Hi all,
After processing a recent payment, we have now cut 58.278 MBF (thousand board feet) of sawtimber, with 25.6 MBF of
white pine and 32.695 MBF of hardwood and red maple. We have also cut 73 cords of firewood.
Several
different “forest products” are being sold from this project, all of which have
different specifications – trees of different sizes, shapes and species. The
rate of stumpage varies by the product, and sometimes the size and quality, or
“grade” of the product. The main forest products we're producing from the ACF are:
- Sawtimber
or “sawlogs”:
Straight, large logs with few defects which will get cut into boards. Logs can
be either hardwood (deciduous species) or softwood (coniferous species). Sawlogs
of different species and of different “grades” can have widely divergent values.
- Veneer: A very small proportion of
sawlogs are sold for veneer. These usually are the “butt” log (the bottom
section of the tree) and need to be large and without any defects. These logs
will be cut into thin sections (sometimes 1/32”) and glued to other materials
to make an attractive finish. Veneer is by far the most valuable forest product;
- Firewood: Smaller and lower-quality
hardwood logs will be sold for firewood, some of which are split on site and delivered to landowners, and some of which is delivered to landowners or other firewood processors as "log-length" firewood: 16'-20' long firewood logs.
After the logger cuts down a tree that's been marked by me to be cut, he drags or "skids" it out of the woods, to the log landing. There the logger cuts the wood into different lengths and sizes, sort it into different forest product piles and arranges for a trucker to come pick it up and ship to different mills.
In the case of sawtimber and veneer, we calculate and tabulate volumes by "thousand board feet" or "MBF." One board foot is a 12"x12"x1" board.
In the case of firewood, we calculate volume by the cord. A cord is a stack of split firewood which is 4'x4'x8', or 128 cubic feet. If you get firewood in 16" long sections, this means a cord is 3 stacks of split firewood which are each 4' tall and 8' long.
Interestingly, low-grade wood (firewood and pulp) usually makes up the vast majority of the volume of wood harvested from an average
forest management project (about 80%), but only about 15% of the value. Conversely, sawtimber and veneer may only account for 20% of the volume of wood harvested, but 85% of the overall value.
In a forest management project, “stumpage” is what we call the net revenue from the sale of timber that the landowner (in this case the Town) receives. Logging contractors calculate and pay “stumpage” to landowners in several different ways, all of which essentially navigate how the logger and the landowner share the gross timber revenue – the landowner owns the timber and the land and so receives a portion, and the logger charges for the service of cutting the trees, transporting them to the log landing and often marketing them (sending them to different mills, etc.). In addition to monitoring the job, I also review payments to make sure that everything is being paid for per the rates that are in the Town's contract with our logger, Tim Brown
We're trying to keep all this wood as local as possible. Hardwood sawtimber is being sold to Canopy Timber Alternatives in Middlebury, where they will be shipped to different mills to be used for all kinds of different things, and to LaBranche Lumber in Coventry, where they will be made into pallets, railroad ties and crane mats. All the pine sawtimber is being sold to Lamell Lumber is Essex. Firewood is staying local, and we might even keep some hemlock sawtimber on the property, to be sawn up to make bridges for trails.
Here is a summary of the wood we've harvested as of 2/10/21: Sawtimber volume by Species (MBF) Firewood (cord)
73
Hemlock 0.085
White Pine 25.498
Total Softwood 25.583
White Ash 0.615
Red Oak 22.645
Yellow Birch 1.06
Beech 0.255
White Birch 0.055
Aspen 0.085
White Oak 0.26
Red Maple 7.72
Total Hardwood 32.695
Total MBF Volume (all species): 58.278
To learn more about this project, visit our linktree at: https://linktr.ee/ACFForestManagement
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