Question about what loggers will and will not take

[SwampDonkey]

Gary I was talking about the Farm Credit here in Canada. It's a crown corporation, which is run my the federal government. It's accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. And for that matter they will also buy up bank debt concerning any bad debt on farms and take it over.

But, from my observations as to wood harvesting on financed farms I would have to agree with you guys the wood harvesting was never stopped. And at the time I told the guy he didn't know what he thought he knew. Just running it by everyone here. There is a website for the FCC but I doubt you'd find any details on do's and don'ts until you financed a farm.

[Southside]

What got under my skin with this post was how close it hit to home.  I purchased a 220+ AC chunk of land a number of years back, that had good timber on it and I planned to pay for it by harvesting some of that timber.  The property had been for sale for years, and when I finally got the the deal done it cost me way more than it was supposed to with the legal fees as there were about a dozen heirs that had to be tracked down and the deed was messed up along the way, coupled with an "imperfected" section right of way that benefited the land, it had been used for years by the previous owners but was not legally recorded, that was no big deal as I owned abutting land.  Well a couple months later I come across a guy on the land cutting firewood, it is the guy who owns the land the "unrecorded" section of the right of way belongs to - you know, the guy who would not let me cross his land to access mine.  He tells me he has the right to cut wood there as he has done so for years, claims he was the "care taker" for the previous owner.  He even went so far as to tell me he knew I now owned it.  Had I not managed to somehow keep my cool I would have gone to jail that day, I made him empty out the wood from his truck on the spot and followed him to the property line.  I mailed him a no trespass notice certified mail the next day, and posted the land about every 10 feet.  Funny thing is had he asked me ahead of time I would have told him to take all the dead and down wood he wanted, probably would have even skidded some to the landing for him. 

Just ask ahead of time, one never knows if there is sentimental significance, or otherwise to what others own, even when it seems to be waste.  Heck, even manure has economic value to it to a farmer.   

[Autocar]

After reading all the post Ive always been a little paranoid about he said she said. So Ive always made a point to talk with the true landowner rather then take a so called word [I done it for years no problems ] Buying timber where wood lots but up against each other I always try to talk with the ajoining property ower so there aware when they see equipment or hear saws that Iam working in a ajoining woods.

[beemickdee]

Hey again fellas-

Looks like I got quite the thread going here! Conversation is always good, IMO.

Here's an update:

Logger removed his equipment about three weeks ago, and finally came by last week and hauled off the big hunks by the landing and a few large unusable trunks that were scattered through the area.

While cutting up tops, etc., there've been a handful of other guys gathering wood, including a guy from the logging company who's taken a few pickup loads for himself. Now, I've gathered a pretty substantial pile of excellent wood for next year for myself (still not done, you guys were right, there's so much left behind it's inevitable some of it will go to rot), but now that the logger has packed up and left, I can't keep guys away from my doorstep asking about taking/buying wood. At least three came knocking last week alone.

[SwampDonkey]

The price of oil for one and an ever lasting winter this year for two. ;D Anyone still burning oil to heat must be rich.

[LeeB]

Still can't see where anyone asked the landowner about taking the firewood. I suppose after the buzzards have picked a carcass clean it's too late to worry about who's cow it was.

[Mooseherder]

The landowner would be the one paying the bills when the hospital asks where the injury happened.
Too bad you didn't ask him if you could take his property.

[windy hill farm]

I guess if it were me I would of gone to the land owner (with the wife's excellent cookies ) and introduced myself as so and so's son in law. You could of offered to bring him a few cords of wood. At this point you could explain about all the traffic in and out of the woodlot. Then if he gave you sole permission in writting to take the wood you could of posted the area where all the wood was and had plenty for your self and probable enough to sell.

[timberlinetree]

Seems like lots of people are hurting for wood what ever the reason. We state on our contract that no one be on the property until we are finished. I don't like working in sight of the road people stopping by all the time asking and wondering. Around here sueing people is the norm even if it's their fault so no people on the job no problems. We love helping people out and do quite often but not on the job site.

[beemickdee]

I guess if it were me I would of gone to the land owner (with the wife's excellent cookies ) and introduced myself as so and so's son in law. You could of offered to bring him a few cords of wood. At this point you could explain about all the traffic in and out of the woodlot. Then if he gave you sole permission in writting to take the wood you could of posted the area where all the wood was and had plenty for your self and probable enough to sell.

Asked father in-law about this, actually, because I did take to heart what a lot of the guys on here said. He knows the landowner, and said don't bother because 1.) He doesn't care 2.) If I asked, he'd want money and 3.) "You're managing the land like any good farmer would."

[Jeff]

Unbelievable.

I wish I knew the land owners name so I could point him to this topic.

