going rate per thousand board feet in central va ?

[Rough Stuff Rider]

I have a logging company coming out to see my land this coming week. I was told for my oak that they would pay me 150 bux per thousand board feet. Does that sound good ? Didnt ask what they would pay for all my pine tho. Is the pine worth more then the oak ? I have thousands of oaks on my 11 acres. My fiancee wants to get horses again so we were gonna clear 3 acres but no one wants to come and log less then 5 acres. So I guess we'll consider it if the price is right. I know we have some timber experts around so plz chime in. Thanks guys

[vatreefarmer]

Pines have MUCH less value (pulpwood). Some oaks can be big paypays, others may bring very little. all depends on how straight,unforked,catpaw free, and big in circumference they are. Look carefully for the large Walnuts that may be scattered amongst your other trees

[Rough Stuff Rider]

what's the walnut worth ? I do think I have several scattered about. I know for a fact I have tons of white and red oaks. One spot I have over an acre of nothing but white oak but its at least 5-10 years from being ready to harvest. Lucky for me I have alot more oak then pine. I wanna get rid of alot of the pine but my neighbor, who used to own my lot, says the pine helps break the wind. Those trees scare me with the 40+ mph wind we had this week, sometimes they bend almost halfway over. I worry bout my vehicles gettin crushed constantly

[Igore67]

I've heard of people buying the Walnut stumps as well, for gun stocks. I would research a good bit before making a decision.

[Rough Stuff Rider]

I was plannin on calling the forestry dept and having someone come out and appraise what I have. Think Id rather have the mill guys come out first tho and just make sure what I have is worth something. If they dont end up wanting what I have then Im gonna cut it for firewood and sell it in a year or two. I can rent a mini excavator from Dominion in richmond for 1300 bux a month, that will get all the stumps dug up. I have already cut 3-4 cords this past week just from some oaks that were a lil too close to my house.

[vatreefarmer]

Maybe ask the campground people at Christopher Run if you can sell it to their campers

[Rough Stuff Rider]

Im wondering, do they burn pine outside for campfires ? Seems like it would be a good use for it. Sure smells nice when I chop and burn it here on my property. Burns for a long time too. Got someone from craigslist coming to make me an offer on about a dozen oaks I cut down right next to my driveway. Hopefully I'll get a few hundred bux for it.

[Hump]

Be prepaired to sell firewood or nearly give away the timber in excahnge for having it cleared. Like you are learning, most companys will not waste their time on a lot that size. Some of the smaller outfits will, but the money really is not there like many think it is. Smaller companys barely get enough to cover fuel hauling a large load of good looking oak logs. I had your guy all lined up for ya ready to roll who would have done your work and taken your boat....2 birds with one stone my friend. Good luck.

[Rough Stuff Rider]

I got a deposit on my boat only a few days after speaking to you. So at that point there was no use in having him come out. And yes there are alot of guys out there looking for 5-10 acre parcels to cut. But theres not much if any money to be made. Too bad I wasnt doing this 6 or 7 years ago when the housing boom was in full force

[PRKRANGER2]

Just remember that when the loggers or timber buyers come out to your property they are only going to cut what they can make money on. They don't want the pulpwood, they dont want the pine. They are going to want to cut the sawtimber red oak, white oak, and yellow poplar. That is where the money is at. If you have some black walnut it is going to be very valuable but that depends on the size also. My suggestion would be to hire yourself a consulting forester to prepare your timber sale for you. They will moniter your sales and make sure you are getting top dollar for your products also make sure they follow best management practices while logging.