The short answer is: probably not. Stumpage (the payment received by a landowners for timber products) is a residual value. That is, money available to pay the landowner by the buyer is essentially what is left over after paying harvesting and transportation costs. Because different woodland products have different values, harvested materials frequently go to various markets according to distance to specialty buyers, rail heads or concentration yards or to local mills. Pulpwood is a well-known example of a readily marketable low-value product; because paper is also a relatively low-value product, paper mills cannot afford to spend lots of money buying expensive wood or hauling it long distances. Values for biomass will similarly vary depending on local demand and haul costs, but typically they will not exceed pulpwood values. Because biomass may be the lowest value product in the forest, there are times when the buyer can afford to pay little or nothing - his own reimbursement might only meet or slightly exceed his own costs. In these cases, the value to the landowner of the biomass is reduced site preparation costs for replanting or development, and often improved forest health. Sellers should always hire the services of a consulting forester when they consider selling timberland, as they are experienced with local buyers and can frequently achieve a greater overall sale price by putting the harvest up for auction by a sealed bid process. Look online at http://www.acf-foresters.org to find a consulting forester in your state. This article is partly based upon a contribution by NCSU Extension Forestry and used with permission by authors.

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