Tree Farmer - March/April 2008 - (Page 30)

PRUNING To prune or not to prune, that is the question. By The Value of sharing your experiences Bellman MICKEY the nice surface appearance, there was no justification for the mill to pay a premium price. In western Oregon logs are often sold on a graded basis. Each log grade (Special Mill, #2 Sawmill, #3 Sawmill) has a minimum diameter as well as log quality requirements. If the log does not meet all the specifications, the grade drops automatically. A nicely pruned 15-inch diameter log is still a #2 Sawmill grade since it does not meet the 16-inch minimum diameter of the Special Mill grade. The same holds true for an 11inch diameter log; it is still a #3 Sawmill grade because it is less than the #2 Sawmill minimum of 12 inches. Logs up to 40 feet long are also graded as one “segment.” Pruning limbs only 16 to 20 feet high will have no effect on the grade of a log 24-feet and longer. The entire log quality is considered by the log scaler and not just the pruned bole. Eastside or short log scaling rules are slightly different. Logs are graded in 20foot segments. A single long log will be scaled in two parts independent of one another. In this case, limb pruning could have an effect on log grade, but only if other log quality requirements are met. Along the Toutle River in Washington, I know of one instance where limb pruning may someday be profitable. Weyerhauser has pruned 4- to 8-inch diameter Douglas fir trees, leaving only 5 to 10 feet of green limbs in the crowns. If these young trees survive another two to three decades, there could be a significant amount of clear wood produced on the boles when the trees are harvested at 16-inch diameter. The average small Tree Farmer, however, may not be willing to grow his trees that long. A stand of 12- to 24-inch Douglas fir trees can be harvested at any time with thinning or clearcut methods. Limb pruning of these trees will do little to enhance the value on a short rotation basis. I hesitate to recommend limb pruning as a cost-effective tool to increase log value for the small Tree Farmer. Faced with several acres of trees, it is a labor-intensive practice, as each tree must be visited, climbed, and limbs sawn off. It does produce an aesthetic benefit, however. Pruning can also reduce the spread of a wildfire by removing the “laddering” effect when a ground fire burns up low limbs to climb into the crown canopy. From a strictly economic standpoint, I have found the pruned logs produce the same quality lumber and veneer as the unpruned logs. A sawmill will be loathe to pay any premium for these logs, thereby negating any pruning costs invested in the timber stand. Mickey Bellman, CF, of MSB Consulting Inc. in Salem, Oregon, has been a private consulting forester for seven years and has worked in the timber industry for 38 years. My short answer: Do it for love and not for money. If you spend money out-ofpocket for this management technique, it would be more profitable if the money was deposited in a bank savings account. I have yet to see the cost of limb pruning return a profit to the timber owner. No doubt, a stand of limb-pruned timber is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It is easy to walk and ride through the trees without getting slapped with low branches. Sawmills like these logs because there are no rough knots of “pig’s ears” protruding through the bark, but the same mills are reluctant to offer any premium. It’s what’s beneath the bark that really counts as far as the mill is concerned. Limb pruning only removes the knots outside the bark. Pruning does nothing to change the knots already existing inside the cambium layer, and that is where the lumber and veneer will be produced. Unless a Tree Farmer is willing to wait decades for the prune wounds to heal over with clear cellulose, there will be no premium clear lumber recovered when the log is sawn into boards. I once conducted a veneer test on trees that had been pruned 20 years earlier. The bark still showed “indicators” where a limb had grown, meaning the knots were still very close to the surface. Less than 1 percent of clear veneer was recovered from those logs. Despite 30 Tree Farmer MARCH/APRIL 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - March/April 2008

Tree Farmer - March/April 2008
Contents
Cover Story
Timber Talk
Ties to the Land
Habitat: Assess Suitability and Management
2007 North Central Regional Tree Farmer of the Year
Tools & Techniques
Wildlife Matters
Sharing Your Experience

Tree Farmer - March/April 2008

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