Pecan Firewood Marathon Time in Georgia ?

[clinchscavalry]

I need some ideas/help/feedback from forum members to decide how to handle a fairly big job this winter. One of my pecan orchards is severely overcrowded and needs a drastic thinning. Out of approximately 500 trees, I need to remove at least 150 of them, probably more These trees were planted in the twenties, and some are quite large. I just finished cutting and splitting just one, medium sized tree in another orchard, and it yielded at least two cords, not counting the lower part of the trunk, which had another cord in it, but it was too big to split.

I have toyed with the idea of simply girdling the trees, letting them die and then cleaning up the mess as needed. However, that would be a criminal waste of good firewood and great cooking wood.

Here's a thought, and I'd appreciate advice and comments. What if we had a wood cutting and splitting party in the pecans ? I had in mind finding, say, a dozen of you to come on down to middle GA, bring your saws and splitters and whatever else you needed, and we'll attack this job in force. I realize it is not practical to travel several hundred miles to cut wood and then have to haul it back, but this stuff is primo for barbecuing and other types of cooking. I imagine it could fetch a premium price in parts of the country where it is not obtainable. The wood could be split evenly among the participants.

If someone could bring a really large truck or trucks so that the haul costs would be reasonable, then the rest of us could proceed to fill it/them up. If several of you live relatively close together, then it might be possible to get one person to furnish the truck and then dump it in a central location to be divided up among everyone.

Conservatively, I figure there are at least 300 cords of wood to come out of this job, and I'm not counting other trees to remove on orchard no. two and three.

I might could even convince the wife to room and board maybe a half dozen of you while we work on the thinning.

I envision a couple of climbers and riggers, a couple of bucket trucks and as many chainsaws and splitters as we could round up. These trees are not going to come down in one piece since they are close to another tree, so topping will be required in most cases.

Incidentally, we don't have snow here and the winters are generally about perfect for outside work


The pictures below show wood from just one tree(on the trailer and stacked) and the orchard I intend to thin. For what it's worth, I've been putting this off for years since I can't stand the thought of removing perfectly good trees, but everyone agrees production will be improved when we open things up, and I guess I better listen to the experts and suck it in.



Let's hear some ideas, criticism, sarcasm, and general BS concerning this project.

 

[STLfirewood]

I'm with Treeco. I could come down with a Towable lift and a pole saw and knock out a lot of trees quick. I could bring a skid steer and a grapple for piling. But I couldn;t do it for just wood. I would have to be compensated. Good for you for offering the wood to people who might want it but Money wise it wouldn't for me just for the wood.

You should look for a market for the wood and sell it to BBQ places. It would be easy processing.

Scott

 

[clinchscavalry]

I'm with Treeco. I could come down with a Towable lift and a pole saw and knock out a lot of trees quick. I could bring a skid steer and a grapple for piling. But I couldn;t do it for just wood. I would have to be compensated. Good for you for offering the wood to people who might want it but Money wise it wouldn't for me just for the wood.

You should look for a market for the wood and sell it to BBQ places. It would be easy processing.

Scott

You're right about the BBQ places, but around these parts, good cooking wood (mostly oak and hickory) are plentiful and easy to get. I tried to work out a deal with several local restaurants, but they snubbed the pecan saying they used hickory. Duh ! When I told them it was a hickory they gave me a dumb look like I was feeding them a line. Personally, I have never cooked with anything better. Chicken turns a golden brown and has a super flavor which is very subtle but noticeable. It does not blacken meat like some folks report, and it does not pop anymore than oak when burned. I have noticed some varieties are much easier to split than others, but overall I would give it a D for splitting ease.

I can't afford to pay someone to take down and clean up 150-200 trees, but I thought perhaps some folks might be able to find a market near them that appreciates the cooking qualities of this wood and then could get a premium price.

I paid a local guy $150 just to climb and top one tree and put it on the ground. My son and I spent the rest of the day cutting it up and splitting the pieces, but that particular tree defied my 27 ton log splitter, and nearly one third of it was pushed into a pile. I figure we got almost three cords out of that particular tree. Obviously, I can't pay $30,000 to have him cut down all 200 trees, much less physically clean up all of it by myself in time to start managing the orchard in the early spring.

