Full Vigor Forestry
– Sustainable Forest Management from the Forest Owner’s Point of View.
– Jim Birkemeier – Timbergreen Farm Spring Green, Wisconsin, U.S.A
Our family harvested timber for the first time in 1974. I logged the best trees from 30 acres and our best bid for the logs was $1,400. That total amount was very disappointing and didn’t even cover our costs. After earning a forestry degree from the University of Wisconsin and working for several years as a consulting forester helping other landowners sell their timber in the traditional timber industry, I harvested some more of our family timber. The thought was to do it right this time, but we had the same disappointing result. Timber prices are simply too low to pay for good logging and earn a fair price to the grower for their time, effort, and investment. If the forest owner is not paid a profitable price for their timber, you better not call anything “Sustainable” when I’m around. Forests and Forest Owners are The Bottom of the Wood Chain – swallowed up and pooped out by big industry. I chose to NOT be a sardine any longer. I tried every part of the industrial/government forestry system as a professional forester and as a forest owner for decades - and finally quit in disgust.
I relearned forestry in my woods with my chain saw following the guiding gut feeling of ‘do just the opposite’ of what everyone else is doing in the timber industry. It worked!! Now I can earn $1,400 from a single small tree that is considered worthless in the timber market, and I can earn many thousands of dollars per tree for our better timber.
As the landowner, timber grower, forest manager, logger, sawmiller, and woodworker, I learned the same knowledge of the native-American Menominee Tribal Forests in NE Wisconsin and the traditional German Dauerwald. The Menominee forest managers maximize the quality and quantity of timber grown while encouraging greater natural diversity. They grow a healthy tree as long as it is vigorous and the risk of allowing the tree to stand until the next harvest cycle is low. There is no maximum size or age for a tree, and they just harvest part of the natural output of the forest. The German Dauerwald emphasizes natural succession and regeneration, with the understanding to “watch nature”. High-grading out the best trees or over-harvesting is Never Allowed. The Best Harvesting techniques and woodworking tools and methods have been gleaned by studying the Scandinavians.
Timbergreen Farm – The best of the best ideas from around the world have been sought out, modified, and personalized for maximum benefit to our family woodworking business. I looked at what resources I had right on the farm and found better ways than industrial logging:
Harvest the worst trees first – let the good trees grow as long as they are healthy and vigorous.
Encourage natural succession and natural regeneration. Watch nature and learn!!
Take only part of the natural output of the forest, what nature can spare.
Never let market demand determine what trees are cut for short term profit.
Perform a small annual harvest for a steady income and minimal impact.
Pay a professional timber feller a good wage for excellent selective harvesting.
Use the smallest possible equipment to move the logs, carrying the weight when possible.
Solar heated lumber kilns produce excellent quality lumber. Isolate collector from wood room.
Make high value finished wood products from low value logs. Small, crooked, undesirable trees.
Use all wood waste for fuel, bedding, mulch, bonfires.
Sell what you have, find the best use for every piece of wood harvested.
Plan ahead to meet needs in the local economy first – then export extra wood.
Happy customers sell more of your products when they show-off and tell their friends
Each floor/product is a showpiece to new customers. Happy Customers become volunteer sales staff.
Eliminate all the brokers, middlemen, shippers, wholesalers – keep all the money at home.
Selling finished products gives feedback to become a better forester, logger, woodworker.
Sell each piece of wood for its highest value use. Make Value not Volume.
Earn a high annual income to encourage protecting the forest for future production.
Use the value of natural solid wood products to support well paying jobs for local people!
Use the simplest, smartest method for each step.
Do just the opposite of what the big timber industry would do.
Create Jobs Connecting the Forest to the Local Community Last time I talked with Marshall Pecore, forest manager at Menominee Tribal Enterprises, he said they had one full time employee for every 400 acres of forest. Since my harvest cycle can be on an annual basis, instead of every 13 years like at Menominee, our timber management can be much more productive and efficient. Since we manufacture a much higher percentage of our harvested wood to a higher value and practice direct marketing, we can make a lot more money from every cut tree.
Making and installing flooring in the customer’s home can support one full time employee for every 20-40 acres of forest at Timbergreen Farm.
Spring Green Timber Growers retail store can support one full time employee for every 5-10 acres of forest.
A wood products business that uses urban trees can support one full time employee for every 50 trees that would otherwise go into the chipper/landfill each year.
Forests should Directly and Primarily benefit the forest owner and the local community, providing regular income, jobs, wood products, fuel, wildlife, water, recreation..... Direct marketing of high value wood products in a local economy can make this feasible.
You can choose to work in any part of this process. Spring Green Timber Growers do it everyday – these numbers are real and can be duplicated by other small businesses. This chart shows the range in values obtainable for hardwood timber and wood products in the USA, June 2011.
Value Multiplied Wood ProcessingValue Earned Per Tree in USD
Type of Scribner Stumpage $ Delivered $ Kiln Dry $Installed ‘Mega Value’
Tree Tree Scale Value (USD) to Mill Lumber Flooring Products
Small Diam | 10 bf | $.20 | $2 | $65 | $250 | $500 |
Crooked | 250 bf | 0 | $20 | $500 | $2,000 | $4,000 |
Undesirable | 250 bf | $5 | $20 | $400 | $2,500 | $5,000 |
Average | 300 bf | $60 | $120 | $1,200 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
Good Tree | 300 bf | $120 | $240 | $1,200 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
Super Tree | 400 bf | $2,400 | ???? | $2,400 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
We choose to earn Hundreds of dollars per tree for small diameter timber and thousands of dollars per tree for sawtimber sized trees by selling installed flooring and ‘Mega Value’ products. We choose to sell our wood direct to customers and eliminate all the brokers, wholesalers, shippers etc., and keep all the money right here in the family business. We do this to protect and manage our natural forest.
Timber Growers actually earn just about the same money whether we process a tree with good commercial value or a ‘worthless’ tree. All species have about the same high value in this system.
With flooring, we can earn about $10/board foot for a large volume of wood. This is the threshold value where I believe a small woodworking business can operate profitably. “Mega Value” products are higher priced items that take more time and skill to produce. Furniture, cabinets, countertops, stairways, etc. can earn $20/bf or higher but typically use less volume of better quality wood. Spring Green Timber Grower’s retail store makes a variety of wood art creations using a laser cutter/engraver that can earn up to $500/bf for jewelry, boxes, ornaments, and other small items that we export around the world.
Earning is limited only by the imagination. The potential market is endless and growing. Woodworking is simple and practical on a small scale. Woodworking is nothing new.
Conclusion:
One very important lesson on processing low value trees into high value products: A landowner or timber grower owned business can actually sustain manufacturing low value logs, as they also get the high value of improving their forest and land resource. Without gaining the extra benefit of improving your forest, there is no incentive to process small, crooked, defective logs that are very expensive to carefully harvest. A business strictly into making money woodworking can easily get better quality logs at cheaper prices from other landowners who do not value or manage their timber.
Earning high value for traditionally low value logs is essential to actually doing sustainable forest management – from the forest owner’s point of view.
Detailed information on all aspects of this introduction:
