still looking for a oak log supplier

[spencerhenry]

i am trying to find a new supplier of oak logs for firewood. i am in western colorado and currently truck processed firewood 1000 miles. i need to find someone closer and at the same time find the wood in log form. would like to get red oak, white oak, hickory, ash etc...
anybody in eastern nebraska, eastern kansas, or western iowa of somewhere similiar?

 

[Bucko]

Have you been posting on Forestry Forum also? I have seen a similar thread there. I thought a guy in Oklahoma had hooked up with you. You are gonna have to ship that stuff. No way out of that.

 

[spencerhenry]

havent heard from anyone in OK. ship it? no kidding!

 

[STLfirewood]

I would love to supply you with kiln dried oak firewood but I'm afraid the price would be to high. I can't imagine what you have to pay for logs shipped that far. Good saw logs bring $90-$100 a cord here and that is local shipping.

Scott

 

[spencerhenry]

i dont want to buy kiln dried wood, nor do i really want to buy processed wood. i dont need saw log quality logs either.
what i would like to buy is lower grade oak logs, but not green. right now i have firewood shipped from missouri, 1000 miles. for every 100 miles closer i can drop my cost by about $150 per load. i have a processor and would rather process it myself, the quality of the wood i am getting is one of the reasons i am looking for a supplier of logs.

 

[Circle B MN]

I'd say yu are flirting with $250 a cord delivered given 1000 miles of trucking, and $100 per cord for the product. Not a lot of oak between colorado and Iowa. What is the finished product selling for there...?

 

[spencerhenry]

apparently what i am trying to get across is not getting across. i DONT WANT TO TRUCK 1000 miles. i am looking for a supplier closer than that. i know there is oak in quantity around 750 miles. trying to find someone to cut it however is not as easy as i had thought. apparently the economy isnt as bad as it looks.
if i could get $30/ cord for my trees i would be cutting as fast as i could, there must be something i dont understand. the cost of living here is far higher than anywhere in the midwest and i cant find someone to cut oak logs for $50 per cord?

 

[STLfirewood]

That's because all land owners around here get a nice split. They want either a 50/50 or at least a 60/40. So that $100 a cord for oak is only bringing the logger $50 maybe $60 a cord. That's to the mill. There isn't a ton of money in that.

Scott

 

[Circle B MN]

Another consideration....what does the USDA think of transporting whole logs across state lines....?

 

[rmotoman]

Your problem is there is not that much oak in Kansas and hence no mills. The people who sell large volumes of oak firewood around here also get it from Missouri.

We have lots of hedge for firewood or fence posts but not much oak.

 

[Outlander]

There is a lot of Red Oak in western Iowa. I know of a place with close to 10 truckloads of standing dead that needs to be cut. It's about 60 miles east of Omaha but that means it's 30 miles west of me. For $50 a cord it is too costly for me to move my equipment over there to get it. Also, I don't know the landowner and don't know if they want to part with it or how much they think it is worth.

Would you be interested about traveling to Iowa to do the cutting and loading? If so, I can find the landowner and see what they want for the Oak and get you in contact with some places where you could rent some skidding and loading equipment ( read that as "a tractor with a loader"). I have found that a lot of times when you want/need something in an area far from home, it pays to make a road trip and get to know the people, make some contacts and do some business.

 

[Taxmantoo]

We have lots of hedge for firewood or fence posts but not much oak.

There's an idea. How close/cheap can you get osage and how would it sell in your area?

 

[BPS. LLC]

Another consideration....what does the USDA think of transporting whole logs across state lines....?

I know in PA, you can't import firewood into the state. They also frown upon moving firewood large distances across the state. I'm not sure it is anything federal here, but it has to do with the DCNR. I am five miles to MD so I bend the rules a little on occasion, but regardless the wood is only moving about 15 miles tops.