Brief Description
Information sheet providing a general overview of the timber sale process
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A timber sale is serious business. It requires careful preparation and consideration. At stake are the cumulative efforts and expense of managing your forest over many years and the results of past timber growth. The condition of your forest after the sale greatly affects your forest’s future productivity for many years to come.
Preparation:
Have a Plan. The most solid foundational building block that contributes to a successful timber sale is to have a clear forest objective and management plan in place that is tailored to what you want to do and what is right for you and your forest. A good management plan will help keep your decision making process in focus when the choices of the day seem overly confusing, emotional or optimistic. Let a good Forest Management Plan be your guiding light.
Educate Yourself. Fundamental forest management principles are not complicated and are widely available in easy to understand presentations and writings. Great sources of information are not limited to tutorials and lessons but are also available from other forest landowners that have experience with selling timber, from your Professional Consulting Forester or your local Texas A&M Forest Service Forester and at http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/. Knowledge is power.
Consideration:
Gather Information and Advice. Before you start refining the particulars of your timber sale and harvest, reflect on your Forest Management Plan’s long-term goals and objectives such as reforestation after the sale, sustainability of your future forest’s productivity, and the tax implications and allocation of your sale proceeds. The next forest management decisions you make after the sale will likely be the allocation
of some of your financial gain to your forest’s continued health and growth. Become aware of cost share and incentive tax
programs available to you by contacting your local Texas A&M Forest Service Forester before you sell your timber. Plan for your forest’s future.
The sale:
Retain the Services of a Professional Consulting Forester. A reputable Professional Consulting Forester (Consultant), being listed on a Professional Vendors List that requires an education degree, can manage your timber sale from start to finish or just be a source of expert advice when you need it. The expense of the Consultant’s services can pay for itself many times over by guiding your sale through the numerous decision points that lead to a successful sale outcome. By properly ordering both administrative and on the-ground needs and services, the Consultant will see to it that you properly negotiate the complex sale management process and avoid costly missteps that can result in the loss of the sale’s potential profits. The Consultant will know the prices, markets, contracts, contractors, timing and the proper order of business both before and after the sale that need to be properly followed for a successful sale outcome. If you find that you are lacking
a good Forest Management Plan before your sale, or that you are scrambling to understand what good forestry practices are, or fear that you are missing something important, a Consultant can quickly get you on the right track and up to speed so that you can rest assured that your timber sale will perform up to expectations.