Logged Off

[backyardsugarer]

Well, the 2,500 tap farm that I ran for 3 years has now been logged off by the owner for a quick buck. Now I can't even find enough taps in my area to run a 2X6. Really sucks. May have some big time equipment in the for sale section soon.

[Dennis H.]

Sorry to hear about the trees.

It really sucks how some people only think about right now. depending on how had it was timbered my opinon is that it won't be good for anything or worth anything for years!! Granted it is thier land and they can do what they want but from a money or value stand point it is now worth a whole lot less.

I will now get off my soap box, sorry again about the trees. I hope that you can find more trees around your area.

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

I too am sorry about the trees. Were the owners Dairy farmers? If so, I completely understand their dilemma and why they did it. That business has been a real money losing proposition for the past 2 years and many guys have no way to get out. They are trying to turn all their assets into cash just to survive.

[marc]

sometimes the lure of the one time large stumpage check for the wood is to much to turn down. Some people can only look at the present value, but when the maple are gone they have to wait 25 or more years for it to grow before they have another chance to harvest or lease the trees. As a logger I am torn.:( Since I became a maple sugaring addict I look at those maples from a different point of view.

[ehausinfrats]

Yeah, I just bought a evaporator from a guy who was going to log off his maples. Said he was offered over $300k for them. Said he finished usually 300 gal of syrup annually and said he could do it for the rest of his kids life and never make that kind on money.

Sign of the times I suppose.

Eric

[brookledge]

That is also the problem of a owner having to decide of .50 per tap or 6 digit figures for the tree. The other thing is that the butt log on all of the maples will only be good for cord wood unless they are looking for boards with holes and stains. I have heard from some once you have tapped a maple for a few years and have enough holes drilled in them loggers usually are not so interested in them since the first 8 feet of the log is not usable in the mill
Keith

[red maples]

they can't be used for boards but now you have mulch, pellets, paper, fiber board, osb...and what everelse nothing goes to waste!!! sorry about the trees man!!! keep looking hopefully something will come up.

[Revi]

Sorry to hear that. People are short sighted nowadays. It's hard to hang on to land. The tax bill comes every year, and even if you log sustainably the checks come only about every ten years.

I hope you can find some other maples you can tap.

At least you have a 2x6 you can go back to.

[3rdgen.maple]

Yep that seems to be the norm now. Whenever someone sells around this area they either log it first to get some extra cash before they sell. It seems to work out well for them cause alot of out of state fisherman only want to put a cabin on it for a seasonal home and they have no problem paying the premium. The other thing that happens is when a piece of lands sells the new owner logs it off to help pay for the purchase. When we had our land logged 15 years ago we made it pretty clear not to touch any maples and the oaks they cut would be limited and we were to walk it together and pick which ones go and which ones stay and if they where a white oak it was out of the question. Seems odd but if the oaks were not the best lumber logs they stayed. We wanted the supply of the fall acorns to help sustain the deer population. We did end up culling some soft malples for the better ones to grow. It is a sad site to see a once beautiful sugar grove turned into a field of lost dreams. I hope backyard sugarer that you can find enough to feed the 2x6. Good luck and keep an eye out. Find a nice piece and buy it so no one can destroy it.

[red maples]

it would be nice to find a nice chunk of maples by me when the building boom started afew years ago there were farms sold at a premium to big contractors and wooded lots being cut like crazy for developments and such. with the housing market the way it is it has slowed...thank goodness. there are smaller plots of maples and alot of road side maples but very little big old woods here and if there is like behind my house. most filled with pine and oak and beech with a few others scattered about. I have a ton of white oak by me but I will take out a 1 or 2 this year big monsters too. should get alot out of those trees. SO for me its 50 here 75 there another 60 there. you'll get some back!!! keep your hopes up.

[Jim Brown]

backyardsugarer; If you happen to fine a good piece of property with maples try and get the landowner to sign a long term lease. We have ours at 10 years and a ten year option.The land owner just told me last week he would be willing to sign a life time agreement(my kids life time) so the trees can be used for maple production in years to come. Sweet!

just a thought

Jim

[moeh1]

Maybe there is an attorney on here that could comment. A "lifetime lease" is ambiguous and might be nullified if enough money was involved. I've seen 99 year leases, or shorter terms with the option to renew as workarounds. That said, only bringing this up as a question, not legal advice

[Jim Brown]

moeh1; The land is in a trust and will be handled by the executor at the time of the landowners death.(exectuor of the trust happens to be my cousin).We have had our dealings with the trust.

Jim

[wally]

there is a limited market for the butt logs, as figured/character wood. lumber milled from tapped butt logs is actually pretty interesting. not my cup of tea, but i could see that some folks would like it.

because sugar maple does such a good job of compartmentalization, there's minimal rot in those tapped butts. even without figured/character markets, they can still be pallet logs.

why condemn the actual owners? who knows what their situation is? nor will i condemn the logger for harvesting the wood. if turned down, the job would have gone to the next contractor on "the list". harvesting wood, even a non-owner's sugarbush, is what they do for a living.