Sawmills in Michigan are among the most important businesses to our economy and our everyday lives. From the table we eat at, to the house we live in, wood is all around us and what we rely on to live our lives as comfortable as possible. Sawmills in Michigan are a huge reason for the necessities to life.
From the lower State line all the way through the U.P. you will find quality timber standing in the woods. Landowners are greatly appreciated for sharing their resources with the rest of us by selling their select grade and pulp wood to Sawmills and Standing Timber Buyers.
There are about 150 Sawmills in Michigan ranging in size from very large producers all the way down to the Amish Mills that slice lumber for a living as well.
If you are a Landowner and have timber to sell, then you will first want to talk to a Sawmill or Timber Buyer.
See Sawmill Michigan for more details.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
10 Things Not To Do When Selling Standing Timber
TOP TEN THINGS NOT TO DO WHEN SELLING TIMBER
Trees are a valuable product; some woods can be worth several thousands of dollars per acre and if managed properly can earn a landowner hundreds of dollars per acre per year. If you own woods, you should manage them properly. Part of management is selling standing timber; these are the basic things you should know if you ever sell standing timber.
1. DON’T SELL TO A TIMBER BUYER THAT IS NOT BONDED. Michigan has a bonded timber buyer’s law that requires anyone that buys standing timber to be bonded. This may not mean that all bonded buyers are reputable but it gives you a good starting point.
2. DON’T SELL UNLESS EVERYTHING IS IN WRITING. A good standing timber contract can go a long ways to ensure that you have a good experience selling standing timber. The contract should state how the trees are marked, how many trees, the purchase price, time period to remove the standing timber, what logging conditions are acceptable (dry or frozen), and who is liable for damage to the property, etc.
3. DON’T SELL UNMARKED TREES FOR A HARDWOOD CUT. If the trees to be harvested are marked there is no question as to which trees should be harvested. It is also advisable to solicit comparable bids on the standing timber when each company is bidding on the same item. After the sale is done, don’t add or exchange trees, remember trees vary considerably in value, by changing things the whole bid process can be ruined.
4. DON’T SELL STANDING TIMBER ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT. Think about what you are doing. Once you sign the contract or accept the money there is no going back. The deal will more than likely be there tomorrow, so take time to check it out. Standing timber varies considerably in price-know what you are selling.
5. DON’T SELL TREES ON A DIAMETER LIMIT. The size of the tree shouldn’t dictate if that tree should be harvested, the condition or potential of the tree should. The woods contains many different species, each maturing at a different age and size, when selling on a diameter limit you often will over-cut the woods selling many trees that would increase significantly in value in the near future.
6. DON’T SELL ONLY YOUR BEST TREES. Trees vary considerably in value, often only from a few dollars to hundreds or on occasion thousands of dollars. Selling only the best trees is called high grading and can hurt the long term productivity of the woods at times. When selling standing timber sell the trees that are declining in value also, sell the less desirable or weeds trees and mix in the best trees when they’ve reached their peak value. The best trees are probably earning you at least 10% per year and you will always find a buyer who wants them. However, don't expect timber buyers to buy all crap trees. They are running a business and it is expensive to harvest trees. So some there will have to be a balance of good and not so good trees to go to make it worth it to the buyer.
7. DON’T SELL CUT AND SCALE OR ON SHARES. Unless you know how to cut and scale trees you are relying on the buyer to determine what trees are worth and to maximize the yield from the tree. Some buyers may not want to mess with the lower grade logs at the tops of the tree even though there may be value in those logs. Sell your standing timber on a lump-sum, up-front payment and “take it or leave it” for only the marked trees. if you have tapped hard maple trees or metal defects in your trees, then a grade and scale sale will almost always have to be entertained. Consider all your options before making a final decision.
8. DON’T ACCEPT CASH. Accepting cash may not be a problem, but it often may entice you into acting too quickly to sell. Don’t forget once you accept the money and sign the contract it’s a done deal-there’s no going back.
9. BE CAREFUL ENTERING INTO A MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT GIVING A COMPANY EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO YOUR STANDING TIMBER. A management agreement may sound good, but there is usually a cost. The buyer can have a conflict of interest if he works for the standing timber company and they want your standing timber.
