Timber Track

[Ron Scott]

Timber Track: Significant Shifts in Forestry for 2024 🗓� (mailchi.mp)

[Firewoodjoe]

If I'm reading the price percentage right I'd agree. Very interesting. It would be more accurate if some bidders wouldn't put all the money on one species. Guys have gotten better but some will still bid minimum across the sheet then throw all their money in one column. $600 a cord for cherry pulp or something like that. 

[chet]

Thanks for the link Ron. Some very interesting reading.

[quilbilly]

What's the benefit of bidding $600/cord for pulp? I am pretty sure our state timber sales work differently. 

I am guessing that the bidder with the highest overall price wins? So bidding outrageously high on a low volume species might get you the bid or???

[Firewoodjoe]

Yes high bidder wins. No benefit to bidding high on one sort. Actually could hurt you in some cases. But instead of figuring out the price of each one to reach there high bid total they just use all minimum bid numbers than throw all their money on one sort to reach there high bid. That screws up the record keeping for the state. 

[Firewoodjoe]

I'll just show you. This was about two years ago. See the one I circled how much he put on basswood. Well even the others  
And I did black out what I could. But this is all public records. Online for the hole world to see. 

[Ron Scott]

I've received bids where that was the obvious tactic used by the logger to be the high bidder. It sometimes took more sale administration to ensure that the logger harvested that species bid volume per contract requirements.

[mike_belben]

Ahh sneaky sneaky

[Firewoodjoe]

Ron in that case was it a lump sum sale? Putting all the money on the one species shouldnt change the harvest.  I always thought it was just making their process to fill out and add up their big sheet easier. They still pay the winning bid in full prior to cutting. 

[mudfarmer]

Our state sales and stumpage reports work a bit different. You just give them your high bid, no specifics. The stumpage reports are "based on information voluntarily provided by buyers and sellers of standing timber" so they can still juice the #s like that. I have no idea who they ask for prices but probably just the real big outfits.

[Ron Scott]

Firewood,

Yes, these were lump sum sales and though they paid the total lump sum bid value, some loggers or mills would try to leave the lesser inflated bid species in the woods uncut or on the landing since it was often a small volume of low market value. 

We wanted all marked tree measured species harvested and removed for timber management and ecological reasons including the low number of species that they inflated their bid with. They would try to compensate for their high bid by not spending time and equipment use to harvest and remove that specific species used to inflate their lump sum bid value.

[Firewoodjoe]

Ok I gotcha. Yeah as I'm sure you know sales like the Dnr will penalize you if you don't cut all marked wood. I think it would have to be pretty bad for them to actually follow through though. 

[Ron Scott]

Yes, the logger usually complies without much issue and especially if there is a performance bond on the sale. It usually upsets other bidders when they see how one's bidding got the high bid. Such bids when they are obvious are not included in the average stumpage price reports.