re: How much is Pine Timber worth?

I recently had about 120 acres I own cruised (the term for having someone look at the timber and give you an estimate) by three different people. The timber is between 20-30 years old and is about half pine and half oak. I was told that the timber is between $30-$60k. So that’s between $250 and $500 per acre.

Don’t know if that helps you, but that’s what I know about it.

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Complicating matters, of course, is that three siblings now own the farm in a trust. Getting three people to agree on what to do can be a challenge sometimes.

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Isn't the trustee the person who should technically be making the decision?

If I do a clear cut, the only reason would be is to help the wildlife. The land has always been select cut. If clear cut, I would have no less the two oaks and two pecan threes per ac to stand.

By doing that, within about 7-10 years, the land will be very thick and wildlife too. By that time, my grandson will have a good place to hunt.

Overall, I might just wait due to taxes the next few years and just let my daughter do it if she wants.

That is an impossible question to answer for your specific tract based on what we know but here are some industry generalities.

There are generally 3 pine products in the south:
pulpwood - smallest usually, <= 8" diameter,lowest value, quality not much of an issue
small logs - 8" to 12" diameter, a little higher value, trees need to have good form; i.e., not forked, crooked, etc or it is pulpwood. Often used to make 2 X 4s.
large logs - > 12", usually the highest value, needs to have a good form (shape). These could be used for to cut wider boards, plywood, or poles.

Landowners get about 1/3 of the price delivered to the mill. The value on the stump is not the same as the value cut down and delivered to the mill.

Distance to the mill affects the transportation cost and the landowner's portion. But there is a minimum haul cost so tracts 2 miles from the mill have about the same hauling cost as one 30 miles.

Loggers want/need production so they will cut tracts with a lot of stems/acre even if they are 25+- acres. When you walk through the tract do you see a lot of trees or are they few and far between?

Almost all loggers in the south are independent contractors; if they don't produce they do not get paid.

Generally two ways to sell timber.
Lump sum, sealed bid. You know what you will get paid up front. You get a check and the buyer gets a timber deed that gives them the right to cut the timber within a specific time period.
Per unit sales, usually $x/ton by product class. What you get paid depends on the # of tons produced by product class. Usually get paid on a weekly basis as the trees are cut and delivered to the mill.

Tracts that can be logged in wet conditions usually bring more $. Mills pay more when they are low on inventory; and they pay more during an extended rainy period.

If there is a lot of timber on the ground due to a hurricane then timber prices will be down, often a lot. Supply and demand.

Hardwood products are more complicated than pine. More species and different types of products.

Contact the state forestry agency where the tract is located and get general, local, information. They may even help you put together a bid prospectus and so you can sell it yourself.

Below is a an image of LA 2015 timber prices, just to give you an idea.
A well stocked 25 year old pine plantation could have 50 to 100 tons per acre. If it was small logs (Pine Chip-N-Saw in the table) w/an $18/ton stumpage value (landowner's portion) that would be $900 to $1,800 per acre.
In reality it will be a mix of products, the yield may be less than 50 tons/ac and the prices may be different in the area where your tract is located.
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China is in dire need of timber and is destroying Siberian forest illegally to get it and in the United States we have a glut. The Wall Street Journal article pointed out that the trucking costs to nearest port would be prohibitive. There has to be a way to make the numbers work. China’s need and US supply is such a natural fit. I guess they can’t just float them down the river like in Alaska

Thanks

Couple of other thoughts for the OP.

You could potentially increase the $ generated per acres by waiting a few years; depending on the product mix on the tract. As the trees grow they move from the less valuable category, pulpwood, to a higher valued product. And, there are usually more tons per acre.


Just fyi. By waiting a few years to clear cut you may get more $, just depends on the specifics of this tract.
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And, you can tell a lot by looking at an aerial photo, especially one taken in the winter when the leaves are off the hardwood trees. If you have one of the tract or can get a screen shot from google earth post it.

Again depending on the tract, you could generate some income by thinning the less desirable trees and leaving the higher quality ones to grow into a more valuable product, but the income generated will be much less than from a clear cut. Just don't shoot yourself in the foot by clear cutting too early.