I will second the market trend. Were letting paid for sales stand till market improves or we get close to cut deadline. Still paying north of $150 cord for red pine post wood.

Same here in Indiana. I noticed about 3 years ago.

With all the warm weather this winter, it could be an early start to the oak wilt season

Everyone blames oak wilt. Recently our oaks have been drought stressed with two lines chestnut borer

Not just oaks. Seems like almost all of our hardwoods are struggling with something or other.

I'm missing the dogwoods this time of year, anthracnose.
I'm seeing frass straws most everywhere from ambrosia beetle.
Shouldn't even have to mention our ash trees.

I used to have to answer, "What killed my tree?"
My answer was usually, "Yes."
The cause of death of a tree is more complicated than pinning it on one causal agent. Trees thrive when environmental factors are favorable. A tree under stress from a number of seasons of drought and/or flooding, or any number of other environmental detrimental factors can predispose that tree to death by the last causal agent, such as one season of gypsy moth or blight.
Did those gypsy moths or that blight kill that tree? Not in and of itself.

Guessing this is what is killing the red oak around here.

Around here the mature locusts are taking a beating.

I doubt that

Those big grubs are future June bugs

They get under rolls of hay down here, under rotten logs, just out in the yard in the dirt, etc

Our red oaks (and all trees) took a beating from the big freeze in 2022 and then dry conditions.

Whatever it is does not seem to affect sweetgum, elm, hackberry etc, basically anything I wouldn't care if it was wiped out thrives

Around here it’s a Stihl chainsaw. 22-30 inch bar

His top grub pic is a Japanese Beetle.

I noticed the other day the county forestry posted a reminder on their website that no dead oak can be cut down after April 1st due to oak wilt season. I didnt realize even dead ok can't be cut down. 'Makes me wonder if they really are only worried about the felling of freshly dead oaks. I can't imagine oak wilt would be in the stem of a tree that has been dead for 5 years.

Bacterial leaf scorch, xylem ( water transport). System in the red oak family, white oaks do not get it. It’s a long slow death. Leaders die off gradually. Pin oaks and reds around here have been dying off for the last 15 years. Drought accelerates the process.

It seems to me July 15th is too early to start cutting/trimming oak. I remember when the guideline used to say October 15th

Speaking of oak I planted a bunch of bur oak tonight. I have too many Red Oak and not enough members of the White Oak family on my property.