Background: I am looking to purchase a 10 acre tract of mature hardwoods. I recently had a timber harvester inspect the property for approximate value and I was told there are 11,400bf of walnut valued at $57k, 12,000 bf of oak valued at $27k, and 12,000bf of misc. valued at $5k. The harvester stated there is a quantity of ten or more 20ft lengths of 16" diameter veneer quality walnut logs. Harvester offers total value to me at ~$40k, if I should proceed with him doing a 50/50 split.

Do these numbers/values check out? Is the 50/50 split a standard harvesting rate? What tax considerations should I make?

Greetings John:

Thanks for reaching out to UI Extension Forestry. I've written and spoken extensively about the perils of selling timber "on shares," especially quality timber like black walnut and white oak.

The best method to sell hardwood timber here in the Midwest is to secure the services of a professional consulting forester to assist you with "marketing" your timber to multiple prospective timber buyers via the "lump sum, sealed bid" format in order to maximize YOUR financial returns rather than the timber buyer.

Feel free to contact me directly at jhayek@illinois(dot)edu to learn more about the nuances, perils, and tax considerations when selling standing timber.