Question regarding selling standing timber

[Backwoods Savage]

Golf, the difference between, say, 10' and 12' is not even worth noting as far as size. Also, it may depend upon the needs of the mill as to which they would pay more for. I also think perhaps Jay is referring to some portable mills in his area which usually can't handle that large of a log.

 

[nrford]

Gentlemen, as far as log size goes, while some mills are set up to handle large logs a 20" average log size is ideal. Logs in that size class are easier to predict how they will saw out, ie. lumber quality. Logs of that size also process very quickly. While my mill was set up with a top-saw and a 42" carriage it was much more profitable to saw 20" logs versus 40". While it might take 15 minutes to saw a large log, 10-12 20" logs could be processed in same amount of time. I own a mill that sawed 4 million board feet per year, and worked for several that sawed more than 10 million board feet per year. As far as log length, yes, a tree cut into 8' logs will yeild more board feet, however the mills usually pay premiums for longer lengths thereby producing a higher dollar value from the tree.