Anybody know anythi g about harvesting timber?

[SaltyNuts]

I have some land that has timber on it. This is the first year that, if you want to get the greatly reduced timber valuation, you have to have a timber "plan" in place. So I am filling it out.

One of the questions is when we are planning on doing the next thinning, and another is when we were planning on doing the next harvesting.

We want to sell some timber soon. But I assume by harvesting they mean basically clear cutting. Not sure we really want to do that that soon.

I was thinking of putting that we plan on thinning in 2023 then harvesting in 2026. But is that enough time between the two? Maybe no one would ever do that, harvest so soon after a thin, you would either thin and wait way longer to harvest or if you are going to harvest so soon just skip the thinning alltogether.

Thanks.

 

[lxskllr]

Logging doesn't have to be clearcutting. You should hire a forester that'll develop a plan that suits your needs.

 

[IronWing]

Is the goal to cut the trees or to just keep the welfare logger tax rate? Your answer will dictate the level of effort to put into the plan.

 

[SunnyD]

You can get forestry management contracts in place with a logger. They'll come and survey and put together a management plan which will include regular harvesting of appropriate timber resources at the appropriate times, then service that plan for as long as you contract for.

Note you'll likely have to have enough acreage of resource to make it worthwhile.

 

[Captante]

We want to sell some timber soon

Didn't the price of lumber just go in the tank?

 

[blackangst1]

 

[SaltyNuts]

So no one has any thoughts on my theoretical question, about how many years after a "thinning" should a "harvesting" be? I.E. I don't want to put the two too together and have it look suspicious.

 

[herm0016]

So no one has any thoughts on my theoretical question, about how many years after a "thinning" should a "harvesting" be? I.E. I don't want to put the two too together and have it look suspicious.

when was the last time anything had been done, what kind of trees?, how is the soil? what is your usda zone #?, how much property is it? how is the access? so many questions and such little information.

hire someone.

 

[SaltyNuts]

So many questions not particularly relevant to my narrow theoretical question - what is a good guesstimate as to how long someone waits to "harvest" their timber property after they "thin" their timber property?

 

[Captante]

 

[pete6032]

I am angry because I asked a very vague question on the internet and the only response I got was clarifying questions.

 

[Charmonium]

This info is very dated so don't take my word for it . . . but . . . the rule of thumb last century was, if the average diameter isn't at least 12", it's not worth it for the folks doing the actual harvesting. This based on naturally occurring wood on roughly a scattered 100 acres back in the 80's or 90's.

Look at the commodity markets for things like pulp wood, lumber, etc.

 

[nakedfrog]

I know between nothi g and little about harvesting timber. It's probably good if you do the right amount, and bad if you do too much, a classic Goldilocks scenario. What I'm saying is, I hope you get eaten by a bear.

 

[snoopy7548]

Here's a pretty good guide. Hope it helps, OP!

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Logging

 

[IronWing]

I'd go with two time periods between thinning the victim and harvesting the organs.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Step 1: buy chainsaw

Step 2: use chainsaw

There may be other steps involved and you might also have to buy other things such as a saw mill.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Didn't the price of lumber just go in the tank?

It went down a little but it's still very high, probably like 3x what it normally would be. I doubt we'll ever see pre 2020 prices again though.

 

[brianmanahan]

So many questions not particularly relevant to my narrow theoretical question - what is a good guesstimate as to how long someone waits to "harvest" their timber property after they "thin" their timber property?

25-30 years is what i've normally seen

 

[SaltyNuts]

25-30 years is what i've normally seen

brianmanahan, you are a prince among peasants! Thanks!!!

 

[Captante]

25-30 years is what i've normally seen

Wouldn't that be determined primarily by the type of tree's they intended to "harvest"?

Growth-rates of tree's vary widely.

 

[waffleironhead]

It went down a little but it's still very high, probably like 3x what it normally would be. I doubt we'll ever see pre 2020 prices again though.

Prices have dropped here significantly on dimension lumber. not quite pre-pandemic, but close. Sheet goods are still up but dropping as well.
2x4x8= ~$5 now (2019=$4)
2x6x8= ~$7 now (2019=$6)

 

[waffleironhead]

So no one has any thoughts on my theoretical question, about how many years after a "thinning" should a "harvesting" be? I.E. I don't want to put the two too together and have it look suspicious.

It really depends on what your acreage looks like. If you have a pine plantation, it requires periodic thinning (every other row), before you reach harvest size. If you just have a wild mess, you may never need to thin and just wait for harvest.
Again, it depends on your forest.

 

[brianmanahan]

brianmanahan, you are a prince among peasants! Thanks!!!

 

[brianmanahan]

Wouldn't that be determined primarily by the type of tree's they intended to "harvest"?

Growth-rates of tree's vary widely.

yeah true, that's just what people seem to do in my area (primarily maple, beech and birch with some oak and dead ash RIP)

some farmers have a bunch of uncleared woods and seem to sell them off every 2-3 decades

though some have waited as long as 80 years for some unknown reason