I had a forestry guy come out and survey the whole place and write up a wild life habitat plan. He was the one who said it needed logging bad as there is no cover for wildlife and the trees are choking each others full growth.

The logger is a diff guy (the same guy the forester uses if he wins the bid) who wants the 60% cut because its less desirable wood. in the last few years around here 60 /40 their favor is what most people charge. There are no veener logs. Trees too close together to reach full potential yet all the timber was put into stands and only logs will be taken from 2 of the 4 stands of timber areas.

there can be (and usually IS!) a great deal of difference between selling trees and MANAGING your woodlot.

hire a forester who works for YOU (not the logging company).

your gonna be broke before ya get done payin everybody.about done with half mine.

estimates are free get 2 more from reputable outfits..also one thing to think about..what is going to be done with the tops that are left..some guys leave a real mess...also in the oak market right now there is a big difference in price ..some of the best quality oak goes overseas [CHINA and GERMANY] for big bucks....lesser quality for a lot less...any woodlot can have some of both..don't be in a big hurry..its not going anywhere

disclaimer

Looks like about 800 in damage

boat anchor

you can go broke a LOT quicker (and for a LOT longer!) if you screw up the management of your timber.

selling isn't "managing".

Since you’re in the Ozarks you need to read about Pioneer forest:

https://ladfoundation.org/pioneer-forest/pioneer-forest-management/

There are times when their style of single-tree selection can’t be applied in your oak-hickory forest. However, most of the time it can. The idea originally comes from the Forest Service then they gave up on it and went with clear-cutting. Since the 50’s Pioneer has been applying the selective cut and they have healthier forests with an increasing percentage of white oak. That can’t be said of Forest Service land.

Most landowners only get one shot to manage their property, why would you trust the first person who made you an offer?

Clark

absolutely,

Just sounded like the OP wasn't too concerned with management, or money. He was going to go with the first guy and his offer.

Hay pcr2 how many good wild plants you thing would be gone?

he's a good guy,he told him so.

yeah,logger prolly make a pile on the sang alone.

Never sell timber without a forester and a signed contract. They will act as your agent and you have control over the harvest.Without,it will look like a bomb was dropped and no timber sale in your life time or your children's!

The last forester I talked to charged 10% and did all the leg work, he measured and marked all trees to be cut and sent out up to a hundred bid packets to loggers around the Midwest. In my case I wanted a select cut with only the ash trees removed as they were going to die anyway ! You can have YOUR timber cut anyway you want and a good forester should be more than willing to work with you if you have thoughts of your own ! If your willing to let anyone have more than 50% of your logs then I have some swamp land for sale , lol !

I sold timber last winter and was paid half up front and the balance when the guy pulled out with the last load as agreed. All of the trees were marked and counted and I saw the logs that were pulled out and loaded. I was happy with what the guy did. I got three quotes. One to clear cut all of it and take anything large enough for a railroad tie, one to cut about half that and the third one only wanted some larger better trees and told me he thought I needed to only cut those and to call him in 10 or 15 years and he will do it again. That's the one I hired and he did great.

Illinois has timber??? LOL

pcr2 at least you could salvage the two caps.
Never knew what a P.A. bar looked like.

Take 160users advise and have it surveyed by a professional land surveyor, just a little oppsee over the line will cost you legal fees more that what it is worth.

Log cutting for sawing and cutting for firewood is a whole different ball game. There will be 75 % left if only high grading for lumber.

I got them to horse log our ash forest and 30 years later there is no stump damage done or visiable now. There was 25 more cords per acre from the foresters report stated.
And I got 2 weeks of free fertilizer in the end from 2 Persian horses.

Don't shoot but I'm a forester and a logger,were not all bad just take pcr2 for instance he's a good guy.red oak is the most valuable wood ,hickory not so much.the most important thing to consider before you hire any forester or logging contractor is references,and it's your job to check them out,go look at some of thier work,a semi load should be between 5 and 6 thousand board feet.familarize yourself with some of the terms ask some questions,don't leave it up to someone else.the best questions are the one that you know the answers to.if anyone takes offense to questions there UpTo no good. Good luck!! If you have any questions on me.