I live in Northern Kentucky and I am rebuilding a family farm that had been let go for many years. On 52 acres I am not exaggerating when I tell you that there are nearly 3000 cedar trees. Many of them are going to need to be cleared away anyway. I had heard there may be a possibility of some sawmills buying some of them. I was not sure the prices they would pay, honestly I was expecting a couple of dollars a piece.
After some research I found that the length of any log they will buy is 8’4”. Prices they will pay depend on several things. The quality of any log they buy must be free of rot. There is also a disease cedars catch that can cause a yellow mucous to effect the wood. This can dramatically lower the amount of money you can make.
When you are ready to cut cedars the price you will get for them is depending on the width on one side of the shortest side. The prices I received from the place closest to my home were quite pleasing. Although I will not go into detail, for 5″ logs they were nearly $3 a piece going all the way up to 20″ logs that were over $43.00 a piece. Cutting these logs is not really an easy process, however it needed done anyway.
It is best to cut these cedar trees large and small as close to the ground as possible. This is for several reasons; to prevent waste, and to prevent any stumps from being left in the way. Removing the limbs that are as high as you can reach without a chainsaw makes it much easier. It is best to cut the cedar tree to fall in the direction that is most cleared. Then you can begin trimming. Because of how many limbs a cedar tree has, there is an inevitable amount of stopping and dragging limbs away. Once all limbs are gone, a final trimming is done to remove any thing sticking out farther than the rest of the log.
Sounds like a lot of work doesn’t it? Yes it is, however I was able to cut nearly 5 large trees and had them trimmed in two hours. I got two to three logs from each tree. A rough estimation of the amount of money I would receive would be nearly $78.00. Continuing to work and cutting more logs will ensure that I make a good return for my labor.
Once you have accumulated enough logs it is time to transport them to a Sawmill. You have a few options for transport. To save transportation time you want to haul as many logs as you can. You could use a truck driver if you had enough logs to make that worth your while. Many people will use a goose neck trailer that requires a truck with a fifth wheel. However these trailers are 20′ long and allow you to transport many logs.
Eastern Cedar trees grow much faster than hardwood trees. A few trees here and there can make a good addition to any property. When you have a large build up and they are overgrowing parts of your property they are not.
Many people could ask why not just call a logging company that may offer comparable prices without having to do the work. For one I enjoy the work, at the same time I have a considerable problem with the decimation that would have been done to the land.
