It is a good question. Selling timber IS easy. I sell over 6 million dollars a year. However, I'm evaluated on how wisely I sell it.

On average, prices on my timber are 20% higher than gatewood at any given time. If you pay me 10% you are still coming out ahead...and that is just the money side of it. My knowledge on thinning, reforestation, and wildlife habitat are worth something as well as I will take those into consideration with a landowners sale.

There must be a lot of difference in the number of available independent crews in North AL and Central AL. When my first crew left in Jan, the forester could not find another available crew anywhere for over a week. After much pleading and begging from me, he finally found a crew based over 100 miles away that usually worked for one of his competitors and got them to finish it. They had to stay in a motel while they did the job.

I know a good many loggers, and every last one of them cuts for a big company that tells them when and where to cut. They get paid by the ton, and never have any idea what kind of stumpage prices the landowner is getting. The number of logging crews available for a small job like anything I would have gets smaller each year.

I can hardly blame them for calling it quits. If I had a million dollars to buy the equipment to start a logging crew, I'd just keep the million dollars.

It is alot different up here Preacher. There are some loggers that only contract for bigger companies but there are plenty of independent ones that get out and buy their own timber, and there are others that go back and forth.......If they can get out and find a tract they cut it themselves and if they can't they'll cut some timber for a company.

Honestly if what Rebelman said is correct and the big companies can expect to get 20% more for their wood than Joe Logger who is out trying to feed his family, I can see why you guys don't have any independent loggers left. That whole concept is beyond ridiculous to me but I guess that's the way it works down there. It's starting to get that way on pulpwood a little bit up here and I don't think it's a good thing. I don't think it will ever be that way on logs though.

Why did your first crew leave in January? Did it get too wet?

I'm glad you still have plenty of independents up your way and I sure hope it stays that way for you. Probably the difference is all that hardwood you have up your way, and maybe you haven't had one company decide to buy out all the small mills so they could shut them down and eliminate the competition.

Yea, the weather changed just as they started, and they refused to work when it was wet. They eventually just pulled out with the job about 20% done. The second crew worked rain or shine and got it done. Ruined the roads, but I expected that. I didn't expect them to leave about 40 tons of wood on the ground, in nice little piles all over the place. They were already gone before I was able to get over there. Anybody want a bunch of rotten pine trees?