy has a consequence, anyone can jump in.

[Tom King]

According to that, looks like I hit the right time, a few years ago, getting a Pine stand thinned, and got 15.25 for pulpwood.