Oak logs

Hardwood11 said:

Any guesses on whether Walnut will stay this high? How is White Oak doing?

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Walnut has been about as consistent as anything lately, and barring a total economic collapse, white oak should continue to do well. Up until very recently, white oak was outperforming red oak (my dad's a timber buyer and I keep an eye on prices out of curiosity from growing up around it.0

IowaBowHunter1983 said:

I don't remember a time since i've been paying attention that Red Oak was what I would call a good price. Almost all new builds have gone away from Oak so I imagine that plays a role?

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Red oak is fairly cyclical but yes, it's been fairly depressed price wise for a couple of years, the tariffs on China were probably a bigger factor than anything lately to be honest. It would surprise most people knowing how much timber from the Midwest ends up over there that doesn't even come back in the form of furniture.

I just bought a house after walking through around 65 of them, and the clear trend for the under 40 group is either walnut/dark stained wood, light hard maple/oak painted white, or vinyl floors. Unless the trends change or Asia suddenly falls in love with red oak, I wouldn't plan on getting rich on a patch of red oak.

Hardwood11 said:

Anyone done any logging lately ? Walnut, oak ? I imagine the values are up ?

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Walnut still holding strong, even #1/2 common saw logs. The best walnut veneer tree I've ever laid eyes on was felled recently and went for something like $17k to the veneer buyer. I didn't throw a caliper on it but at chest height I'd guess it was a 30" tree with the first knot at the end of the third log length.

Red oak is finally starting to pick back up, but there's an inventory glut the industry is going to have to sell through before prices really start to pop compared to everything else.

One thing I will say- most good mills have enough logs in the yard to get through spring break up right now, and plenty of contracts for this summer so if you're looking to get under contract, the next month would be a good time to line up a cut for next fall/winter.

I spent a fair bit of time studying trees in the timber this week. I've got some pretty ambitious chain sawing planned. I picked out a lot of burr oak I could run through the mill that would open up the canopy a bunch, but one thing I have a very hard time doing is cutting a giant oak. I have a few I visit every year during shed season with 4'+ bases. I like to stand next to them and question what has all transpired in that valley while that tree lived. Has a black bear or lynx climbed it? Have elk herds walked nearby? How many Native hunters have passed this tree? What long forgotten tragedy may have taken place while this tree stood looking on?
This one grows high up on a ridge, higher than than most oaks go on this leoss ridge. With an easy 4' base, big limbs branch out so low you can easily hop up and sit on one. Long before the cedar trees started crowding in from above and the walnut popped up alongside, this tree grew without competition. The wide-open space around it allowed it to grow out and take up a lot of real-estate without having to grow tall. The short trunk is ultimately what probably saved it from a settler's ax and the reason I get to stare at it and wonder.

I guess those old trees will always be safe from me.