Anybody sold Mushroom Logs?

[thecfarm]

Kinda like what happened to a 5 pound bag of sugar.

[Old Greenhorn]

This is a great little side discussion. It's helping me to think through how I will or could proceed. It's also helped me discover the 'real reasons' I am trying to alter this arrangement. Even if the suggestions or comments are wide of the mark for me, I still read and consider them as something I may have overlooked in my thinking.

 Addressing some of thos4e comments: First, yes I have done a complete analysis of costs, in fact you can read that beginning around reply#60 in this thread. That particular study included a LOT of driving to move logs. I no longer have that and only drive 2 miles to and from the woodlot. I also only do very local deliveries these days and charge separately for that. My current price returns me a fair wage, especially in a 1,500 log year. But no way can I do that kind of labor anymore nor do I want to.

 I do enjoy interacting and helping my clients and am always very open with what's going on with the business. Last year I told each one that I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up and as I said, none were happy about it. Generally they expressed the feeling that they had found a supplier who was up front and open, fairly priced, and supplied the best logs they could get. I give them fair warning on any changes I make in order to see how they react to it before I change. My last price change I gave them a years notice and nobody had an issue with it. Several clients bring me little gifts or tips. In short I have worked hard to enjoy and support my clients. When new science comes along I send them an email to alert them to the new studies in case it might help their operation. I also connect them with other resources like education opportunities, subject matter experts I have access to, or methods employed by other growers that I have learned of. So they get more than just a pile of logs from me. This, I believe is why I sell so many logs when the guy up the road cannot. I truly like my clients and treat them the best I can with no surprises.

 Yes, I have considered working with that fellow up the road. In fact last year I got a late call for a 500 log order I could not do. I contacted him and we made an agreement that either he would sell me his logs and I would re-sell them, or I would send the buyer right to him and he would give me a cut of the sale. This has actually happened about 3 times over the years, but we never managed to pull the trigger and the buyer backed out every time. A lot of these new 'big order buyers' have not really done their math or business plan very well until they start to shell out money. It's quite common, seen it many times.

 Hilltop, it's not that I don't want to do it. I really do enjoy the excuse to work in the woods and enjoy my time doing it. Like a lot of aging people I am very disappointed that I can no longer produce like I used to, there may be some denial in there too. But the fact is, it's good honest hard work that I enjoy. What I don't enjoy is slipping and tripping through the woods in the snow and working on windy damp days because I really have to stay on schedule. But I do like the work and I especially love seeing the results in the woods.

 Art, I understand your comments about pricing and I agree. When I had my machine shop it truly did apply there. Here it's harder to tell when somebody hears your price and just doesn't call to place an order and you may never know about it. I have had folks reduce their order when they hear the price, just buying what they can afford. So I think I am at that edge of pricing where I have to be careful. Yes, I have to make it profitable (and it is), but it's not all about the money for me.

 So I continue to think on this to see if I can find an adjustment that allows me to continue in some manner. One idea is that Bill and his daughter take this on as a family project, working evenings or weekends. They collect the logs and I do all the sales and marketing work. Most of the money could go into Inga's college fund. Eventually, as she grows, she can take the whole thing over.
 Another idea I will try this spring is to inoculate some of my own logs and sell those. Much higher profit margin there. The unknown element is just how many of those logs can I move, and how many would I get stuck with?

 Anyway, thanks again for the interesting conversation because it provokes a lot of thought on my part considering all the 'what if's'.

[SwampDonkey]

Something else to think about. At your age, just now you might come down with a bout of sciatica from all the bending and lifting and no chiropractor will ever fix that, and you could be out for weeks. The first time is not as bad as the next time you get it. So if you feel like you need to scale back, look out for yourself and don't worry about losing mushroom log sales because you will anyway. Now let that sink in for awhile. 

[Old Greenhorn]

........ I'd hate to try to calculate our hourly wage -.......

You kind of really need to do that math so you know where you stand. You may be running a charity and not know it. But seriously I have been thinking about this particular reply since you posted it yesterday, and it's not the first time either. We have a lot of firewood folks here running all levels of operations from small to huge. I know, because many of them have shared it, just ho low the margins are or can be for some. I assume all would like to see a jump in those margins, but due to competition and other issues they can't raise prices much more.

This inevitably leads to this question: Why don't more firewood suppliers expand into supplying Mushroom Logs?

So I just went out and took some real measurements on 2 of my stacks to get a fairly accurate volume measurement so I could compare firewood to Mushroom Logs.
Here's the basic math. I found an average of 25 cubic feet for a 50 log stack of 3.5" to 6" diameter logs. This translate to 256 logs per cord (128 cu ft). At my price of $6.00/log, this means I get $1536.00 per cord of actual wood.  I am thinking that most firewood suppliers would love to get that kind of pricing. Keep in mind also that I only buck logs to length and there is no splitting involved.
 
Now I don't have to parse out the cost for firewood as compared to Mushroom Logs because the firewood folks know that better than I and they all have different costs and equipment. For Mushroom logs you have your saws, your fuel, your time, some sort of transport buggy/trailer, and not mush else. The operating cost difference is huge and not in the least ironic that mushroom logs cost a lot less in gear, but perhaps more in time/labor.

Of course, the challenges are different. First you need to source your logs for the best quality, and second (biggest issues for most folks) is the marketing. Both of these will take some effort to resolve of course, but the point being there is a reward for it. It just seems to me that somebody handling a lot of firewood can cull out the market mushroom logs in the course of doing business and sell those at a much higher price. On the marketing side, this just takes effort and time in the beginning after which it should grow naturally assuming a high quality product. If you don't have the quality, all is lost. You can't sell junk. My buyers come back to me because my logs produce well for them. So the quality control required is many levels higher than for firewood.
This is just a question I have not found an answer for.

[Old Greenhorn]

Something else to think about. At your age, just now you might come down with a bout of sciatica from all the bending and lifting and no chiropractor will ever fix that, and you could be out for weeks. The first time is not as bad as the next time you get it. So if you feel like you need to scale back, look out for yourself and don't worry about losing mushroom log sales because you will anyway. Now let that sink in for awhile. 

SD I think about that all the time. At my age I could also get one of those life altering illnesses that shuts me down. I have always been up front with my clients and when the weather locks me out of the woods and delays a delivery, they are very understanding. Likewise with my ongoing back issues and this dermatitis that has made me miserable. I haven't cut for 3 days now because of that issue. The discomfort and raw skin was just miserable. 3 days off and it is clearing up nicely now. But it's a delay.

If I have to let all my clients know that I am 'done' for whatever reason, it won't be a huge surprise. I have mentioned this to each of them several times. The worst thing will be giving up something I enjoy and other people value.

[aigheadish]

When you speak of someone else doing the heavy parts and you market and sell, have you considered the CFA? I'm way behind on the show, I think I'm listening to September 2024, but those guys (Zarah) seem to do a bunch of sidework and mushroom logs may be something. With the work they do there may be some mutual benefits there.

I also love the idea of Inga getting into it and putting money into a college fund for her. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah well that's really not in the CFA's wheelhouse. They do consulting work, pruning and milling for their members for a fee I think, but direct sales is not in their 'business' model. Certainly I can open a conversation on the subject next time I see them. I don't know that they have access to the kind of ground that would make this profitable for an ongoing basis.

 I would rather see if Bill, Inga and I can work something out and keep it in the family. When she gets a little older she can handle this all on her own and even grow it. She has all the resources she could want. The grandpa in me sees value in this plan on several levels.