[Rick Alger]

Yes, folks will take a little less money to do the right thing. But most of them won’t take a lot less money. I’ve lost half a dozen jobs because people said my bid was so low that the cut wasn’t worth doing. Some of them got a machine crew, others left the woods untouched.

Carl’s model of cooperative logging may well be the way to produce enough wood to justify practicing good forestry in worst-first situations. Back in the day it worked. A friend of mine twitched for two choppers and a yard man. He would switch horses at noon. He twitched 8 cords a day. The wood was cut to four foot pulp and yarded (forwarded) with a crawler and a big scoot.

With modern chainsaws one chopper could probably do 8 cords a day, and with long-length pulp you wouldn’t need a full-time yard man, so it looks like two men(Chopper and twitcher) could come close to producing 8 cords of pulp a day trailside. Two such crews could feed one of those forwarders/porters.12- 16 cords a day would be enough to provide a trip a day for a trucker. And there ought to be enough money to go around, especially if the forwarder could be had at a piece rate of say 15 bucks a cord.

I think this is how Dobbin Forestry operates. It more or less follows Carl’s model. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work elsewhere in New England where there is a high volume of low-grade material yearning to be liberated.

This kind of operation, in my view, would be as much of a service as the typical selective harvest.

Any thoughts?

[Rick Alger]

Hi Tom,

I’m with you on the issue of trying to make a go in low-value timber. Be interesting to get a discussion going on this topic. As I see it the value of most standing timber of low to average quality won’t yield enough to fairly compensate the landowner and the logger. It works for landowners who value esthetic forestry highly and are willing to pay for it, but for the people who see their wood as primarily an economic resource, there isn’t enough money in the log checks to pay an animal logger fairly and have enough left for a reasonable stumpage/trucking/forester return.

This topic has been kicked around many times. It usually comes down to pick your jobs and markets carefully. Sound advice. But for someone trying to log full time in an area that doesn’t value esthetics as highly as economic return, That is hard advice to follow.

Any thoughts?

[Rick Alger]

Dominiquer60,

The Pro saws are definitely better, but if money is an issue, a 2150 Jonsered will do everything you need for around half the price of a pro saw.

I have one that has cut well over 20 tractor trailer loads of logs and pulp, covered 30 acres of weed and thin work and bucked up maybe a dozen cords of small diameter firewood. It has been through a couple bars and half-a-dozen chains, and it is still going strong. As long as you keep the chain sharp and avoid overheating the powerhead by cleaning the fins etc, this little saw should last you a long time.

If you run into huge wood or serious mud conditions, borrow a 372.

My additional two cents.

[Rick Alger]

Milt has been SOLD!

[Rick Alger]

In northern NH, pulp runs around $33 a ton. White pine and spruce/fir around $300. Red pine and hemlock around $200. Pallet and ties around 180. Very little high quality hardwood up here. When I get something decent I bring it to a collection yard. We are well over 100 miles from most markets so you need a tractor trailer load of a specific type in order to move it. Trucking can be over 500 a load.

[Rick Alger]

For any of you land owners in Northern NH, I remain available to help you manage your woodlands sustainably by working with you side-by-side, falling, skidding, processing and marketing. I am no longer set up to buy stumpage, but I still have contacts for trucking and pulp tickets. I can also arrange custom sawing, on-site professional construction, and custom craftsmanship.

[Rick Alger]

I have a cart that Les made. The shafts are removable, and it has a pocket for the tongue.

[Rick Alger]

$1,800/offer. Includes his harness, collar, bridle, fly net etc.
Leslie

[Rick Alger]

$2,000/b.o. to good working home.

Leslie

[Rick Alger]

Where are you located?

[Rick Alger]

Trumansburg. It’s in Upstate New York, near Ithaca.

[Rick Alger]

I’ve had the same experience.

[Rick Alger]

There are some articles on the HHFF site. Scott Golden has posted some others, but there is still a lot to be done. I hope young folks like you will find a way to do more research to validate and quantify what we are capable of doing. There are only so many green yuppie woodlots to go around, but there are millions of acres of state, federal and timber company lands that could provide long-term full time employment if we could convince the powers that be that we offer measurable, bottom-line benefits.

[Rick Alger]

There is a guy over your way who buys birch bark on the tree. He comes and peels the bark and leaves the naked stem for you to cut. He runs an ad in Northern Woodlands. I tried to work something out with him once, but the timing was wrong. He peels in the spring, and I was cutting the birch stand in the fall.

[Rick Alger]

I thought some of the guys would be all over this, but since they are not, here’s my two cents.

Around here at least you could get somebody to just drop the trees for you to cut up. I happen to be doing this right now for a neighbor. It shouldn’t cost you a whole lot, and an experienced guy will probably drop a hundred or so trees in a day if they are along fence rows with no obstructions.

If you decide to do it yourself, let me suggest you take a safety class. There are good ones available, and their hands-on approach is the best way learn. IMO you really don’t want to tackle rotting two-foot trees with a few hints gathered from the net.

[Author]

Posts