However, I appreciate the offers and comments so far. I wish I could get all of you here with a pocket full of money

 

[STLfirewood]

Here is another thought. The BBQ stores around here sell different types of wood in small bags. Find these bags and get the name of he manufacture. They might buy the trees from you standing. Or they might buy the chips by the tractor trailer load. You could cut the trees down and pile them up. Have someone come in with a chipper and chip them into a tractor trailer. They make big chipper to handle this kind of work. Just a thought.

Scott

 

[bsearcey]

You may want to contact a company like Weber. You know a company that sells the wood chips or chunks in stores. I just seached quickly and saw that a 5lb bag of chunks from homedepot cost $6.50. Roughly trying to calculate how much they could get from your trees (not including costs associated with harvesting a processing) I came up with $1,170,000.

I assumed that a cord of pecan (dried 20%MC) weighs around 3,000lb(I think this is a little low, but couldn't find anything to go on). So....

300 cords(your guess in cords) @ 3000lbs = 900,000 lbs
900,000lbs/5lbs = 180,000 units or bags of chunks
180,000 units x $6.50 = $1,170,000

Dats alot of money. Shoot find some investors and do it yourself. Call em Clinch's Pecan Chunks and sell for $6 a 5lb bag. Then you could pay TreeCo. $750 a day to come harvest it. Even if it took him 30 days that's only $22,500.

I don't know. I'm sure there are alot of variables to consider, but I definitely think there is money to be made. JMO. Wish I could help though. Sounds like fun.

 

[Marc]

Hope you find a solution.

If you could move your orchard up to southern New England, I'd be glad to help clean up for some hickory-like firewood.

Nice cutting conditions too... looks like flat and weed free. Whenever I'm out getting firewood from fencelines I'm battling bittersweet, hobblebush, striped maples, truck size clumps of multiflora, burdocks, poison ivy, etc. around steep banks, sidehills, stone walls, rusty barbed wire (buried in the tree trunk most of the time) and other neat things.

 

[sunfish]

Ask this in the chainsaw forum, surely there's enough saw nuts in the south east that would love to help.

If here in Missouri, a logger would come in, take the logs, sell on half's and you'd get a very large pay check. Not sure what the lumber situation is there for pecan though. But I'd sure figure some way to make money with this umpkin2:

 

[clinchscavalry]

Good ideas from everyone, and please keep them coming.

Last year I contacted several "BBQ Wood" type marketers that sold a tiny amount of pecan for big $, but none of them really seemed interested due to the haul distance. If I could figure out how to transport this wood to the NE, CA or even the NW, I bet there would be good demand and decent prices. However, we have plenty of pecan around here, and we also have almost unlimited supplies of other good firewood species. Add that to the fact that our winters are usually mild, and it's just not a good firewood market situation.

My plan is to use the lower trunk for lumber if the tree is the right shape and size. Unfortunately, most pecans are "trained" to branch out a few feet above the ground, so there's not much lumber potential in some trees. I want to build a pole shed in the orchard just to store firewood under. Pecan wood does not last long, unprotected in our climate, but I think it will do OK under cover on gravel. I would also like to have the sawmill cut some thin cooking planks when he saws the regular lumber. I see these things selling for ridiculous prices.

The logistics of all this work is just too much for me to handle, so if I don't get plenty of help, I'll likely take out a few trees each winter, as many as time allows.

Meanwhile, some of you living in areas where pecan does not grow, check out the potential for selling it as a specialty cooking wood or for lumber, etc. Who knows, it might be profitable enough to justify me hiring a few log trucks for a trip up north with the goods

And remember, you can come down here with no ice, snow, cold, briars, etc. and cut wood in a park-like setting. Call it a working vacation. We can even take a day or two off and chase a local whitetail or wild hog, and, in the case of the latter, cook it over pecan coals.

