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pricing for locust logs

Started by bug, August 24, 2011, 02:04:44 PM

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bug

We have standing and on ground locust to sell, have a buyer coming but would like to know approx. what to expect with todays market.

beenthere

Welcome to the forum.

How about some more details of what and where you have locust? And which locust do you have?

No idea how to give out any information of what to expect, knowing little about what you have.

You could start with pics, and more info about where you are located, how much locust you have, and how the locust got "on ground" and when. ;)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Autocar

Alot depends on if it is Honey or Black Locust,in our country honey is about worthless but black 8 inch on small end was worth a few bucks. A buyer in PA. was talking two dollars a board foot a few years back. He made it all the way to my place, he had never seen honey and we saw a log for him and sent it back with him but they ended up only wanting black. I bought him dinner and we had a few laughs and that was the end of it.  ;)
Bill

Jasperfield

Here, in the Southern and high Appalachians, Black Locust (commonly called yellow Locust) has no commercial volume value other than pulpwood. However, it does have a higher value when used for other purposes.

Sound logs suitable for sawing into cants, timbers, etc., are always in local demand. Availability of same is consistenty low due to Locust Leaf Miner infestations.

Today, in WNC and other (usually) mountain areas within which Locust is known and used, demand for good logs is very high; not for lumber so much as for timbers, rived stakes, and high-grade firewood.

You've stated that you have a buyer coming and want to know what to expect. I'll say this:

Almost without exception, and to every instance, whenever someone wants to harvest only your Locusts... you are going to be lied to repeatedly, cheated, and treated like a borrowed mule.

They'll begin by telling you that the trees are either dead or dieing, they are of small diameter, twisted, leaning, etc., and that unless they are harvested now, there will soon be no value, and that the leaf miners will certainly destroy them. (The leaf miner part is correct).

Nevertheless: When they go in and take the Locusts only, they will make a bigger *DanG mess than you could ever imagine. And, most of the Locusts will be outright stolen from your land.

If you don't personally know a good reputation of these people, and then don't use an independent  Professional Forester, you are going to regret ever hearing the word "Locust".

Today, sound (or even mostly sound) locust is rare.


bug

The ON the ground means we dropped the trees  to make room for oaks and others.  We have two 40' 10 1/2 dia. and 10 other smaller plus 12 more to remove and many in the woods that we will leave as we don't have the means nor energy to remove.  The fellow came but price was not good enough. These are black locust in Monroe County Ohio.

Magicman

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, bug.  Black Locust makes very good trailer and bridge decking.  Other than that, I don't know of much market for it.  It was once used for cross arm pins that insulators were screwed onto by the telephone and telegraph companies.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

bug

Hey ,thanks for the welcome, I really enjoy this forum.  I am a young 70 and husband 71 but we love the outdooors and trying to keep our property critter friendly and manageable for us.  So the guy wanted to pay $60.00 a ton, explained how much that might be.  Not good enough for us so it is going into firewood as that is how we heat our home (all electric/heatpump)  Fence posts lasts 50+ years here. Thanks for the reply!
Janice

Magicman

Yes, it is a very high BTU firewood.  Splits nicely also.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

WDH

$60/ton was a pretty good price, so he was not trying to hoodwink you.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Norm

It's not a bad price considering around here it's very seldom sold for anything but pallet lumber. I'm clearing about 5 acres of it right now and there is no market for it unless cut into firewood. Even then folks that buy firewood want oak although black locust is higher in btu's.

WDH

Palletwood is selling for about $12.50/ton on the stump around here.  The best grade hardwoods can bring up to $45.00/ton on the stump, but $25.00 is more common for most hardwood grade.  $60.00/ton is a good bit above the southern market.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Norm

Wonder what that works out to by the board foot. Do you have a way to figure it out Danny?

beenthere

With the small diameters bug reported, not much lumber value in the trees. Firewood is likely the best bet, especially being that bug said she heats with wood and the wood is down and free.
I'd like to have some black locust on my place for heating.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

WDH

Norm, hardwood down here is sold by the ton, but can be converted to board feet on the Doyle scale.  The convention is to convert using 8 tons per MBF Doyle.  So, the palletwood price would be $100/MBF, the top grade price would be $360/MBF, and the average grade price would be $200/MBF.  I believe that northern hardwood prices are a good bit better, but so is the grade and quality of the logs.

Everything is better in the north, right  :D ::).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Norm

Thanks Danny!

Every time I'd hear cord prices I wondered how that translated to what I'm used to. Softwood pallet is .15bd ft while good hardwood pallet runs .25bd ft. To be quite honest I see very little logging any more in our area. All of the local mills shut down some time ago and the trucking costs eat up any profit to haul to the ones left open. Our only bright spot is walnut which still commands a good price.

I pulled out several big black locust logs yesterday Kent, bring the chainsaw quick before I burn the pile off.

Cedarman

IF, that is a big IF, you have 6" to 10" x 10' fairly straight logs, they can be split into rails.  Should get $4.50 to $5.00 each for rails. A 6" and 7" will make 4 rails, an 8" and 9" will make  6 rails.  This is ideal if they don't split out the sides.  We have a special splitter that will take an 11' post.  We use a 4 way for the smaller ones and a 6 way for the bigger ones.  Mostly we split cedar and sassafras, but have split a few locusts too.
I would find a market first though.  Federal parks like them.
8' rails are less preferred.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

HiTech

     Not sure what it's worth but it makes great fence posts...they last a lifetime. Also I use it in the sugarhouse to boil with. Makes my 3' x 8' evaporator really snort. The stuff grows like a weed and seems to be compatible with the maples and other trees. Every wood lot should have some.

bug

you are right, makes us really "snort" taking them down! especially with this summer's temp! 

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