The problem with defect is that it never leaves the landing and ends up in chunk pile. Our mill and peeler plant have pretty tight standards for loads coming in. Anything that doesn’t make spec is usually not allowed to unload or the logger was fined. The mill is paying for a certain grade of log so the tight rules on grading. There is always some hidden defect that doesn’t show until it goes through the head rig but sending avoidable defect to the mill is a no no. Any type of butt rot gets chunked off until you are into sound wood. Checks, twist, crooks .... either it makes the spec or into the pile. We have an ok pulp market so there is a home for some junk, but when you bought the sale thinking it was high grade sawlog or a peeler stand and it turns out to be pulp then the **** hits the fan.
We buy a lot of gov't sales and if we don't know the area or who did the development work we spend some time looking around, looking at the cruise reports and if suspicious take out the saw to check. Destructive sampling is an invaluable tool (if permitted) to verify the condition of a stand if it makes you twitchy. Hemlock and cedar send alarm bells off around here. So does large dia.high elevation spruce – cubicle butt rot (CBR) is very prevalent. We do lots of measurements to see how much vol will be lost to long butting at the landing. Its worth the time and cost.
Watch heli logger on Discovery, they bore every tree on the stump before they touch it.
