Walnut tree harvest

[toadshadegal]

All my neighbors are selling their walnut trees. Is the price of walnut lumber way up or is this just that time of year when they sell them? Just curious, don't really want to sell our trees. I live in SW MO.

[fishhead]

Maybe they need the money.

[o&itw]

Sometimes timber cutters come in an pick up Walnut trees for a song, when the economy gets bad. Not many people realize it, but Missouri and Kansas have about the best walnut lumber in America. Because of the soil and climate conditions, it has a much greater percentage of heartwood.

[Old Vet]

The price is not good now but the loggers are getting buy by up those trees that are good and having something to so. Some money coming in is better than no money coming in.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Terrible time to sell.

[texican]

It takes a coons age for a walnut tree to get timber sized... I've got a handful of trees... I'd never sell them... they provide quite a few nuts each year.

I don't watch the timber markets... I do know you have to almost give away timber to get someone to cut it. No market for it. Sell now, you lose.

[toadshadegal]

Thank you for the imput. I will not sell our trees, even though we were approached to do so yesterday. If we do have any cut down, it will be to use the lumber ourselves. When we built our house three years ago, we did all the interior trim in walnut from our land. Two trees that had come down after a storm. One of the trees, we were told at the sawmill, was vaneer quality. I hate to think my neighbors are being taken advantage of during the recession. They are all dairymen and cattlemen.

[Sawmill Jim]

Walnut and white oak is better now than it has been . Don't know exact price but time does come that they can go bad . I know where there are some big ones fell in the ice storm last year going to rot . Veneer walnut one time was three to eleven dollars a bf more three than eleven and people still look for that 75,000 dollar tree

I admire people that let a white oak that would bring them even seven or eight hundred dollars get hollow so their varmints have a nice home and at the same time gripe about the price of milk

[Forest Breath]

I have several veneer quality walnuts on our farm. We have about 40 walnuts on our farm altogether. If I could find a buyer, I would sell a few of the veneer. We sure could use a little money right now. Too bad there is no market for cedars and maples. I have some cedars that two people cannot fit their arms around. Maples about 100 years old or more.

[Beeman]

The best time to cut trees is when the leaves are off which is now since the ground is still good enough to work on. No matter what kind of tree it's the time for cutting. Letting a tree stand too long will usually make it only worth firewood value when it hollows and falls.

I would look into the market for large cedars as there aren't too many large ones around and many like cedar for furniture. There's a mill somewhere in Jonesborough area that buys logs. Certain maples bring more then others.

[ldc]

To add to Beeman's post, if you can get in touch with fine furniture makers or small furn. factories, they often pay a lot more for great trees. In New York State, thru a good Ag/forest extension officer, we got in touch with a group of furniture makers who wanted old wild cherry. My family up there got a pretty penny when they needed it, but despite all efforts, the logging team left a real mess behind them. When I lived in NJ in the 70's, I came home one weekend to find someone had stolen 3 ancient shagbark hickories from the yard! Have no idea who knew they were there...ldc

[Sawmill Jim]

Think maybe some nut thought they were white oak . Her you can't give shag bark hick trees away .

http://www.forestryforum.com/index.php FB you can go here and look for loggers close to you i would look for maybe a horse logger . Do a Google for veneer buyers in your area too.I have a exporter look at what i find .

[Forest Breath]

Thanks so much, I had no clue where to begin looking!

[geo in mi]

"They are all dairymen and cattlemen" That pretty much says it---cash flow.

[Beeman]

http://johnmcgaw.com/etnsawmills.html

Here's some in E TN, not sure of the one in Jonesboro is listed, I'll ask my friend that has wood sawn and dried there for the name.

[beaglebiz]

My BIL thinks he's a multi-thousandaire due to his one black walnut tree...about 30 " circumference, and the trunk splits to two at about 9 feet

[Sawmill Jim]

Sometimes it isn't what you got that counts but what you think you have just don't cut it and you can always feel rich

[ronbre]

i agree with the sentiment that the dairy and cattle people are really hurting right now and they probably will do anything to pay the bills..

i just got through planting a new baby nut orchard this spring..so the idea of losing a good nut tree is freaky to me..food over whatever else...tee hee..i LOVE walnuts and could eat them every single day !

[65284]

When they start cutting keep a close eye on your trees. Loggers are notorious for "confusing" boundaries and poaching logs.

This happened to some friends. Loggers working on an adjoining place "didn't realize that the fence was the property line" and got away with 20 or so very high grade logs.

When they were discovered the thieves claimed it was all a mistake of course the logs were already gone so no way to prove the exact value. Our friends had to settle for a small fraction of what the logs would have sold for, they knew their real worth but couldn't prove it.

After they were caught the loggers suddenly became very contrite and offered to pay, since it wasn't a high profile case the prosecutor declined to file charges and an attorney told them they probably couldn't recover enough to make a law suit worth while so they lost many thousands of dollars.

[toadshadegal]

Thanks for the tip, 65284. I'll keep an eye on them. Me and my dog will go walk the fence line. (with my camera!)