10. DON’T INCLUDE TREES DAMAGED DURING THE LOGGING. This may sound like the logical thing to do the problem is trees can be damaged on purpose. When the trees are marked care should be taken to make sure the trees can be harvested without damage to the remaining trees.
Trees are a valuable product; some woods can be worth several thousands of dollars per acre and if managed properly can earn a landowner hundreds of dollars per acre per year. If you own woods, you should manage them properly. Part of management is selling standing timber; these are the basic things you should know if you ever sell standing timber.
1. DON’T SELL TO A TIMBER BUYER THAT IS NOT BONDED. Michigan has a bonded timber buyer’s law that requires anyone that buys standing timber to be bonded. This may not mean that all bonded buyers are reputable but it gives you a good starting point.
2. DON’T SELL UNLESS EVERYTHING IS IN WRITING. A good standing timber contract can go a long ways to ensure that you have a good experience selling standing timber. The contract should state how the trees are marked, how many trees, the purchase price, time period to remove the standing timber, what logging conditions are acceptable (dry or frozen), and who is liable for damage to the property, etc.
3. DON’T SELL UNMARKED TREES FOR A HARDWOOD CUT. If the trees to be harvested are marked there is no question as to which trees should be harvested. It is also advisable to solicit comparable bids on the standing timber when each company is bidding on the same item. After the sale is done, don’t add or exchange trees, remember trees vary considerably in value, by changing things the whole bid process can be ruined.
4. DON’T SELL STANDING TIMBER ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT. Think about what you are doing. Once you sign the contract or accept the money there is no going back. The deal will more than likely be there tomorrow, so take time to check it out. Standing timber varies considerably in price-know what you are selling.
5. DON’T SELL TREES ON A DIAMETER LIMIT. The size of the tree shouldn’t dictate if that tree should be harvested, the condition or potential of the tree should. The woods contains many different species, each maturing at a different age and size, when selling on a diameter limit you often will over-cut the woods selling many trees that would increase significantly in value in the near future.
6. DON’T SELL ONLY YOUR BEST TREES. Trees vary considerably in value, often only from a few dollars to hundreds or on occasion thousands of dollars. Selling only the best trees is called high grading and can hurt the long term productivity of the woods at times. When selling standing timber sell the trees that are declining in value also, sell the less desirable or weeds trees and mix in the best trees when they’ve reached their peak value. The best trees are probably earning you at least 10% per year and you will always find a buyer who wants them. However, don't expect timber buyers to buy all crap trees. They are running a business and it is expensive to harvest trees. So some there will have to be a balance of good and not so good trees to go to make it worth it to the buyer.
7. DON’T SELL CUT AND SCALE OR ON SHARES. Unless you know how to cut and scale trees you are relying on the buyer to determine what trees are worth and to maximize the yield from the tree. Some buyers may not want to mess with the lower grade logs at the tops of the tree even though there may be value in those logs. Sell your standing timber on a lump-sum, up-front payment and “take it or leave it” for only the marked trees. if you have tapped hard maple trees or metal defects in your trees, then a grade and scale sale will almost always have to be entertained. Consider all your options before making a final decision.
8. DON’T ACCEPT CASH. Accepting cash may not be a problem, but it often may entice you into acting too quickly to sell. Don’t forget once you accept the money and sign the contract it’s a done deal-there’s no going back.
9. BE CAREFUL ENTERING INTO A MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT GIVING A COMPANY EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO YOUR STANDING TIMBER. A management agreement may sound good, but there is usually a cost. The buyer can have a conflict of interest if he works for the standing timber company and they want your standing timber.
10. DON’T INCLUDE TREES DAMAGED DURING THE LOGGING. This may sound like the logical thing to do the problem is trees can be damaged on purpose. When the trees are marked care should be taken to make sure the trees can be harvested without damage to the remaining trees.
Find a Timber Buyer by County
Friday, March 6, 2009
Standing Timber Traverse City Michigan
Standing timber in Traverse City Michigan is among the most beautiful in the world. Hard--or sugar--maple trees are fairly abundant in the area and are prized among many people for many reasons.
One reason this tree is so valued is because of the lumber and veneer value. Hard maple wood products produce the cleanest look with little defects and character. Much of the lumber and veneer that is harvested from the Grand Traverse area is distributed world wide. You cannot find Sugar maple trees in the eastern part of the world so China and Japan buy as much as they can get their hands on.
