Timber prices are about the most mysterious and elusive information around.  There is no market price for timber in Wisconsin, or other regions as far as I know.  Market price is whatever a forest owner agrees to sell their stand of timber for at a given time. 

Today, trees like the one on the left are usually selling for  between $200/mbf and $800/mbf, depending on who is doing the selling and buying.  The wise owner will sell at the higher number.....

Timber values from woodlot to woodlot can range from a few dollars per acre to a few thousand dollars per acre.  Quality and Quantity vary tremendously , depending on site conditions and past management history.  It takes a lot of sales experience to begin to estimate the value of a stand of timber.  An estimate is helpful, but market value is only established when actual offers are make for specific trees.                        Timber price trends, and how to sell timber are topics that forest owners need to know.  Selling timber should be done very carefully at today's higher prices.

This stand of trees would sell for over $3,000/acre today if the owner chose to harvest.

A stand of good timber should be sold as a lump sum, competitive sealed bid sale.  All trees should be marked and the sale should be advertised to all major sawmills within 200 miles.  Make it very clear to all bidders that they have only one chance to offer their best price for the trees. 
Lump sum offers are the only way to compare prices for a selection of trees.  The highest offer is established as the current market price for that timber.  With the upward trend in prices, every sale we've put up for bids has come in higher than our estimated value - that was based on prior timber sales.

This stand of aspen would sell for about $300/acre  today.
Market prices for aspen for sawbolts, sawlogs and veneer have increased faster than oak timber in the last few years.

Most of our havesting today is low grade pulpwood, sawbolts and small sawlogs.  This work is planned to improve the quality and quantity of healthy timber for the future.  When selling low value wood, we often hire a special crew who will do the careful logging that we specify.  Each timber product is sold to various mills depending on current prices and demand. 
The crop tree release work that we do is much more valuable than the income produced (averaging $50-250/acre).   
Several low grade harvests are usually needed to restore a stand to Sustainable Management.            home