What is stumpage value?

Stumpage value is the value of standing timber on the stump. It reflects what a buyer can pay for the trees after considering expected products, harvesting and transportation costs, markets, and risk.

Do I need a timber cruise before selling timber?

An inventory or timber cruise helps establish species, size, and volume before a sale. A professional forester can also assess quality, defect, product classes, and sale conditions that simple volume estimates cannot capture.

Should I accept the first timber offer?

Competitive bids can reveal large differences among buyers. Woodland-owner guidance commonly recommends an independent estimate, multiple bids, a written contract, and professional forestry assistance for significant sales.

Standing timber value

How much is my timber worth?

Q: How much is timber worth per acre?

There is no dependable single timber value per acre. Value depends on species, merchantable volume, tree size and quality, product mix, access, terrain, local mills and markets, logging costs, and sale competition.

A woodlot does not have a reliable “price per acre.” Start with species, merchantable volume, quality, products, access, and your local market—then use competitive bids to find what buyers will actually pay.

Use the value worksheet Estimate stand volume

The short answer

Timber value starts with inventory—not acreage.

Two 40-acre woodlots can have completely different timber values. One might contain mostly small, low-grade material. Another might carry large, high-quality sawtimber of species with strong local demand.

Before standing timber can be valued with any confidence, you need to know what trees are present, how much merchantable volume they contain, what products they can produce, and what harvesting the stand will cost.

ForestMGMT does not assign a universal timber price. This page helps you organize the measurements and assumptions that go into a value estimate. A timber appraisal, sale marking, or harvest prescription should be handled by a qualified professional who can inspect the property.

Think of value as a chain

Tree → product → market → sale

1. What is growing?Species, DBH, merchantable height, defect.

2. How much is there?Cruise volume, stocking, product mix.

3. Can it be harvested efficiently?Access, slope, roads, wet areas, tract size.

4. Who wants it?Nearby mills, current demand, buyer competition.

What changes stumpage value?

Nine factors that can move a timber offer.

Species

Markets pay differently for species because the resulting lumber, veneer, pulp, biomass, or specialty products differ in demand and value.

DBH

Tree size

Larger merchantable stems can yield more volume and, in some cases, more valuable product classes. Diameter alone does not establish quality.

Quality & defect

Knots, sweep, crook, rot, seams, forks, and other defects can reduce usable volume or lower the grade of products recovered from a tree.

VOL

Volume per acre

Higher concentrations of merchantable wood can improve logging efficiency because fixed harvesting costs are spread over more sale volume.

Access

Road quality, landings, stream crossings, steep ground, long skids, and seasonal access can all affect harvesting cost.

MKT

Nearby markets

Distance to mills and which products nearby buyers can use influence hauling cost and the set of potential bidders.

Product mix

A stand can contain veneer candidates, sawlogs, pallet material, pulpwood, firewood, and cull. Each product has a different market.

SALE

Sale design

Clearly marked trees, known boundaries, good contract terms, and a well-organized bid package can make a sale easier for buyers to evaluate.

BID

Competition

Different buyers have different mill outlets, equipment, costs, and needs. Competitive bidding helps expose those differences.

Rough value worksheet

Combine cruise volume with a local stumpage assumption.

Enter up to five species/product groups. Use volume from your inventory or cruise and a stumpage price from a local report, professional estimate, or buyer comparison. ForestMGMT supplies no default price.

Species / product	Volume (MBF)	Assumed $ / MBF

Volume / cull reduction (%)Use only if your entered cruise volume has not already been adjusted.

Estimated sale expenses (%)Optional planning placeholder for consulting, administration, or other sale expenses.

Add your timber volume and local price assumption above.

What the number means

The worksheet performs simple planning math:

Estimated gross stumpage valuemerchantable volume × assumed stumpage price

Adjusted volume valuegross estimate × (1 − your cull/volume reduction)

Planning netadjusted estimate × (1 − your optional sale-expense assumption)

It is useful for comparing scenarios. It is not an appraisal, because a computer cannot see log grade, hidden defect, skid distance, terrain, road needs, boundary risk, current mill demand, or exactly how a buyer will merchandise each tree.

Don't know your volume? Start a cruise →

A better process

Six steps before you sell standing timber.

Step 1

Define your goals

Decide whether the harvest is primarily about income, regeneration, forest health, habitat, access, risk reduction, or a combination.

Step 2

Inventory the stand

Identify species and measure DBH, merchantable height, density, and volume. Note regeneration, defect, sensitive areas, and access.

Open Forest Inventory →

Step 3

Estimate merchantable volume

Use an appropriate cruise and the same units or log rule that will be used to compare buyers.

Open Timber Cruise →

Step 4

Get an independent opinion

A forester can evaluate quality, defect, product classes, sale boundaries, silviculture, and harvesting constraints that simple calculators cannot.

Find-a-Forester guide →

Step 5

Invite competitive bids

Give bidders the same sale information and enough time to inspect the timber. Compare more than just the headline price.

Step 6

Use a written contract

Specify payment, boundaries, marked timber, roads, water protection, timing, cleanup, insurance, and other sale responsibilities.

Timber value per acre

Why “$ per acre” is usually the wrong first question.

Acreage tells you the size of the property, but it does not tell you the inventory. A heavily stocked mature stand and a recently cut stand can occupy the same number of acres and have very different merchantable volumes.

A more useful sequence is:

Board feet, cords, or tons per acre by product/species group.
Quality and defect within those trees.
Local stumpage assumptions in the same units.
Harvesting and market conditions specific to the tract.

Only after those pieces are known does an estimated value-per-acre number become meaningful.

Example—not a market price

Why the same acreage can differ

Woodlot A: 40 acres with low merchantable volume, difficult access, and a high share of poor-quality stems.

Woodlot B: 40 acres with greater sawtimber volume, better-quality stems, good truck access, and multiple nearby buyers.

The acreage is identical. The inventory and sale conditions are not.

New York woodland owners

If your timber is in New York, start with DEC guidance.

New York DEC recommends planning the harvest carefully, locating potential markets, getting competitive bids, using a written contract, and staying involved during the sale. DEC also maintains information about cooperating foresters who can provide private forestry services.

NYSDEC — Selling Your Forest ProductsTimber-sale steps, contracts, bidding, log rules, taxes, and professional assistance.ForestMGMT — New York Forest ManagementContinue to the New York woodland-owner hub.

FAQ

Standing timber value questions

How much is timber worth per acre?

There is no dependable universal value per acre. Species, merchantable volume, size, quality, product mix, access, distance to markets, terrain, logging costs, and bidder competition all matter.

What is stumpage?

Stumpage is the value of standing timber “on the stump.” It is different from a delivered log price because a buyer must account for felling, skidding, loading, trucking, equipment, labor, insurance, and other costs.

Can I estimate timber value from DBH alone?

No. DBH is an important measurement, but value also depends on merchantable height, species, log quality, defect, form, products, volume, and market conditions.

Which log rule should I use?

Doyle, Scribner, and International ¼-inch can produce different board-foot estimates for the same log. When comparing volume-based bids or prices, use the same log rule and units throughout the comparison.

Should I get several bids?

Competitive bidding is commonly recommended because buyers differ in markets, equipment, costs, and current needs. A professional forester can help prepare and administer a sale.

References & further reading

Educational references: Penn State Extension — Valuing Standing Timber, University of Minnesota Extension — Selling Timber, and NYSDEC — Selling Your Forest Products.

Next step

Measure before you price.

Use ForestMGMT's inventory and cruise tools to turn “I have 40 acres of woods” into usable stand measurements.

Start Forest Inventory Timber Cruise Calculator