AgEBB-MU CAFNR Extension

Green Horizons

Volume 20, Number 2
May 2016


The Bid Box

By HANK STELZER | MU Forestry Extension

SHELBY COUNTY, MO
110 forested acres
Doyle tree scale used, 270,000 bd. ft.
114,000 bd. ft. white oak
11,000 bd. ft. red oak
10,000 bd. ft. hickory
3,800 bd. ft. walnut
21,000 bd. ft. dead
114,000 bd. ft. mixed species (shingle oak, black oak, ash, sycamore, cottonwood)

Forester valued sale: $52,000
2 bids:
$60,150
$51,152
Landowner took high bid
Return: $547/acre

BOLLINGER COUNTY, MO
38 forested acres, 631 trees
International 1/4 Scale used, 150,780 bd. ft.
65,065 bd. ft. black oak
23,463 bd. ft. white oak
18,969 bd. ft. yellow-poplar
9,368 bd. ft. hickory
7,893 bd. ft. sweetgum
7,050 bd. ft. scarlet oak
5,854 bd. ft. northern red oak
4,725 bd. ft. sugar maple
2,451 bd. ft. ash
5,942 bd. ft. mixed hardwood species

Forester valued sale: $35,000
3 bids:
$42,300
$41,000
$28,504
Landowner took high bid
Return: $1,113/acre

In this installment of The Bid Box, it is North versus South and selling DEAD trees! One timber sale is in Shelby County (North) and the other in Bollinger County (South). I did this to highlight the two log scales used to buy and sell timber in Missouri. And the dead trees inventoried in the Shelby county sale show the possibility of recovering some value from a dead tree if it has not been dead too long. All of this points to the importance of employing a professional forester who knows the conditions of your trees and the markets in your area.

Some trees in this sale died in 2014/15. The logger has not begun harvesting, but typically they will harvest the larger trees even if the sapwood (the outer ring of wood beneath the bark) is gone. If the heartwood is still sound and unchecked they will buy it. The smaller the tree and the longer it has been dead, the less likely it will be harvested.

If a tree doesn't have paint on it (marked for sale), a logger will not cut it. So, your forester will mark the dead timber and let the logger decide if it has value. That's the beauty of competitive bidding; the 'beauty' is in the eye of the buyer! The forester who marked this sale told me he once had a sale where a large dead burr oak was harvested and the veneer company tagged it for their mill. The sapwood was gone but the heartwood looked like it was still a live tree when cut.

Harvesting Tip: Make sure your timber sale contract restricts wet weather logging. Wet soils are more easily compacted, and rutting of skid trails and haul roads is more likely to occur as well. This is especially true in north Missouri where glacial till soils predominate. But, it can happen on the flatwood sites of southern Missouri, too. Simply have a clause in the contract prohibiting logging during wet weather. But, to be fair to the logger, make sure the clause allows for a contract extension should this occur.

This wet weather clause and other items for you to consider in a timber sale contract can be found in the MU Forestry Extension Guide, G5057 - Basic Elements of a Timber Sale Contract. And, if you have never sold timber before, check out MU Guide, G5051 - Selling Timber: What the Landowner Needs to Know. Lastly, Guide, G5056 - Managing Your Timber Sale Tax, will show you a professional forester and your accountant can reduce your tax liability. Until next time, stay safe and enjoy your woodland!

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