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Wow, that's so exciting! 🙂
Also, I love to switch back and forth from your teaching videos to your new content about home and nature. That's something we definitely have in common!
Yay, that you are able to have a septic system! And I agree I grew up on a dairy farm in WNY and loved roaming the land! I hope you get a decent price for the lumber!
I’m a little late, but #459. Super excited to see your homesteading journey 🙂
Hey guys, I just came across your channel and subscribed. I didn't catch what part of the states you are in but will go back to the beginning and catch your journey. I wanted to give you a couple tips on the logging you will be doing. I was a logger for a while but my body said I should consider other opportunities if I planned on walking much longer and I miss it greatly. You mentioned that you have a forester which is a good idea. If you haven't signed a contract yet do some checking around and make sure he is a certified forester and not just a broker. Nothing wrong with either but they are different. Some guys who mark trees call themselves foresters but lack the training of a real one. Also, do some homework and see what timber is going for in your area. Often you can get a prepayment or even a full payment from loggers who deal directly with the mills. In some cases on standing timber, they will bid on the lot but you may come up on the short end of the deal because they bid on it not knowing how it will grade out, which is where they make their money. The best way to get the most bang for your buck is to hire a reputable logger to cut it and drag it out on a percentage basis. Once they cut it to length the mill will send someone out to grade the logs on site before the haul it to the mill. Make sure you see the grading sheet and the $/board ft. Most areas grade logs 1,2,3 Select, Prime and Prime Select, and veneer which brings in the big bucks. Different times of years mills may take or reject logs less than a 3 depending on the market and how full their log yards are. But you can still use it for firewood. A good logger can take a $500 log and turn it into a $1200 by proper sectioning into log length. Ask around and get a logger who is known to be honest. If I were in your area and still logging I would have done the logging, handled the sale to the mill and cut log roads in for a 40%60 split, and that includes marking the trees and clearing an area for a log yard, which is something also you want to consider. I know you like the trees and want to keep as many as you can, but bear in mind certain trees only grow to a particular size and then start to degrade in value. A good rule of thumb (old school) is for an average size man to wrap his arms around the tree and if his fingers don't touchmark the tree to be cut. Try to figure out what areas you are going to clear cur and have them set there log yard up there. That way you are not paying to have them clear another area and have a log yard clearing that isn't being used for anything. The log yard, by the way, is where they stage the logs when they bring them out of the woods with the skidder and then section them to later be picked up by the log trucks. Also, find out when the best price per board foot is in your area, typically it's at the onset of winter but not always. Waiting a month or two can double your money if you have the time to wait. The lumber markets are a lot like the stock market because a lot of what gets cut here gets shipped overseas. Especially veneer logs. One last tip. Save your self some extra time and money and be ready to make improvements as soon as possible to the land that you cleared. Once the trees are removed, and the soils disturbed in the process, the briars and undergrowth take over pretty quick, especially if you are in an area with kudro, or whatever it's called. If you are not ready to build on it right away at least fence it off and throw a few goats in there followed by some pigs. Thanks for taking us on your journey and I'm looking forward to living vicariously through it. lol.
What state do you live in?