Seeking advice about logging out my property to clear land for pasture.

[Gary_C]

So this is where I need help. I realize that no logger will be jumping with joy over 10 acres, heck I don't even know if I'll be able to find one who will want the job.

What's the best way about doing this? I want to make sure that they don't leave my place a mess with stumps and ruts and holes and I also want to make sure they leave a few big trees and I don't want them to touch my pecan trees (there aren't many). Who should I talk to? How do I know what the timber's value is? How do I find a logger?

Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated.

Forget all the machine talk. All he wants is help in finding someone to do the work.

Best advice is to first find a forester to help decide if there is any money in the logs. Hopefully you can find some help from county or state forestry. If not, find a good private forester and get some advice.

So the key is finding someone to give good independent advice on the value of the woods.

[ohiowoodchuck]

Have you thought about a mulching head on a skidsteer. A man can do a lot of work on one in a day. It's about 600 a day for one around here with tracks. You could get all the brush cleaned up and go from there. Pictures of the area would help. If it doesn't have decent timber on it, the cost of the forester would just put you in the hole more.

[SawLogger]

We owner a small Sawmill by Stillwater ok. You might be pretty close to Johnson's Sawmill by Jay which could make it pretty easy hauling if you wanted to log it off yourself. There is very little knoledge of anything forestry wise in Oklahoma. There is alot of wasted timber around here mostly because no body knows what to do with it. I hope you find some way to save the good timber I hate seeing good timber go up in smoke.
I can't suggest a good logger from around here because sadly you can't trust any of them to do what they say.
If you where close I would probably be interested in logging it but its just going to be to far for me. Let me know if I can provide any more info.

[CCC4]

Also while I'm thinkin on it.

folks like to say "leave the trees and push em over with the excavator, makes it easier"

While yes the stump comes out easier, it can make a mess of the timber, and its pretty dangerous for an unskilled operator to be trying.

Easier on the guy on the machine...it can play Hell on the guy with the saw in his hand. It can get Western real fast like...cutter's entire body is at risk; feet, shins, thighs, waist, stomach, chest, hands, wrists, shoulders, neck, face and head...I know this guy....! Rough way to make a living, I choose falling them myself...but I dont get to pick my options on some jobs  :

[BEEMERS]

I don't what kind of operator you guys have experience with but it sounds to have not been good..let me give you another example with a very experienced,smart operator with safety and production the most important things...in that order.
Going through the land excavator with thumb clearing all the brush and little trees,pulling them roots and all until theres a pile them that goes on the fire.All the while planning a clean area where the big trees can go.
Where we are at..Its often big oaks and If they are big and theres good logs then there  is clay maybe 3-4 feet down but its there and digging stumps out of clay sucks.."popping" stumps?..when a customer here says "popping stumps" I say..."we are not on the same page from the get go" then explain this.
Dig around the big trees stump so much less pressure is applied to push it over. Also pulling the dirt back on the back side of the stump...1..dont hurt the wood 2...DO NOT let any dirt get up on the tree when it goes over.
3...get the stump up out of the hole so its is safe for the cutter .
Wood is not affected tree is clean. If cutter wants to start at top he limbs it steps back..with thumb on excavator I pull all or most of the brush away to give him clear easier access to the top..this goes on fire..
he cuts the firewood out, as I have a clear way to get it without affecting him I do and get it out of the way...ina pile for the forwarder later or in a truck or wherever...
At this point he goes to the stump..or maybe he starts at the stump...I'm there with the excavator and thumb following his directions...he knows exactly what he needs....I hold the stump so it wont tip one way or the other and split the wood AND he is at zero risk..OR I hold the tree if that is better..tree is cut as low as you want.
We eliminate almost all risk to the cutter this way and almost all risk of hurting that butt log.
Move stump to fire or pile or truck....I pick the logs out as he cuts them  to pile for forwarder or truck and as he is cutting if there is any stress on the tree or any risk I'm there to grab the tree or log coming off the tree and hold it as he cuts.
By the time hes done cutting the trees gone and on to the next one or more brush..smaller trees I might lay out a dozen first..anyway..its like a choreographed dance..we don't even talk just motion..we know what the other needs and we roll through this so fast and efficiently it would impress even you guys....meaning you guys here who have seen it all done a lot of ways..I think youd be impressed with the safety and efficiency of a good operator with a plan.

[RHP Logging]

Ive worked with good operators.  They know to stay out of my way til I'm done.  It's nearly impossible to push a tree over and not get dirt on the good wood near the stump.   Like you said. Dig three sides, push over and bring it out of the hole.  Theres different pressures on the wood then and I'm very good at reading bucks because all I do is buck in the woods.  I'd rather lay em out ( most trees under 30" take a minute or less for me) and buck em so I know exactly what I'm doing with.  On average i process a tree pulp and all in about 7 minutes.  If I would have to wait for an operator to hold the tree up for me that's going to add time.  I know, I've done it.  Also when you've got a machine holding the tree up it puts different binds in it too.  I don't doubt that you've got it down to a science.  I just would rather not do it that way.  I guess it depends on the ground when you're talking popping stumps.  A lot of the sand country I cut the stumps come out pretty easy.  Even 4 ft plus size.  Either way I think this thread is toast. The OP hasn't said much for a while.  It really depends on the timber and ground which we can only speculate at.

