How to run a logging company...

[Tmac47]

Sounds like your a consultating forester.

I must've done a poor job of explaining what I do.    #2 and #3 focus more on how I'm different from your normal consulting company.  I then take those people who are looking for consulting foresters and connect them.

Think Lending Tree for timber.

[beenthere]

Interesting.
So you get a percent of the consultants commission, or is this a free service?

[Claybraker]

3. The majority of landowners are in their 60's-70's, so within the next 5-10 years you're going to see a massive shift in the avg age of landowners. These new landowners are going to Google to find answers.

I'm not questioning that, but along with that will be increasing forest fragmentation, and smaller tracts. Given the trend in the industry of more and more mechanization, do you have any plans to address the needs of landowners with smaller tracts, say 20 acres or less?

[cutter88]

not the answer you are looking for but once i was told how to make a small fortune logging.  "start with a very large fortune"

;D my thoughts aswell lol

[SwampDonkey]

T-Mac, as to age of land owners I don't see it working quite the way you describe. Grandpa usually will leave it to his son or daughter who are in their 50's, 60's. Some grand sons inherit the land, but no more than has been going on for a very long time. Thirty years ago a survey was done here in the province and owners average age was mid 50's. Today it's the same. Old timers that are rooted in like to have control of their land and will generally only give it up with health issues. Take myself, I'm not 50 yet, but I didn't inherit any land from any grandfathers. The only piece of land I have came from my father and if he wasn't retired from farming my name wouldn't be on the deed even now. :D I see the same all over the area here, I've worked with woodlot owners for years and they are 99 % over 50 years of age.

[Tmac47]

3. The majority of landowners are in their 60's-70's, so within the next 5-10 years you're going to see a massive shift in the avg age of landowners. These new landowners are going to Google to find answers.

I'm not questioning that, but along with that will be increasing forest fragmentation, and smaller tracts. Given the trend in the industry of more and more mechanization, do you have any plans to address the needs of landowners with smaller tracts, say 20 acres or less?

Typically if a landowner contacts me (unless they only have 5 acres of timber) I have a company to connect them with.

Addressing the smaller guys isn't so much my niche as it would be a niche logger.  The people who own 20 acres and are looking online for answers would find me and might contact me, but I wouldn't be the one going out to their property.

[Tmac47]

T-Mac, as to age of land owners I don't see it working quite the way you describe. Grandpa usually will leave it to his son or daughter who are in their 50's, 60's. Some grand sons inherit the land, but no more than has been going on for a very long time. Thirty years ago a survey was done here in the province and owners average age was mid 50's. Today it's the same. Old timers that are rooted in like to have control of their land and will generally only give it up with health issues. Take myself, I'm not 50 yet, but I didn't inherit any land from any grandfathers. The only piece of land I have came from my father and if he wasn't retired from farming my name wouldn't be on the deed even now. :D I see the same all over the area here, I've worked with woodlot owners for years and they are 99 % over 50 years of age.

The guy in my video is in his mid 50's.  He contacted us through the website and we're cutting around $300,000 in timber off his woodlot.

The people contacting me through the website are in their 40's-50's.  The people I'm talking to over the phone are in their 70's - 80's.

[240b]

Just curious, is that 300,000 the total value of the wood delivered to the mill or the stumpage value paid to the land owner. How much does the contracor gross on a ton of wood? Looks like pulp in the video.. What kind of precent does the forester work on in that part of the south. Just interested in how things work other places.

[Tmac47]

Just curious, is that 300,000 the total value of the wood delivered to the mill or the stumpage value paid to the land owner. How much does the contracor gross on a ton of wood? Looks like pulp in the video.. What kind of precent does the forester work on in that part of the south. Just interested in how things work other places.

That's $300,000 stumpage paid to the landowner, which is where I base my cut.  No idea how much the contractor grosses.

I think most foresters work for anywhere from 5% - 10% commission.

[SwampDonkey]

I've always found a good manager working for the woodlot owner brings the owner a lot more revenue. I've been involved in planning and marking timber and the owner was always pleased and his woods wasn't high graded. I worked at this during my marketing board employment and we took very little commission. It was 2.2% of gross plus $3.50 a cord, whether it was veneer or pulp. The last fellow I worked for, he was worried about all the income taxes. He was from Gardner, Maine and around 70 years old. Income taxes and pension supplement is a common theme up here. If you get a pension supplement your pills cost very little and folks don't want their incomes to interfere with the supplement status. It's always about money in the end. Too much or too little. :D

[xalexjx]

From my little bit of experience up here in the northeast iv learned a few things in the past couple of years, Do more with less, become more efficient, our biggest expenses is our payroll and workers comp. From 2008 till now we've gone from 6 full time employes to 2 and our bottom line we are  still making the same dollar figure. Also its important for any business to adapt and be flexible yet still be able to specialize in the small niches. We are specialized as an excavation company but we have a long winter here in upstate NY so we use that to our advantage but clearing lots and "roughing" in drive ways while the ground is froze. In the past 4 years we have been doing a few selective cuts on private land and on subdivisions we own. Its hard right now with everything, insurance, fuel plus equipment breakdowns, just keep on working I guess  ;)

[SwampDonkey]

A lot of our loggers here are also diverse. Farm land clearing, moving gravel, dozing roads. Not much for subdivision work except in a town.  Some towns have not had much happen for at least a decade and mostly old run down 120 year old fire traps in a lot of'm. Some demolition work. But water works and treatment plant work are at least a decade behind from what I here on the radio every time a budget gets tabled. One town clerk said we just pay what we can (bills) yet I drive down town now and see a useless bill board sign for adds right in a school zone. So you can run over the kids while reading the adds. : Mostly rural around these parts so the steadier income is farm land clearing. And there is no gold mine in that neither. ;)

[Tmac47]

The National Forest Landowners Association is going to be writing an article on my business and publishing it in their their magazine in the coming months.  I'll give you guys a heads up if you're interested 

[beenthere]

Will look for this article in the Forest Landowner Mag