Another reason people love sugar maple would be of the obvious; maple syrup. It is the only western tree that produces a material that is safely ingested for nutrition as a sweetener over those rich buttery pancakes that everyone loves. if you have never tried maple syrup, then I highly suggest that you do. For those of you that have, you know exactly what I am talking about.
There is a conflict between valued maple wood and valued maple syrup. To get maple syrup, one has to "tap" the tree. Tapping a hard maple tree is a process in which one bores a half inch or so hole in a tree and taps an aluminum straw pipe into it so that the syrup can slowly drain out during the spring. The only time you can successfully tap a sugar maple tree is in the spring time during the winter thaw. The dormant tree comes to life this time of year as the roots try to draw the frozen moisture back down the trunk of the tree. Tapping the tree catches some of this tree sap as it draws down the tree.
The problem however, is that this is--in a sense--wounding the tree. Tapping a tree even one time, will completely eliminate any potential high grade veneer. Rotary Veneer sheets are usually sheared off the log like a roll of toilet paper unrolls with a blade against the entire side of the log. As you can imagine, the log must be flawless in order to produce a high quality sheet of veneer wood that will eventually be used for door or wall paneling for example.
Tapping trees for maple syrup for several seasons will also rot the inside of the tree as it is the life blood of the tree. Donating blood is one thing, but draining trees dry will have lasting effects. So even the lumber of tapped trees can produce low quality lumber that will create many blemishes in the normally clean looking product.
For years land owners have bumped heads with loggers about this. The landowner may have tapped the trees years ago and not touched them for the last 20 years, and the tap holes would be mostly healed over. Then the logger or timber buyer/forester--if experienced enough--can easily see the recognizable blemish in the tree while it is standing and offer a lower price to the land owner for the lower quality timber. In experienced timber purchasers are sometimes stuck with low quality timber that was purchased in full standing and later discovers to be tapped after cutting them down. This can be very costly to the company as they usually pay a very premium price for premium timber.
Before tapping into a maple tree, the landowner must ask themselves if they want the money from the syrup or the timber. You usually cannot get both unless one lies and has an inexperienced purchaser. If the landowner does decide to sell the timber, it is always best to be upfront with the purchaser because lying will certainly cause problems later on down the road. you could even be sued for knowingly selling defected products for a price relevant to flawless material.
it is also important to know that many company's will still purchase tapped maple trees depending on the extent of the flaws. However, tapped trees are usually purchased under a seperate contract sometimes referred to a "grade and scale" contract. this means that you get paid for the exact quality as it is cut and inspected. Whereas, usually you would get paid in full for it standing.
If you are looking for a timber buyer in the Traverse City Michigan area, the choose a location below;
One reason this tree is so valued is because of the lumber and veneer value. Hard maple wood products produce the cleanest look with little defects and character. Much of the lumber and veneer that is harvested from the Grand Traverse area is distributed world wide. You cannot find Sugar maple trees in the eastern part of the world so China and Japan buy as much as they can get their hands on.
Another reason people love sugar maple would be of the obvious; maple syrup. It is the only western tree that produces a material that is safely ingested for nutrition as a sweetener over those rich buttery pancakes that everyone loves. if you have never tried maple syrup, then I highly suggest that you do. For those of you that have, you know exactly what I am talking about.
There is a conflict between valued maple wood and valued maple syrup. To get maple syrup, one has to "tap" the tree. Tapping a hard maple tree is a process in which one bores a half inch or so hole in a tree and taps an aluminum straw pipe into it so that the syrup can slowly drain out during the spring. The only time you can successfully tap a sugar maple tree is in the spring time during the winter thaw. The dormant tree comes to life this time of year as the roots try to draw the frozen moisture back down the trunk of the tree. Tapping the tree catches some of this tree sap as it draws down the tree.
The problem however, is that this is--in a sense--wounding the tree. Tapping a tree even one time, will completely eliminate any potential high grade veneer. Rotary Veneer sheets are usually sheared off the log like a roll of toilet paper unrolls with a blade against the entire side of the log. As you can imagine, the log must be flawless in order to produce a high quality sheet of veneer wood that will eventually be used for door or wall paneling for example.