[jwilly3879]

If I was the landowner I'd be pretty upset.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Asked father in-law about this, actually, because I did take to heart what a lot of the guys on here said. He knows the landowner, and said don't bother because 1.) He doesn't care 2.) If I asked, he'd want money and 3.) "You're managing the land like any good farmer would."

I'm with Jeff you are unbelievable, instead of asking the actual owner you asked a third party. May as well of just opened the phone book and picked a random number and asked for their permission to take the wood it would have ment just as much.

If he would want money for it then that tells me he would care. He knows the wood has value and that it is worth something. You taking something of value without permission is stealing.

[SwampDonkey]

Good thing it's not in NB because I could find out some quick between the ISP and online land registry.  >:(

Dad had leased land before to a potential buyer and they had no access to the woods, it was farm land only. And then in the end it was a third party that bought the land anyway. The first guy was nothing but an $%^& and has fled the country back to Europe as far as we know. Divorced his wife and kid in the process.

[Jeff]

 beemickdee, let me propose a question to you.  How confident do you feel that you are in the right? Not only ethically, but legally?   

Do you feel confident enough to tell me to go ahead, and take your real name, which I know, and this topic, and where you live, which I also know, and give your local law enforcement agency a call and ask them to look at this?

[chevytaHOE5674]

My guess is he is reluctant to ask the actual land owner because he knows that the owner will either 1)say NO, 2) will ask him to pay for what he is taking and has taken in the past, or 3) the landowner would seek legal counsel and go after him.

So by not asking then he is just pretending that all is OK.

[Jeff]

And number 2 could be substantial. If you go the first post, it is stated the wood they had been cutting is mostly walnut, and range from 1' to nearly 3' in diameter.

[NS logging]

I'm confused (which doesn't take much).  Has anyone asked the landowner about harvesting/removing wood from/on his property?

[gspren]

   Speaking as a land owner, if #1 was true then #2 would be false and if #2 was true then #1 would be false. I rent farm land out to a neighboring farmer that is adjacent to my woods and when the farmer wanted to take out a few trees that were leaning over the fields that he had paid to use he still came and asked if he could drop them, I gave him permission.

[Alexanderthelate]

I can't figure out why a landowner who "doesn't care" and wants to eventually parcel out the land, would have a forester mark his woods?

[Southside]

I wish you had posted where you actually are, I would take the time to figure out who the landowner is, and by default, who you are and I would walk into either the State Police or Sheriff office and hand it all of this to them, after I notified the landowner, I don't care if I had to drive to CA to do it.  Plain and simple you are a thief. 

[Kemper]

I talked to the land owner, he said he was fine with people getting firewood with such high prices on propane/gas. I told him about all the people getting upset over this on the webpage and that he laughed about so many people getting worked up.

[SwampDonkey]

Kemper, how are you involved, are you the logger?

This landowner would be the first in my experience to give wood away. Especially if this land is in some trust, there has to be a source of income for a trust to work especially if it's some kind of tax free insurance based annuity.

[Jeff]

I talked to the land owner, he said he was fine with people getting firewood with such high prices on propane/gas. I told him about all the people getting upset over this on the webpage and that he laughed about so many people getting worked up.

Good Question Kemper. You come out of the blue all of the sudden?  From the data I have you say you are in Kentucky.  beemickdee's email address is used elsewhere on the internet where he posts his name and address in Shippensburg, PA. and now appears to possibly live in Hamilton, VA  If someone is playing games here, it aint going to be pretty.

[Kemper]

Well I wouldn't say I've come out of the blue I have posted once or twice on this thread. I've just never seen people with absolutely zero to do with something like this getting so worked up. People have given their advice over and over, most of it has been good advice, but we are just beating a dead horse here. This isn't an absentee land owner, he is around and I'm sure he knows more than most are giving him credit for. I understand where a lot of you people are coming from but to threaten to drive across state lines and get in the middle of stuff like this is a little over the top. We own plenty of farms in a lot of different areas and if someone came up to me out the blue tattle telling on someone like that I would be more aggravated at the person getting in my business than the young man cutting up left over tops to use for firewood just like his family has for years.

Of course I didn't talk to the actual land owner, but I'd bet $ he would react similar to what I said. Just my two cents.

I talked to the land owner, he said he was fine with people getting firewood with such high prices on propane/gas. I told him about all the people getting upset over this on the webpage and that he laughed about so many people getting worked up.

Good Question Kemper. You come out of the blue all of the sudden?  From the data I have you say you are in Kentucky.  beemickdee's email address is used elsewhere on the internet where he posts his name and address in Shippensburg, PA. and now appears to possibly live in Hamilton, VA  If someone is playing games here, it aint going to be pretty.