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[Don Staples]

jim logsdon wrote:
> 
> I have just moved to east-central Texas and am wondering about the
> possibilities of logging on private land.  I'm wondering if it would be
> profitable to be a one-man operation and selectively log a piece of land,
> then haul it to a lumber mill.  How many acres needed to maintain a
> long-term management plan? Is pine the most profitable?  I saw an ad in the
> local paper advertizing 74 acres of planted 12-15 year old pine for sale,
> ready for thinning?  Would there be a market for the trees that are thinned
> out of this plot?  Are the days of a one-man team logging operation a
> distant memory or can a hard-working person make a decent living doing
> this?  Thanks for your input -- Brett
> 
> Journalism is merely history's first draft.

Good long question, no short answers.  A one man operation is viable,
IF, that one man wants to kill himself working.  Most small operators
will have a minimum of a two or three man crew, and work on other tracts
than their own.  A dependable small operator is a rare jewel we
consultants like to find for smaller tracts.  Right now, pickens are
slim, low prices and plenty of wood available.  But, you will have to
have a contract of some nature with the companies, or go through a
middle man that will take a cut of your income, or work under another
loggers contract, who will take a cut of your income.

12-15 year old plantation is probably not ready for thinning, unless
exceptional sylvics applied in the past 12-15 years (herbicide,
fertilizer, and prunning).  The only market would be fence posts to a
treating plant, maybe not that, depending on the size of the stems.  A
small logging operation can make money, one man alone can make a living,
decent depends on your needs.
-- 
Don Staples
UIN 4653335

Web Offerings:  http://www.livingston.net/dstaples/