Prices for firewood

[JaredWoodcock]

What are you charging to skid out firewood? There is some interest with some local landowners in getting me to skid their firewood from their personal woodlots and Im not sure how to price it.

Thanks
Jared

[Mark Cowdrey]

Lot’s of variables to consider. Distance from home, access, terrain/ground, stem sizes, quantity wanted, brush/top handling/disposal. I would not let them do their own felling, they often think they are capable but rarely are. One way around is hourly, that way, if they want to spend their money, you can spend your time having them “help” you.
Again, lots of variables.
Good luck,
Mark

[Rick Alger]

Mark nailed it.

I have done this for people who did their own chopping. To avoid problems I walked the site with them before I brought the horse to show them the brush they had to move, the stubs they had to flush, and the trees they had to section before the logs could make the turn. I charged $150 a day and generally twitched 2 – 3 cords if the wood was decent size and the trails reasonably short. In a careful hardwood thinning I figured about 25 pulls per cord. Landing space was often a problem. Some guys wanted a fifty-fifty split, but I passed on that opportunity.

In VT in 2015, you should charge more than $150. You may also want to think about liability insurance.

Good luck.

[JaredWoodcock]

Thanks guys, I will be insuring the horse logging business. I have been doing tree work informally for a while and I figure it is time to get some insurance and take it a little more seriously. I was figuring I would charge an hourly rate and most of my customers are already customers of our farm so I should be able to explain the cost variables pretty well.
I normally charge between $35 to $60/hour for chainsaw work. What kind of hourly rates are people charging this year?

[Brad Johnson]

Jared-
I do a couple of firewood jobs a year. Some are hourly – $40 with saw or $50 with horses. If hourly does not work out, I generally charge $60-70/cord. Be careful about specifying who is doing the estimating at the pile, as landowners often think they are accurate and are anything but. You might also see if you can sell the woods off the landing log length. I usually pay $10/cord to buy the woods, and then now I an getting $80-90/cord off the landing. Also, Rick is dead right about insurance and about having a plan for working the landing. I use my tractor on the landing, as you can lose 25-30% of your overall working time just handling wood on the landing.
-Brad

[JaredWoodcock]

Thanks Brad, very helpful.

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