[BEEMERS]

smaller trees yes,I lay them out in a fashion that's doesn't add any stress and I keep clearing  while hes bucking the trees..Im only there to hold the stump..or the tree when he waves me over and points..hes very experienced and knows that just a little hold in the right place can be a big help.
Where I was talking we work together all the way on a tree its like a 36-40 incher that's still 20 feet tall laying on its side  and almost a semi load of brush per tree...the kind where some one has to move a lot of brush just to get in there...
Often I will lay out 6-8 and track to the other side to pck up what hes cut while he goes to the other side and back and forth like thatclean up what he cut then lay down a few more and back and forth..the dance never stops.

[danbuendgen]

First thing to do: post some pictures of the land you want cleared, so we can see what you have and tell you if its worth anything or not.....

You say "its so think that you cant drive a four wheeler around." That to me sounds like a over crowed forest loaded with worthless scrub. If that's the case, pay (your local/favorite/cheapest/most honest seeming, dirt worker/excavating company/logger) to cut the trees and pile the brush and stumps and burn it. I would not worry about ruts, they can smooth them off as they go. Hire a forester if you want to... but around here they get 80-90 per hour and dont know a thing about equipment operation or what a good price is for the work. They could tell you if the trees have value though.

I dont do excavating, I'm a logger, but I help out a friend who does mostly dirt work and some winter logging, I mostly help him here and there in the summer doing land clearing. I run the saw cutting, he pushed over the trees with the machine, and he runs his excavator, and he piles up the logs, brush, and stumps. It goes fast. Sometimes, if the trees have value, he does the work for the timber, or timber and money, or he charges them. It all depends on the size of the job and quality of the wood. 15k for clearing 15 acres sounds good to me. If you want trees saved, put a some flagging on it, it shouldn't be hard to work around.

Also, dont bother renting a excavator if you have no experience. There is a real learning curve, Its going to take you half a week just to start getting productive at stumping. That's wasted money big time!

Just my .02

[gimpy]

Just a personal opinion? I have 160 acres of pine forest. Most are under 8" (across ABH) but a few are over 14". I needed to clear just a couple of acres (initially) for my house.

I'd talked to the neighbors, first. The wealth of locl knowledge and resources might surprise you. For me, I just needed to clear 2 acres for my homesite. 78yo neighbor, on his D5 crawler, about 50 gallons of fuel, and me with my FEL. I pushed the bigger ones over. Much easier and faster for me to knock them over than with the crawler.

3 hours. Debris and all the trees and stumps along three sides. I'm leveling it out, filling in the stump holes with my box scraper. Now I'll go and cut the stump off, limb the logs, drag them (with the FEL) to one place and stack them. I'll clean out the dirt from the piles and make my own trash piles to burn later.

Then I'll rent a big chipper for a weekend. All the trash and limbs will run through the chipper. Meaning, Mulch & Compost for years.

The Logs? (For me, most larger logs will make lumber on my mill) The (smaller) logs will bucked to 4', stacked for a year, then split for 12 months of seasoning. Around here, as many cords as I can carry, delivered 100 miles away, I can get $300 per cord without dealing with homeowners. My trailer should easily hold 6 cords, 200 miles, $1800 cash.

My land will be mostly clear, with great homemade rich soil additive, and cash from the firewood, that should easily cover the cost of making bare land green.

Personally, I found the Forester to be unreliable and difficult to arrange a meeting with. I got away from begging. So I gave up and now get far better advice from the neighbors that have already done it numerous times over 35 years. Sure made it much easier to become part of the neighborhood.

[RHP Logging]

You can sell pine for 300 per cord cut n  split?   What does good hardwood get?  500?

[treeslayer2003]

6 cord? i can only get 10 on a tractor trailer.

[Gary_C]

You can sell pine for 300 per cord cut n  split?   What does good hardwood get?  500?

In central Oregon, pine is their hardwood. Same thing over most of the west where softwoods predominate. Their hardwood alternative is aspen and cottonwood.  :

[RHP Logging]

6 cord? i can only get 10 on a tractor trailer.

That's what I thought.  Quad axle dumper of cut n split is only 4-5 cords.  A semi with a long rock dumper can get six in it. I had a guy buying 8 ftrs on the landing in a big dump trailer once.  He was getting 3.5 cords in it.

[RHP Logging]

You can sell pine for 300 per cord cut n  split?   What does good hardwood get?  500?

In central Oregon, pine is their hardwood. Same thing over most of the west where softwoods predominate. Their hardwood alternative is aspen and cottonwood.  ::)

They have big leaf maple right?  And alder?  I could have swore there was an oak out there too.  Maybe in California.