Tapping trees for maple syrup for several seasons will also rot the inside of the tree as it is the life blood of the tree. Donating blood is one thing, but draining trees dry will have lasting effects. So even the lumber of tapped trees can produce low quality lumber that will create many blemishes in the normally clean looking product.
For years land owners have bumped heads with loggers about this. The landowner may have tapped the trees years ago and not touched them for the last 20 years, and the tap holes would be mostly healed over. Then the logger or timber buyer/forester--if experienced enough--can easily see the recognizable blemish in the tree while it is standing and offer a lower price to the land owner for the lower quality timber. In experienced timber purchasers are sometimes stuck with low quality timber that was purchased in full standing and later discovers to be tapped after cutting them down. This can be very costly to the company as they usually pay a very premium price for premium timber.
Before tapping into a maple tree, the landowner must ask themselves if they want the money from the syrup or the timber. You usually cannot get both unless one lies and has an inexperienced purchaser. If the landowner does decide to sell the timber, it is always best to be upfront with the purchaser because lying will certainly cause problems later on down the road. you could even be sued for knowingly selling defected products for a price relevant to flawless material.
it is also important to know that many company's will still purchase tapped maple trees depending on the extent of the flaws. However, tapped trees are usually purchased under a seperate contract sometimes referred to a "grade and scale" contract. this means that you get paid for the exact quality as it is cut and inspected. Whereas, usually you would get paid in full for it standing.
If you are looking for a timber buyer in the Traverse City Michigan area, the choose a location below;
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Dangers Of Toxix Mulch
Mulching beds have become extremely popular these days, and mulch can be really beneficial to your plants and the soil in your planting beds, but there are things you need to watch out for.
Here in Michigan, the most popular type of mulch that people use is shredded hardwood bark mulch, which is a byproduct of the standing timber in Michigan and from the timber industry all over the world. When they haul the logs into the sawmill the first thing they do is debark them. Years ago the bark was a huge problem for the mills because there didn't seem to be a useful purpose for it, until people realized the hidden benefits that it held. Still to this day, the bark is a headache for the saw mills, and they don't always understand how to properly handle it.
They like to pile it as high as they can so it takes up less space in their yard. The mulch really tends to back up during the winter months because there is little demand for it. In order for the mills to pile the mulch high, they literally have to drive the large front end loaders up onto the pile. Of course the weight of these large machines compacts the mulch in the pile, and this can become a huge problem for you or I if we happen to get some mulch that has been stacked too high, and compacted too tightly.
When the trees are first debarked the mulch is fairly fresh, and needs to decompose before we dare use it around our plants. The decomposition process requires oxygen and air flow into the pile. When the mulch is compacted too tight, this air flow cannot take place, and as the mulch continues to decompose it becomes extremely hot as the organic matter ferments. Sometimes the extreme heat combined with the inability to release the heat can cause the pile to burst into flame through spontaneous combustion.
In other cases the mulch heats up, cannot release the gas, and the mulch actually becomes toxic. When this occurs the mulch develops an overbearing odor that will take your breath away as you dig into the pile. When you spread this toxic mulch around your plants the gas it contains is released, and this gas can and will burn your plants.
It has happened to me twice. Once at my own house, and once on a job I was doing for a customer. This toxic mulch is very potent. We spilled a little mulch in the foliage of a Dwarf Alberta Spruce that we were mulching around, and just a few minutes later brushed the mulch out of the plant. The next day my customer noticed that one side of the plant was all brown. The mulch had only been there for a matter of minutes.
Not only did I have to replace the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, but the mulch also damaged at least 10 other plants that I had to replace. I once saw where somebody ordered a truck load of mulch, had it dumped in their driveway, and as the toxic mulch slid out of the dump truck onto the asphalt the toxic gas that was released settled on the lawn next to the driveway.
The gas, not the mulch, turned the grass brown next to the mulch pile.
This same person spread several yards of the mulch around their house before they realized the problem, and it ruined many of their plants.
This same toxic mulch can also be an extreme health hazard to your pets. Do not use toxic mulch as bedding for your dog or farm animals like for horses, chickens or pigs. You can be sure that your animals will get sick from this and could even die. So please be aware of the effects to your animals that toxic mulch has on them.