 

[brian660]

i`d love to take a crack at it, but I won`t be close till the spring time.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

might try

contacting the local churches and see if any have a "restoration ministry" a local church has one. i'm not a member but work when i can they fix up houses but also have an ongoing firewood service for the poor elderly etc. we constantly cut and split wood couple hundred cord a year but its easy some weekend we have 6 or more splitters with lots of labor. when we go get trees/logs we have teens who hump brush many hands make light work. our biggest bottle neck is we don't have enough trucks and trailers we could do a lot more. if theres a deal like that there or if theres a skypilot wants to start one i could put him in touch with steve he could explain better how it all works hes an organizing son of a gun. i'm just a tool whore and labor

 

[CountryBoy19]

We can even take a day or two off and chase a local whitetail or wild hog, and, in the case of the latter, cook it over pecan coals.

Now you're catching on... You sure got my attention, and I doubt that I'm the only one.


MMMMM.... HUNTING.... PORK.... SMOKED OVER PECAN....:greenchainsaw:

Really, if it was a little closer and I wasn't so busy with my own wood cutting situation I would be there in a heartbeat. I have always wanted to do some hog-hunting, and there is nothing better than "Roast Beast" on a fire made of good ole Pecan wood.

 

[Frank Boyer]

Lazarri in South San Francisco sells a lot of pecan. You might give them a call. They sell 40 lb size bags, and cord wood.

 

[nametrux]

A hardwood lumber man told me the difference between hickory and pecan.

"If you use it for tool handles or bed slats it's hickory. If your making jewelry boxes it's pecan."

He said it took a lot of training to tell the difference in the finished wood.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

How close are you to Dublin? I'll be down there for a week at Christmas and would be glad to come give you hand for a day if you aren't too far off.

Ian

 

[clinchscavalry]

Lazarri in South San Francisco sells a lot of pecan. You might give them a call. They sell 40 lb size bags, and cord wood.

sent them an e-mail last week before I went off for a long weekend trip, but no response so far.

How close are you to Dublin? I'll be down there for a week at Christmas and would be glad to come give you hand for a day if you aren't too far off.

I'm only about 27 miles from Dublin, just a couple miles off I-16 headed north towards Macon. Come by and see us if you're in the neighborhood.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Sounds like fun, I'll PM for some directions when it gets a little closer.

Ian

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

You may want to contact a company like Weber. You know a company that sells the wood chips or chunks in stores. I just seached quickly and saw that a 5lb bag of chunks from homedepot cost $6.50.


That means HD i sprobably paying 3 bucks a bag for it.

Roughly trying to calculate how much they could get from your trees (not including costs associated with harvesting a processing)

...

I don't know. I'm sure there are alot of variables to consider,

Yep. More than most folks realize.

Equipment wear and tear, fuel, lube, maintenance, chains, etc. Marketing costs, permits, fines because you didn't research the needed permits and got nailed, labor, legal fees, etc., etc., etc.

It's not as simple as $6.50 a bag times X bags = gazillions of dollars in your pocket.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Last year I contacted several "BBQ Wood" type marketers that sold a tiny amount of pecan for big $, but none of them really seemed interested due to the haul distance. ... we have plenty of pecan around here, and we also have almost unlimited supplies of other good firewood species. Add that to the fact that our winters are usually mild, and it's just not a good firewood market situation.

... there's not much lumber potential in some trees. ...


The logistics of all this work is just too much for me to handle, so if I don't get plenty of help, I'll likely take out a few trees each winter, as many as time allows.

Now you're talking sense. Dreams are nice, and possibilities are endless, but it sounds like you've done the homework, and the reality is, there's not much market for your wood. You can't wish a market that doesn't exist. You really have two choices - go big, or not. The Go Big option means making a full time business out of dropping and processing these trees. It means capital investment in the correct equipment to fell, split, chip, bag, and whatever else is needed to get this stuff to market. Will it pay off for only 200-300 trees? Probably not. Since the companies that already HAVE all the right equipment AND the all-important distribution channels are NOT interested, that should tell you all you need to know.

 

[HOGBEAR]

I cant believe that there arent any loggers that would be interested. Ill contact some friends to see if they would be interested in the wood.

 

[banshee67]

i was watching a big bbq contest lastnight on tv, they were in texas somewhere.. one of the guys said he doesnt use charcoal , that he only uses his own hardwoods, "pecan and hickory" .. then i remembered from reading this thread also lastnight, that pecan is a type of hickory,, right?