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timber stand improvement costs

Started by drwiles, February 25, 2013, 10:18:03 AM

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drwiles

Hi all,
I need some wisdom, I have an 100 acre property, all hardwoods, that is in need of a TSI treatment.  Many of the young trees are of poor form, not showing vigor or are undesirable species.  I was curious how much I could expect cost to be if I were to contract this work out.  What can be expected for my costs per acre?  I am assuming that it is determined by stems per acre but am unsure.  I do not want to contact a consulting forester company without some existing knowledge.  Any wisdom, direction, literature etc. is much appreciated

Raider Bill

Welcome to the FF.
The Foresters will be around shortly to answer your questions. They may need more info like where is the stand located and terrain.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

RynSmith

Raider Bill is right on, surprisingly enough it costs more to do TSI work in California than it does in Alabama.   ;D  Same could be said with a 40% slope versus a 5% slope. 

If you talk to your County Conservation District you may be able to get some help with the cost, depending on your situation - just a thought.

mesquite buckeye

Where are you? Small trees are not necessarily young......

Posting some photos of the stand could also be helpful.... 8) 8) 8)
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

drwiles

The stand is located in southeast Missouri, there is nothing steeper than 30% slope....it is pretty gentle

mesquite buckeye

Do you have any idea of the site productivity? We use a term in forestry called the site index, different for every tree. Basicly height of a tree at age 50 for hardwood stands. You can look this up on your soil survey, used to be from the Soil Conservation Service, now I think they call it NRCS..... The information will be very useful to determine a lot of your management decisions. SE MO can be very productive for timber if the soil is not too shallow.....

I have a farm in timber in north central MO myself. Trees grow pretty fast there if you take care of them....
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

mesquite buckeye

Three basic rules of thumb in Missouri are if you have a good walnut site: 1. Manage for walnut, 2. Manage for walnut, 3. Manage for walnut. If you have good walnut, there's your money.... ;D ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

bill m

If the wood has any value as firewood or pulp and with the right forester you may be able to get the work done for little or no cost to you.
NH tc55da Metavic 4x4 trailer Stihl and Husky saws

Ron Scott

A suggested work method to complete the timber stand improvement is:

• Divide the woodland into 1-5 acre grids as preferred to serve as work and control areas to insure completion of the entire woodland acres in a systematic manner. Within the grid areas identify crop trees and release them from competition. (Crop trees are those trees that will be grown to maturity and will not be removed from the woodland before final harvest. Crop trees are usually selected on the basis of its species, location with respect to other trees, and quality.)

• Paint mark or number the selected crop trees. Identify crop trees that are spaced 20 to 25 feet apart. If crop trees are scarce or unevenly distributed, you can leave two trees as close as 10 feet as long as you treat them as one tree when thinning. Remove trees with crowns that encroach on those of crop trees.

• Free all sides of sapling and small pole timber-size trees and at least three sides of larger trees. Trees below the main canopy will not affect crop tree growth, but you may cut them if they can be used for firewood or are marketable.

• Do not damage crop tree stems and roots while thinning the stand. Repeat the thinning every 15 to 20 years. The thinning may then be done commercially when the trees are of pulpwood and sawlog size. In simple terms "always manage for the best tree in place and remove the worst first".

• You may give preference to the hardwood tree species as follows when found in the hardwood segment of the woodland: sugar maple, red oak, black cherry, white oak, red maple, American beech, and basswood. Retain any included hemlock, red pine, and white pine.

You might want to request the assistance of a local forester to select the preferred species for your area and mark the selected crop trees for release.
~Ron

mesquite buckeye

Ron- Won't be any hemlock, red or white pine, beech in SE MO unless it was planted. There could also be substantial black walnut, as this is within its prime growing territory. Otherwise, really good advice.

One other thing. It isn't clear at all what the stand is like other than hardwoods or what  the site index is. There could be parts of the property that would really benefit greatly if they were treated early, while other areas might have less potential improvement. I would hit the areas that could benefit most from treatment first.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

Ron Scott

Yes, work with the favored species common to your area and also consider crop trees favorable to wildlife for mast and thermal cover, etc. Thus the example of leaving hemlock, red and white pine, beech etc. which would be common to our area here and not specifically to where you are.

Check your soils information to help you select and prioritize your treatment areas along with site indexes etc. This is where the professional forester can give you some help. Prepare and maintain a map of your treatment areas.

You might want the forester to do a detailed management plan for your entire property to meet your land management objectives. The forester might be able to provide information and qualify you for a cost sharing grant to complete your TSI needs.
~Ron

drobertson

drwiles, I live in south central, and know that the going rate is in the $100 an acre range, I work close with a gentleman that does this for a living, through the conservation and on private contracts, If you are interested send me a pm, and I will give you his contact no.    david
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

chain

The terrain you have may determine some added costs. Hilly, steep, and rock covered hillsides may cost you more. On our difficult areas we go to the 'hack & squirt' method of TSI. In hard to kill species such as hickory, maple, we may double girdle with chainsaw and also squirt chemical for good measure.

Of course, the more time the more the costs per acre. If so inclined, you could do the work as a hobby to get to know your acreage and trees up close and personal...you probably do now. If firewood is in need in your area, could be a plus-plus with the right individual.

P.S. Your local Forestry Extension or NRCS should have several publications of costs and applications for TSI. Good Luck!

drwiles

I would like to thank everyone for all the wisdom and input.  Great advice!  Another question......someone posted that the going rate in the area is around $100/acre, is this with machinery or by hand/chainsaw?

broadside835

It is typically done with chainsaws or "hack & squirt" with chemical application...it depends on what time of year it is and the tree species and what the desired end use is...If you go through MDC cost share they have specific guidelines that have to be followed.

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