AgEBB-MU CAFNR Extension

Green Horizons

Volume 23, Number 1
Winter 2019

Forestry Industry

The Bid Box

By Hank Stelzer | MU Extension - School of Natural Resources

This edition of The Bid Box comes courtesy of a Missouri consulting forester. Every issue I send out the call for recent timber sales. And every issue they answer the call. Thank you!

Daviess County, Missouri

49 acres

178 marked trees; 75 were walnut with remainder being mixed species

Estimated total volume: 53,996 bd. ft.; 13,899 bd. ft. were walnut (Doyle Scale)

Estimated value of the sale was $25,000

Five bids received

$26,478.00

$25,937.00

$25,133.35

$21,020.00

$15,719.00

Forester recommended and landowner took the high bid

Return: $540/ac

The main takeaways

The closeness of the top three bids really reflected current market conditions. It made the landowner feel comfortable he received a fair price.

High bid was from the logger farthest away from the sale. Low bid was from the logger closest to the sale. The forester called the low bid the "knock on the door" price. Always place your timber out for bid!

As always, it pays to have a professional forester market your timber. Not only will they help you get the highest price for the trees in your woodlots that need to be harvested, but they can help ensure future harvests are profitable, too!

To help you become familiar with some of the aspects of selling timber, check out the following MU Guides:

G5051 - Selling Timber: What the Landowner Needs to Know

G5057 - Basic Elements of a Timber Sale Contract

These Guides will help you better understand the ins and outs of marketing your timber and help you help your professional forester!