what is standing timber worth

[spuddog0507]

hi all first ever post on here, so will explain my situation as best as i can in words, basically i have a chance to buy a 8 acre (roughly) plantation of standing timber most of it,but some wind blown oppox 1.5 acre ish,most of the trees are soft wood i.e stitka larch and norweigin or there abouts there is some large douglas and scotts pine in one section along with some hardwood sycamore ash and beech.i had a meeting with the owner last sat and due to a shoot in progress we where only allowed in a small section of the plantation, while there i mesured the girth of 15 trees at brest hight and the average was 36 inch roughly 12 inch diameter so it is only fit for firewood really. its not a rush job can take 2 3 4 5 years to clear all. it is what i would call good access with a hard road nearlly all the way to it the ground in the plantation is good and well drained to get the timber back to roadside is about 600yds to a area where you could load an arctic. so if any one could point me in the right dierection of a price per tonne that i should be offering for the stitka,larch & norweigen for me to extract, thank you

[muldonach]

hi all first ever post on here, so will explain my situation as best as i can in words, basically i have a chance to buy a 8 acre (roughly) plantation of standing timber most of it,but some wind blown oppox 1.5 acre ish,most of the trees are soft wood i.e stitka larch and norweigin or there abouts there is some large douglas and scotts pine in one section along with some hardwood sycamore ash and beech.i had a meeting with the owner last sat and due to a shoot in progress we where only allowed in a small section of the plantation, while there i mesured the girth of 15 trees at brest hight and the average was 36 inch roughly 12 inch diameter so it is only fit for firewood really. its not a rush job can take 2 3 4 5 years to clear all. it is what i would call good access with a hard road nearlly all the way to it the ground in the plantation is good and well drained to get the timber back to roadside is about 600yds to a area where you could load an arctic. so if any one could point me in the right dierection of a price per tonne that i should be offering for the stitka,larch & norweigen for me to extract, thank you

 

 

Seems a bit strange that the owner would arrange to meet a potential purchaser on a day that bars access to most of the wood.

 

My first concern would be whether or not you will have access problems on a number of shooting days or even throughout the shooting season.

 

Before worrying about that though - where and who are you going to sell this timber to? You say it is only good for firewood and that you propose to move it 600m to a loading area accessible by artic, I guess then that you propose to sell it as cordwood? Do you have machinery to move and stack the timber at your lorry loading area?

 

Essentially you need to find a price per tonne or per m3 which you can sell this timber at, estimate the volume or tonnage you have and work back from that, allow:-

 

 

• haulage cost to your end user or agree a price at roadside.
  
• cost of extraction to your loading area
  
• assuming you will fell, sned and process yourself - how much are you going to cost a days work at and how many days do you estimate to do the job, don't forget to allow for a tank of petrol and oil per day
  
• cost of travel to and from the wood
  
• If you cannot estimate the volume of timber in the wood then I would try to work on an outturn basis - you pay a rate per tonne or cube for the timber you take away
  
• see if there is anything left to pay the owner with.
  

 

I would look carefully at the windblow and make sure that you can work it safely and that it is actually worth bothering with.

 

Also check that there is a felling licence in place and clarify who is responsible for ground preparation and restocking, does it actually allow the timescale that you indicate?

 

Step carefully and think twice as carefully before you take it on and don't even think about making any agreements until you have been right through the wood and have a full understanding of any restrictions on access.

 

Cheers

mac

[Hodge]

Seems a bit strange that the owner would arrange to meet a potential purchaser on a day that bars access to most of the wood.

 

My first concern would be whether or not you will have access problems on a number of shooting days or even throughout the shooting season.

 

Before worrying about that though - where and who are you going to sell this timber to? You say it is only good for firewood and that you propose to move it 600m to a loading area accessible by artic, I guess then that you propose to sell it as cordwood? Do you have machinery to move and stack the timber at your lorry loading area?

 

Essentially you need to find a price per tonne or per m3 which you can sell this timber at, estimate the volume or tonnage you have and work back from that, allow:-

 

 

• haulage cost to your end user or agree a price at roadside.
  
• cost of extraction to your loading area
  
• assuming you will fell, sned and process yourself - how much are you going to cost a days work at and how many days do you estimate to do the job, don't forget to allow for a tank of petrol and oil per day
  
• cost of travel to and from the wood
  
• If you cannot estimate the volume of timber in the wood then I would try to work on an outturn basis - you pay a rate per tonne or cube for the timber you take away
  
• see if there is anything left to pay the owner with.
  

 

I would look carefully at the windblow and make sure that you can work it safely and that it is actually worth bothering with.

 

Also check that there is a felling licence in place and clarify who is responsible for ground preparation and restocking, does it actually allow the timescale that you indicate?

 

Step carefully and think twice as carefully before you take it on and don't even think about making any agreements until you have been right through the wood and have a full understanding of any restrictions on access.

 

Cheers

mac

 

 

very good answer Mac:thumbup:

[roseyweb]

That is fantastic advice

 

The key to being good at forestry is knowing your markets and having contacts. None of these will be found in yellow pages or google search and you'll meet plenty of rogues in the process

[Crazy Cutter]

The shooting aspect would really worry me. Have yet to find a gamekeeper who is easy to deal with and you will be stepping on his toes! It is very rare to find woodlands where shooting and timber management go hand in hand hence the reason Norfolk has so many under managed woodlands.

[renewablejohn]

If you need to ask the question then walk away.

 

From what you have already said I would leave it to an experienced forester.

 

Windblown?? Shooting Rights ?? Felling licence?? Reason for selling???