AgEBB-MU CAFNR Extension

Green Horizons

Volume 23, Number 3
Fall 2019

Forestry Industry

The Bid Box

By Hank Stelzer | MU Extension - School of Natural Resources

Case: Callaway County, Missouri

The last forester-administered harvest on this 119-acre tract in the Kingdom of Callaway was about 25 years ago. The landowner has an interest in quality deer habitat. So, the forester marked the sale mainly as a thinning, leaving a lot of good-quality trees for acorn production and a future harvest. He also marked some group openings to create some early-successional habitat and encourage new oak seedlings and sprouts.

Est. volume: 157,000 bd. ft. (Doyle Scale)

138,000 bd ft white oak of which it was estimated that 21,500 bd ft were stave quality and 2,500 bd ft were veneer quality

Remaining 19,000 bd ft were red oak with a few hickory and walnut

Forester estimated value of $60,000

Six bids were received
$82,000 $64,872 $60,000 $28,550 $26,500 $17,900
High bidder was a Missouri Master Logger with a good reputation who has worked with this forester in the past

Return: $689/ac

The Bid Box Explained...

The spread in bids was pretty impressive. The forester told me the lower bids were from loggers who typically harvest trees on shares with a landowner and only occasionally buy timber on a lump-sum basis. This is why I personally feel competitive, lump-sum sales are the better way to go, especially if tree quality is good as in this sale. It encourages better utilization of all trees as loggers seek out the best markets for the marked trees.

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

G5056 - Managing Your Timber Sale Tax

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