hemlock

[Tree_Farmer]

I have a stand of oak-hemlock which I am trying to convert to an oak northern hardwoods stand.
The hemlocks are very thick up to  B.A. 180, with no seedlings of any kind on the floor.  If there are seedlings, they are beech or hemlock.  
When I had a harvest twenty years ago, the forester told me he could not sell hemlock timber and hit my oaks pretty hard.  
I am a bit puzzled.
How big DBH do hemlocks have to be to sell?
How can I sell them?  I think I could TSI a lot easier if I had some holes to fall the smaller ones into.  As it is now, they are so tangled up in the crown that it is difficult to get them down on the ground.  I have learned a lot about directional falling from the Game of Logging people recently, but I am a long way away from cutting down hemlock when and where I want.
Any discussion on this theme would be most welcome.

[Ron Wenrich]

That was a bad decision to leave the hemlock, especially since the market was poor.  That took up valuable growing space, and left a seed source to fill into the new areas.

The only market for hemlock is for the local construction market.  I did hear of a tie buyer who was buying hemlock, but, I don't know if this is still the case.

I have sawn hemlock into beams, siding, and dimension lumber.  Makes good barn siding.  It has close to the same strength properties as Douglas fir.

To sell sawtimber, you should have at least a 12" dbh tree.  Sawlogs can be down to 8", but aren't worth too much since you can't get much out of that size of log.  Sawtimber prices are still low, but something is better than nothing.

The only drawback in hemlock is they tend to have shake.  Shake can be sawn around, depending on how severe.

If you are just cutting the trees to let them lay, why not just girdle the trees?  It opens up the canopy, provides standing snags for wildlife, and would eventually fall to the ground on their own.  When partially rotted, they won't do much damage.

[Tree_Farmer]

If you girdle a tree it is likely to fall down at any time.  You just might be standing under it at the time. I only girdle as a last resort.
  How do I go about selling hemlock to the local construction industry?

[Ron Wenrich]

Girdled trees fall down slowly, a little at a time.  Wind can't catch the top since there isn't any foilage.  But, you're right, there is a chance of it hitting something you don't want.  We usually mark trees to be girdled that aren't worthwhile to cut.

You were talking about doing some of your own logging.  If that is the case, you could either deliver logs to a mill, or have them pick up roadside.  Don't expect high prices, since lumber is at a low spot right now.

You could have logs cut into lumber, but that is another added expense, and it may take awhile to recover it.  If you do cut into lumber, you can always advertise in your local paper.  Our sales is by word-of-mouth and is only busy in the spring or fall.  Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter.

Another option is to talk to an extension forester.  He should be more in tune with the local markets and know who is using that material.