Price per acre

Still waters

Hi, my uncle has been approached by a local guy who sells timber about cutting 8 acres of spruce, its about 30 years old and he hadn't really thought about it until he was approached about it, he was put on the spot at the time and didn't know what price to ask, your man didn't offer a price either though, he just said to him if he was interested in selling and if he was how much did he want.
So thats my question, how much is 8 acres of 30 year old spruce worth?

Still waters

Anyone? Dont need a solid figure, just a rough estimate will per acre, ballpark figures just to give a rough idea of worth, thanks

coolshannagh28

Still waters wrote: »

Anyone? Dont need a solid figure, just a rough estimate will per acre, ballpark figures just to give a rough idea of worth, thanks

How long is a piece of string , get a forester to measure it and you will have an exact value or rough it yourself , well grown spruce 30 years planted should achieve @10 k+ per acre ballpark.
http://www.coford.ie/media/coford/content/publications/projectreports/TimberMeasurementManual.pdf

Still waters

coolshannagh28 wrote: »

How long is a piece of string , get a forester to measure it and you will have an exact value or rough it yourself , well grown spruce 30 years planted should achieve @10 k+ per acre ballpark.
http://www.coford.ie/media/coford/content/publications/projectreports/TimberMeasurementManual.pdf

Ill go with that, ill tell him 10k approx and let the other guy counter offer, it'll be interesting to see what comes of it

Large bottle small glass

Still waters wrote: »

Ill go with that, ill tell him 10k approx and let the other guy counter offer, it'll be interesting to see what comes of it

What's access like? Is there a road built to enable trucks to load? Has it been thinned a few times?

Before you go near anyone with a price educate yourself or pay someone to do.

I'd be inclined to wait until world prices are good before going to market.

You probably have 12 months anyhow I'm currently waiting 8 months and counting for a felling licence.

There are very few departments that can compete with the Forestry service for ineptitude.

My inspector has never worked anywhere else since qualifying. The only thing he is good at is putting up red tape. Rant over

$kilkenny

€10,000 per acre for timber is achievable but in very limited circumstances. As Large bottle small glass has said it depends on a lot of different factors with thinning being the major factor.


To be honest, I would not sell any timber for a lump sum, pay for it over the weighbridge and you will get its true worth. From experience, depending on location, timber size, quality, forwarding distance, the layout of the site etc anywhere from €5000- €7000 unthinned and from €7000 to €10,000 plus thinned. Exceptional unthinned crops will achieve more.

Best option to me, get prices for it per ton over a weighbridge and you will get whats it's actually worth.

Any interest in taking the branches off of the site for biomass after it has been felled let me know, trying to source material all over the country at the moment.

Still waters

$kilkenny wrote: »

€10,000 per acre for timber is achievable but in very limited circumstances. As Large bottle small glass has said it depends on a lot of different factors with thinning being the major factor.


To be honest, I would not sell any timber for a lump sum, pay for it over the weighbridge and you will get its true worth. From experience, depending on location, timber size, quality, forwarding distance, the layout of the site etc anywhere from €5000- €7000 unthinned and from €7000 to €10,000 plus thinned. Exceptional unthinned crops will achieve more.

Best option to me, get prices for it per ton over a weighbridge and you will get whats it's actually worth.

Any interest in taking the branches off of the site for biomass after it has been felled let me know, trying to source material all over the country at the moment.

That sounds more like it, i was talking to him and he said 10k sounded expensive, hes the sort of man that would want a fair price but not to fleece anyone, also remember this fella will be cutting with a chainsaw and is only cutting for firewood to sell on, i think anything around 5 k an acre would be fair for everyone but i can only pass on the message

Also this place was never thinned only planted and forgotten about for 30 years, when my uncle bought the place he didnt want the land but it came with it, so anything he'll get for it will be a bonus in his eyes

Regards a weigh bridge, that would be ideal but nearest weigh bridge weighbridge is 50 min away so thats a non runner

$kilkenny

Ah cutting it for firewood would be a different story. When I say a weighbridge as if he was going to sell it to a buyer to be harvested into lengths etc. All lorrys loads of timber are weighed at the end user you see when the timber is harvested, extracted and sold.

It would require a felling license by law which would cause some issues. It could also be more valuable to be harvested and sold as construction timbers etc

Still waters

$kilkenny wrote: »

Ah cutting it for firewood would be a different story. When I say a weighbridge as if he was going to sell it to a buyer to be harvested into lengths etc. All lorrys loads of timber are weighed at the end user you see when the timber is harvested, extracted and sold.

It would require a felling license by law which would cause some issues. It could also be more valuable to be harvested and sold as construction timbers etc

All good advice, ill let him know about felling license also

blue5000

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

What's access like? Is there a road built to enable trucks to load? Has it been thinned a few times?

Before you go near anyone with a price educate yourself or pay someone to do.

I'd be inclined to wait until world prices are good before going to market.

You probably have 12 months anyhow I'm currently waiting 8 months and counting for a felling licence.

There are very few departments that can compete with the Forestry service for ineptitude.

My inspector has never worked anywhere else since qualifying. The only thing he is good at is putting up red tape. Rant over

Has anyone actually got a felling licence recently?

OP I wouldn't be in any rush to sell at present, heating oil is very cheap right now, your uncle might be better off to leave it standing for a while if it's only going for firewood. As $K says try to get some construction stuff out of it first, the lad with the chainsaw might get a few loads after.

What are the branches wanted for $K?

$kilkenny

I got back 2 felling licenses in the last 3 months, I have 8 or 9 in the Dept and another 6 or 7 on my desk to send in. Saying that, I have had 3 Forest Road approvals and 2 Afforestation approvals in the last month alone.

It seems felling license are now the slowest thing in the Department, used to be Afforestation applications. The one thing I will say is everything I've got back had no water courses nearby or onsite. Its the water courses that are slowing down the whole thing due to screening and inspections etc from what I can see.

The branches is for biomass production, woodenergy etc. Always a demand for it even when heating oil is cheap.

G-Man

$kilkenny wrote: »

Its the water courses that are slowing down the whole thing due to screening and inspections etc from what I can see.

How close to watercourse affects it, I guess that includes any river and drainage ditch. Thats interesting I see a small mature plantation near me up for sale and I know its criss crossed with a two good flowing natural streams and lots of drainage ditches.

$kilkenny

The watercourse has to be identified as a watercourse on an OSI 6inch map so a dry ditch doesnt count. Moreless anywhere with flowing water all year round. It has to flow through or directly beside the site.

Special areas of conservation are different in that if the felling area falls within I think 3km, someone correct me if I'm wrong, it gets sent to the ecologist also regardless of any type of a drain or watercourse.

cycling is fun

$kilkenny wrote: »

€10,000 per acre for timber is achievable but in very limited circumstances. As Large bottle small glass has said it depends on a lot of different factors with thinning being the major factor.


To be honest, I would not sell any timber for a lump sum, pay for it over the weighbridge and you will get its true worth. From experience, depending on location, timber size, quality, forwarding distance, the layout of the site etc anywhere from €5000- €7000 unthinned and from €7000 to €10,000 plus thinned. Exceptional unthinned crops will achieve more.

Best option to me, get prices for it per ton over a weighbridge and you will get whats it's actually worth.

Any interest in taking the branches off of the site for biomass after it has been felled let me know, trying to source material all over the country at the moment.

Hi I have sent you a pm regarding the bio mass/branch question you asked