Which states do you work in?

Most of our logging work is done in Iowa and Illinois. If you have cut logs to sell, we'll travel to Illinos, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota to work with you!

Decide on your personal goals - There are a lot of logging options to consider dependent upon your needs.  Immediate or retirement income, wildlife habitat, as well as agricultural and real estate development are some goals that we've helped with.  Every property is different!

Ensure that you understand the logging process - Be sure to ask specific questions.  We do our best to explain how we operate but we encourage you to ask questions.   What kind of footprint the desired work will leave, what kind of time frame can the work be completed in, what impacts can weather have, and others may impact your long term decisions.  

Check references -  It is quite common for us to log individual properties multiple times.  Sustainable timber harvest is only possible when responsible decisions are made by caring partners.  We must be doing something right if we keep getting invited back!  

Timbers are just another type of crop, grow it right! Growing hardwood timber as a long-term crop often requires 40+ years of sustainable active management in a young or newly planted timber. If you're starting with established timber, it is not uncommon to log every 6-8 years while your improving your property for the future with new growth.   Your work should focus on high-value species like oak, walnut, and cherry rather than fast growing softwoods. 

Select the right "crop": Identify and manage for 100-150 preferred trees per acre.   Plant thousands but only keep the best as they grow.  Get row of the slow growers and those less desirable looking trees.

Site Matching:  Proper growing conditions are extremely important, most would say critical.  Plant high dollar trees on their preferred soil type with proper amounts of annual moisture to ensure optimal growth. 

Pruning and thinning with proper spacing is important: Remove lower branches and thin surrounding trees to promote clean, straight, knot-free trunk development while trees are young.  Limbs, even small ones, can greatly reduce the value of mature trees.  Proper spacing and light availability will help prevent trees from "suckering" and save pruning work.

Avoiding High Grading only jobs: Never harvest only the best trees while leaving less desirable trees standing.  This impacts genetics, discourages proper pricing on future jobs, and even though it may seem attractive to see a bigger "per tree" check, your long term gains will ultimately be less. Stay in it for the long haul!

Ask around! Quality companies have earned the respect of everyone in the business. We're proud of our reputation and repeatedly get word of mouth business opportunities.  We routinely get invited back to do more work by happy landowners.

Be wary of the company that is only concerned about cutting valuable trees.  Unfortunately some business owners aren't looking out for the landowners, the resource, or the industry long term.  Don't high grade!

That's definitely the million dollar question! Tree species, size, clarity, accessibility, and volume all come into play when pricing logs or standing timber.  Additionally, as with any commodity, the market is constantly changing to meet the needs of the world. 

Prices vary.  It is quite common for individuals to hear that a neighbor, or even a friend from further away, was paid a high amount for a small number of trees.  That can often be the case but unfortunately soil type, genetics, water availability, elevation, storm damage, livestock, and a variety of other factors can influence value.  We grade logs and trees individually and pay you as much as we can!  Some  may only be worth a small amount and others thousands of dollars!

Beware of non-specific contracts. If someone is unwilling to sign a contract ask yourself why.  Be sure to understand what's being cut, when they're being cut, and what you'll be paid.

Logging is dangerous, dirty, and expensive business.  The good thing is you don't have to worry about that!  We'll work out the details of what will be cut, when we'll be there, and what you'll be paid.  It's up to us to make it work for you and  our company.  

The short answer is yes.  The long answer includes considerations for visible and internal tree damage, more time consuming, dangerous, and  tedious work, and less desirable trees that can still be marketed so they aren't totally wasted.  

There are a lot of strategies that can be effective! Putting skidder roads in proper locations so they are useful in the future, cutting good, bad, and ugly trees to allow for new growth or promote growth of existing trees, and planting new trees with preferred genetics can all help ensure a solid future.

Cutting the right trees is critical.  To protect your investment long term, the general rule of thumb is to cut mature trees along with less desirable stock.  Occasionally a smaller tree has to be taken to effectively harvest others and sometimes very valuable trees should be left to protect small trees.  Find a logger that has your best interest in mind as as their own.  

 It's often part of our plan!  Logging, when done right, can have incredibly positive impacts on recreational properties.  Deer, turkey, and other wildlife can benefit from edge habitat created by skidder trails, brush piles and tops offer nesting and bedding areas, browse becomes plentiful from new growth, and mast production by new plantings or established  trees that get some sun can increase!  

Will all of the activity move deer off of my property? We frequently work around preferred hunting times.  While an argument can be made that machinery and saws could move deer away, one can also argue that disturbance always seems to draw attention from wildlife.  It's very common to see a variety of tracks from deer and other wildlife at work sites!

There are long and short term benefits!  Opening up the understory, clear cutting for food plots, and planting roads to various types of forage are a few things that we've worked on with landowners.  

All work leaves a footprint.  While it true that it would be impossible to remove logs from timber without leaving signs of activity, conscientious loggers can help alleviate some of the mess by cutting the tops lower to the ground, or occasionally piling brush as part of the job.  

Taking all marketable logs reduces biomass left on the ground.  Too often, poor land stewards leave less desirable logs.  Not only is this wasteful and irresponsible, it leave a lot of unused wood that doesn't' deteriorate for decades.  

We want to come back!  Our plans generally include long term financial gain and resource improvement.  We want to be invited back so before we finish a job we haul all marketable logs away, clean up log landings, spend some time leveling up ruts that may be left by skidders or heavy trucks, and make sure you're happy with our work!

We do both!  We do a lot of tree cutting utilizing our own harvesting equipment, our trucks to haul them, and sell to longstanding business partners on trusted terms.  

Log buying is also an important part of our business plan. Because of our large markets, we supplement our timber cutting with log buying.  Having our own trucks allows us to quickly get you paid, haul the logs to our yards, and quickly move them ensuring great prices for your logs.

Family tradition. You don't get to stay in business for 7 decades by lying, cheating, or stealing.  We're a close knit group with several generations carrying on the way we were taught!

Long standing domestic and worldwide markets.  US, Asian, and European business partners allow us to sell  or export our logs to the most lucrative markets ensuring great prices for your timber products!

We work for ourselves.  Operating an established business keeps us from being dependent upon someone else's money and their business decisions.  We take work based on our morals, relationships, and desire to operate for decades to come.