How has logging changed your properties?

[b116757]

What kind of trees? Walnuts?

Yes walnut

 

[b116757]

With his cutting had he stopped at 40 trees he would have likely gotten $22,500 and it took 35 more smaller trees to reach $30,000. I’d of thinned only the $2000 and up trees leaving all smaller ones to put on growth. I typically crown release our walnut trees about every 10 years to promote maximum growth potential I also cut any vines growing up the trees. I do NOT recommend using Tordon RTU near walnut trees keep Tordon outside the drip line at minimum.

 

[b116757]

Geez I’m about to run down to the creek and put blankets around my handful of walnut trees to make sure they are happy.

Skip the blankets just crown release them

 

[b116757]

https://www.uky.edu/~jmlhot2/Resources/Technical%20Guide%20to%20Crop%20Tree%20Release%20in%20Hardwood%20Forests_Miller%20et%20al%202007.pdf

This is a pretty good resource but for walnuts I only use a chainsaw and ring or drop competing trees within the drip line larger trees that are only touching crown tips with the walnut maybe hack and squirt would be fine for them. Trees that are worth big money aren’t worth the risk of accidentally killing from herbicide application to close to them in my opinion. Many years ago I cut a large grape vine off a walnut I used Tordon RTU very sparingly on the grape vine stump and still killed the walnut tree. That tree today would likely be a $2000 class tree so this is experience talking.

 

[Mortenson]

I need to thin some of our planted black walnuts. The trees that need to be killed are 10" trees and limb free for 13' on average. Would you suggest just girdling them, or would logs that size be enough of a value to anyone for any reason to bring them down in between the crop trees and bring them out?

 

[b116757]

10” dbh is pretty small mostly bark and sawdust probably firewood maybe find a local guy with bandsaw that might pay a little for them to live edge cut them but certainly nothing worth much money.

I’d like to get my hands on some Purdue # 1 trees to plant and try out in a planted stand sometime. My oldest boy was asking about planting a stand and managing for profit I told him it’s not a bad plan but know you’d likely doing it for the next generation to truly benefit from . He possibly could at 18 years old but that’s not most situations.

 

[ruskbucks]

I think the Chinese have been driving the walnut market for a good while from what I understand. Sounds like China is down pretty bad with the covid stuff and their economy probably isn't driving the luxury wood market that much. The forester I'm working with told me prices were down about 30% from their highs.
Also the bur oak was down too, as the whiskey cask makers were driving that price due to limited supply last year, not sure if they found some supply or if the demand for their product is down?

 

[j-bird]

My place grows black walnut like weeds. Great for timber...not so great for deer. I have had 2 timber harvests (both select cuts) thus far. The first was to remove a bunch of big "junk". My place was high graded a long time ago and the crap they left behind needed to go. So we removed a lot of cottonwood, hackberry, sycamore, ash, poplar, hickory and maple (the logger really liked the hard maple). At that time I wasn't interested in the $$, just the habitat improvement. But I improved my access and made a little money in the process and freed up some oaks and put some sunlight on the ground. A few years later when the economy crashed I needed some $$ so we had the walnut cut then. We did just fine both times. Done by the same folks. It can be daunting and can be a shock (I was literally sick when I saw the first cut because I thought I had destroyed my woods). But it has been one of the top habitat improvements I have made....and I actually look forward to the next one. It took me a while to understand that you CAN improve habitat by cutting down trees.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

My place grows black walnut like weeds. Great for timber...not so great for deer. I have had 2 timber harvests (both select cuts) thus far. The first was to remove a bunch of big "junk". My place was high graded a long time ago and the crap they left behind needed to go. So we removed a lot of cottonwood, hackberry, sycamore, ash, poplar, hickory and maple (the logger really liked the hard maple). At that time I wasn't interested in the $$, just the habitat improvement. But I improved my access and made a little money in the process and freed up some oaks and put some sunlight on the ground. A few years later when the economy crashed I needed some $$ so we had the walnut cut then. We did just fine both times. Done by the same folks. It can be daunting and can be a shock (I was literally sick when I saw the first cut because I thought I had destroyed my woods). But it has been one of the top habitat improvements I have made....and I actually look forward to the next one. It took me a while to understand that you CAN improve habitat by cutting down trees.

I know that sick feeling but like you said it's probably the best thing I've done for habitat.

 

[omicron1792]

My property today.