Now here's the hard part; trying to explain to you how to identify toxic mulch. It has a very strong odor that will take your breath away. But then again almost all mulch has a powerful odor. This is very different than your typical mulch smell, but I can't explain it any better than that.
The mulch looks perfectly normal, maybe a little darker in color than usual. If you suspect a problem with the mulch you have, take a couple of shovels full, and place it around an inexpensive plant. Maybe just a couple of flowers. When doing this test use mulch from inside the mulch pile and not from the edges. The mulch on the edge of the pile has more than likely released most of the toxic gas that it may have held.
If after 24 hours the test plants are okay, the mulch should be fine. The
purpose of this article is not to induce panic at the mulch yard, but toxic mulch can do serious damage. At my house it burned the leaves right off some of the plants in my landscape, and burned the grass next to the bed all the way around the house. It looked like somebody had taken a torch and burned the grass back about 2” all the way around the bed. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.
Here in Michigan, the most popular type of mulch that people use is shredded hardwood bark mulch, which is a byproduct of the standing timber in Michigan and from the timber industry all over the world. When they haul the logs into the sawmill the first thing they do is debark them. Years ago the bark was a huge problem for the mills because there didn't seem to be a useful purpose for it, until people realized the hidden benefits that it held. Still to this day, the bark is a headache for the saw mills, and they don't always understand how to properly handle it.
They like to pile it as high as they can so it takes up less space in their yard. The mulch really tends to back up during the winter months because there is little demand for it. In order for the mills to pile the mulch high, they literally have to drive the large front end loaders up onto the pile. Of course the weight of these large machines compacts the mulch in the pile, and this can become a huge problem for you or I if we happen to get some mulch that has been stacked too high, and compacted too tightly.
When the trees are first debarked the mulch is fairly fresh, and needs to decompose before we dare use it around our plants. The decomposition process requires oxygen and air flow into the pile. When the mulch is compacted too tight, this air flow cannot take place, and as the mulch continues to decompose it becomes extremely hot as the organic matter ferments. Sometimes the extreme heat combined with the inability to release the heat can cause the pile to burst into flame through spontaneous combustion.
In other cases the mulch heats up, cannot release the gas, and the mulch actually becomes toxic. When this occurs the mulch develops an overbearing odor that will take your breath away as you dig into the pile. When you spread this toxic mulch around your plants the gas it contains is released, and this gas can and will burn your plants.
It has happened to me twice. Once at my own house, and once on a job I was doing for a customer. This toxic mulch is very potent. We spilled a little mulch in the foliage of a Dwarf Alberta Spruce that we were mulching around, and just a few minutes later brushed the mulch out of the plant. The next day my customer noticed that one side of the plant was all brown. The mulch had only been there for a matter of minutes.
Not only did I have to replace the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, but the mulch also damaged at least 10 other plants that I had to replace. I once saw where somebody ordered a truck load of mulch, had it dumped in their driveway, and as the toxic mulch slid out of the dump truck onto the asphalt the toxic gas that was released settled on the lawn next to the driveway.
The gas, not the mulch, turned the grass brown next to the mulch pile.
This same person spread several yards of the mulch around their house before they realized the problem, and it ruined many of their plants.
This same toxic mulch can also be an extreme health hazard to your pets. Do not use toxic mulch as bedding for your dog or farm animals like for horses, chickens or pigs. You can be sure that your animals will get sick from this and could even die. So please be aware of the effects to your animals that toxic mulch has on them.
Now here's the hard part; trying to explain to you how to identify toxic mulch. It has a very strong odor that will take your breath away. But then again almost all mulch has a powerful odor. This is very different than your typical mulch smell, but I can't explain it any better than that.
The mulch looks perfectly normal, maybe a little darker in color than usual. If you suspect a problem with the mulch you have, take a couple of shovels full, and place it around an inexpensive plant. Maybe just a couple of flowers. When doing this test use mulch from inside the mulch pile and not from the edges. The mulch on the edge of the pile has more than likely released most of the toxic gas that it may have held.
If after 24 hours the test plants are okay, the mulch should be fine. The
purpose of this article is not to induce panic at the mulch yard, but toxic mulch can do serious damage. At my house it burned the leaves right off some of the plants in my landscape, and burned the grass next to the bed all the way around the house. It looked like somebody had taken a torch and burned the grass back about 2” all the way around the bed. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.
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