logging dilemma

[gunther89]

We are having roughly 25-30 acres of hardwoods logged this summer. We told the forester that we want to keep all the white oaks and he said that was a good idea. We are taking roughly 5-10 acres and clear cutting it except any white oaks as the forester said there was mostly junk trees and our goal is to create the thickest nastiest stuff around. The rest of our woods we are doing a select cut of mostly big sugar maples that will open up the woods more.

 

[j-bird]

We are having roughly 25-30 acres of hardwoods logged this summer. We told the forester that we want to keep all the white oaks and he said that was a good idea. We are taking roughly 5-10 acres and clear cutting it except any white oaks as the forester said there was mostly junk trees and our goal is to create the thickest nastiest stuff around. The rest of our woods we are doing a select cut of mostly big sugar maples that will open up the woods more.

gunther89 - you watch those sugar/hard maples - if they are the right size and you have enough of them they are worth some $. They are not a #1 timber species like oak, walnut and cherry but they are a strong #2 around here. The ideal size are those that you can nearly reach around the trunk diameter. I made a pretty penny when they cut mine here (about the only thing they cut on my place that was really worth anything - those and the large tulip poplars). Don't let the logger snowball you on their value.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Hardwood prices are very regional. The Lake States are known for the quality of the hard maple produced and right now hard maple prices are at a small premium to red oak by me. Of course they are still down a lot compared to early to mid 2000s. We can grow quality oak as well but the preference has switched away from oak in cabinets for several years from what I can tell. The timber companies in the immediate area around my land manage for hard maple as #1 in fact (just based on what is left to grow). This was true even years ago when oak prices had the upper hand.

 

[chummer]

I don't remember the numbers but my hard maple were worth much more than the cherry. I didn't have any oak but I remember the Forster saying hard maple was higher than oak. I thought I had all hard maple but it turned out half of them were soft. Even the soft maple brought a good price, almost equal to cherry.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We found the same thing at my camp, Chummer. Our red maple was bringing a good price last year when it was timbered. Not great - but good. Oak has fallen off some - like Rocksnstumps said - they aren't using it as much for cabinets anymore. Maple is king right now. Hard maple is on top, but red maple is no slouch if it's core isn't rotten. Red maple grain is very similar to cherry and so furniture and cabinet makers can stain it to look like cherry. Most customers can't tell cherry from red maple - more profit for furniture and cabinet makers.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Always a good idea to work with a forester from your local area to understand what the timber markets are like. As Chummer mentions, cherry is thought by most to be worth more than maple but you start to get further north and not so true even though cherry still grows there. The better quality and premium cherry prices are from areas like Pennsylvania. Get up near the Great Lakes and the forestry guys/gals will tell you that hard maple from that area compares to the best available in the world. Of course prices still correlate to what consumer tastes are in fashion.

 

[Buckly]

Exactly. When I had my last timber cut the cherry was 4-5 times the price of soft maple and probably 3 times more than sugar maple. Just wish I had more of it!

 

[huntall]

I'm keeping white oak, water oak and a few hickory for the squirrels in this 15 acre block the rest of property will be mostly thinning pines and some clearcut where the pine beetles was bad

 

[huntall]

Now iv got to decide to let it go to natural regeneration or plant bare root oaks on the clearcut

 

[bueller]

I would lean towards letting natural regen take its course. But obviously I've never seen your woods so my opinion really means squat.

 

[huntall]

I would lean towards letting natural regen take its course. But obviously I've never seen your woods so my opinion really means squat.

Yep its mixed pine and hardwoods. Good ground and I think natural regen would come on fast and get really thick. That's what I want! I'm tired of open big woods so now we going to have a good mix.

I might plant few rows oak bare root right on both sides of the creek and let the rest regen

 

[huntall]

I'm keeping some beech trees on Creek. ..some people hate them but I like them.
Look at all the holes squirrel like to go in and out.
.

 

[huntall]

This is a picture from this morning. Got some big pines but most are not this size.
Some are good bit bigger.
.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Yes a really nice pine there.
1100 or 11-87? Good reliable gun but hope your not making him do a lot of running and gunning. That gun is a bit heavy and no fun to trek around with all day..... but maybe when you're young it just doesn't matter. Luv the turkey woods in the spring but dang work is screwing up my season this year.

 

[huntall]

That's 1100 magnum 30 inch. He will not take another gun.lol

 

[wiscwhip]

Huntall, fixed full choke? If it is, it is the exact gun I use for about 90% of my turkey hunting, well actually I use it for about 95% of all my shotgun needs. Do you know how old it is? Just ran the numbers in my head and mine is 35 years old this Sept, lol!

 

[huntall]

Huntall, fixed full choke? If it is, it is the exact gun I use for about 90% of my turkey hunting, well actually I use it for about 95% of all my shotgun needs. Do you know how old it is? Just ran the numbers in my head and mine is 35 years old this Sept, lol!

Yep.....I bought it at pawn shop while I was in high school and I'm 43.

 

[wiscwhip]

Got mine at the end of the summer I was 12, I'm 47 now. I helped my aunt and uncle with their housework all summer because they had both been in a terrible accident that May with a drunk driver and both were in bad shape. When I was getting ready to go back to school in Sept, they drove me to the local Ace Hardware and said "pick any gun you want and it's yours". I knew right away which one was going home with me. Killed a ton of waterfowl, pheasants, and turkey with that gun over the years.

 

[tooln]

I did a 2.5 acre clear & a 2.5 acre select cut a few years ago. In the select cut area I had a fair amount of oak. I took out some of the mature oaks to open the canopy to give the smaller oak more sunlight. These have since took off. It was hard to do but I do not regret it.

 

[huntall]

I did a 2.5 acre clear & a 2.5 acre select cut a few years ago. In the select cut area I had a fair amount of oak. I took out some of the mature oaks to open the canopy to give the smaller oak more sunlight. These have since took off. It was hard to do but I do not regret it.

That's exactly what I'm doing...taking very biggest and going to give the others room to grow