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Value of 20-yr Old Hardwood Trees (IL)

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From: Debra Tillis City: Stockton, IL
Looking to purchase a 30 acre farm with 2,800 Oak,. walnut, and other marketable trees. They were planted thru a government 20 year program which has 11 years till the program ends and they can be harvested. Are trees 20 years old worth value or do they need to be grown much longer? Thank you.
	Extension Message From: Jay Hayek Extension Specialist, Forestry Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences jhayek@illinois.edu
Greetings Debra: Thank you for contact UI Extension Forestry! Your trees are what foresters and the IRS consider "pre-merchantable" -- in other words, they have not achieved commercial value as potential sawlogs or veneer logs. Therefore, you will need to grow them longer until they attain a minimum size of 18" dbh (diameter at breast height). Please feel free to contact your local IDNR district forester for an on-site assessment of your timber investment! IDNR District Forester Map: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/forestry/pdf/tfb-nres-201-14.pdf
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