Wood lot size

I'm planning on buying a wooded lot in the next couple of years to eventually build a house on. What would you guys say a reasonable lot size is if I wanted it to be sustainable for lets say 5 cords a year? Is 10 acres enough?

 

I have read a couple of times 1/3 of a cord per acre per year is sustainable.

 

I've always heard the if you had 10 acres of established timber, the average home could be heated by the wood harvested from it. I believe this to be true, if one gallows harvesting advise from a state or county forester/arborist, and also re plants trees as needed.

I know back in the 40's and 50's people who lived in town would buy "wood lots" for this same reason. Around here wood lots where 5-10 acres. A lot of wood lots can still be seen on the county plat books. I have my eye on two wood lots my self one is 8 acres and the other is 10, I feel either of theses lots would last me a life time in fire wood.

Something to think about if you did this with plans of building a home on it, allow fore area for the house, yard, out buildings and drive ways. I would aim for 10 full acres of established timber, plus what ever you feel is needed for everything else.

~Nathan

 

I heard years ago the rule of thumb is that one acre of woods will yield a cord of firewood each year.
I have 20 and no doubt will yield close to 20 cord a year in my opinion, although I don't need nearly that much.

I would say that the age of the forest and the density and types of species will play a
factor in how much wood it produces. More dense, mature woods will yield more firewood.

I would look for the quality of the trees, are they large, old and straight hardwoods with few lower branches?
There's value to buying land with large quality trees that would be suitable for timbering if you choose.

For me, privacy is always a consideration in your decision. The larger the property the more privacy you will have.
With 5 acres, you could have someone build pretty close to your home on a adjacent lot.

 

Good to know. I use roughly 5 cords now and the house I would build would be roughly the same square footage but very well insulated so I would probably use more like 3. The problem around here is taxes. I don't want to end up with a 12k a year tax bill otherwise I would buy the biggest lot I could afford.

 

I can understand wanting to keep a low overhead if possible. Where I live, they separate the land from the home and use a "standard" per acre to bill you for the land and it's really cheap for the land part of the tax bill. I once purchased a relatively expensive piece of raw land that they used the "standard" for calculating the taxes and not the actual amount paid. Might be worth looking into if it works that way by you also.

 

I bought 22+ acres sold off two 2 1/2 acre house lots and kept 18 to build our new home and keep as forest/ recreation land. Of the 18 we used 2 acres for the house barn and yard the rest is forest and very overgrown. I had a forester look at it and he said we could take 6-8 cord a year and keep it close to as it is now. As far as taxes go in Mass. you can list the extra acres as forest or recreational land use and the amount of tax on it is minimal. I would check your state and town tax breaks and go for the largest lot you can afford.

 

you should be able to get that land into farm assessment after two years of "selling" firewood. i have 11 acres and i pay $20/yr in taxes on 10 of those acres. i burn 5-6 cords/year plus sell another 3-5. appears that it will be barely sustainable, but i have only been there for 3 years so far. some of my land is not easily accesable and about a third is tulip poplar which i dont bother with anymore except for some firepit wood. i really love the black birch as it grows fast, seasons quick, and throws heat similar to oak. i will also source some black locust outside of my property to add to the stacks, maybe a cord/year.

 

I think the threshold for an ag exemption around here is 10,000 per year, but there might be a lower one for smaller plots. A buddy of mine is a real estate broker that is really good and well informed on ag exemptions so I'll check with him.

 

im in a woodlot management program. need to gross $500 for first 5 acres and then $5/acre thereafter. $120/yr goes to the forrester for suggesting what to harvest and filing paperwork.

 

All good advice, and definitely depends on what is growing on your woodlot, tree density etc. Also, a good idea to closely evaluate any lot for different habitats/microclimates.

Definitely imperative to know what your tax options are in your community. We cannot get he kind of exemption that is mentioned in NJ, but in Ontario if you have at least 10 acres beside the acre that your home is on, and you are a resident of Ontario, you can submit a woodlot management program. It will likely be accepted, and, if so, you get an abatement on the tax rate on the land portion of your property. It generally comes to reducing the tax on the land portion to 1/4 to 1/3 of it's preexemption rate. But, you must manage your woodlot, keep a records of the steps you have taken, submit documents after five years and reapply after 10 years. I figure the tax exemption is my case will cover the cost of maintaining the woodlot and thinning/cleaning for firewood. In my locality the land taxes are as high as the building taxes, and both are high, so the exemption makes a big difference.

The Canadian gov't publication about heating with wood states that 6 acres of wood lot will provide enough wood to heat the average home on a sustainable basis. I have three adjacent lots here, totaling over 37 acres. Don't begin to use all the fallen dead wood, and trees that need to be taken down for safety, from even one of those lots. So, much is left for wildlife habitat, which is good.

I suspect that whether 6 acres is sustainable may depend to some extent on whether your woodlot is part of a contiguous area of woodlots, and of woodlots that are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. An interior woodlot is somewhat protected from the ravages of severe storms, for instance. It also is more easily reseeded naturally if it is part of a larger wooded habitat.

If you are looking at isolated woodlots, I'd go as big as possible; maybe see if there is anyone reasonably near you who heats with wood or simply is interested in owning a woodlot and would like to buy adjacent property? Helps if you can protect a bit of wood around you. Or buy where you have the potential to eventually buy adjacent or nearby land, even if not treed. You can always plant trees, and can almost always get significant assistance forom from state or provincial organizations, or various land management organizations.

Another thing to look at is whether your state does have incentives or assistance available, through any agency, to develop woodlots. If so, it may be worth trying to find a woodlot with a few acres that are cleared. At little expense you may be able to significantly increase the value of your holding.

All options to look at. Much of the decision making process depends on the time you will have available to devote to the woodlot, and the extent of your interest in the land beyond the desire to harvest your firewood.

Good luck. Hope you find a beautiful woodlot.

 

Let me know what you find out about that would you? I need to eventually decide what I am going to do with my land. I don't know if I should register it as a tree farm or not? I do plan on greatly thinning some areas of Ash and Pine and then replanting with a fast growing hardwood. Just not as thickly planted.

 

It's just my opinion but the bigger the lot you can buy the better. I bought 81 acres. If I had not bought this one we were looking at buying one that was at least 50 acres. Privacy being one reason, investment being another. Wood for heating the home being another.

 

Unfortunately a lot that size, while available, would be 300k around here and that is simply more than I can afford to spend on just land. Moving to a more rural area is out of the question since I wouldn't be able to get my labor rate and my wife is a teacher. Leaving a stable teaching position is suicide right now.

 

I hear you. But could you find something that is 20-25 acres? I know that keeping a low overhead is important. You are very smart to do that.

 

The problem everywhere is taxes.

 

Great thread guys. My wife and I would both like a nice wooded lot someday for our next home.. We're already kinda looking even though we just bought our first place a year ago.. We figure it might not be the worst idea in the world to buy the land soon before we have kids and while we both still work..

We feel like we can be very choosy and get exactly what we want. Sounds like you're in the same boat haveissues.. We've already looked a little and my advice would be to look, look, look, and look again..lol.. Some lots are very easy to eliminate and we've already been able to do that based off roads, zoning, and lower lying plots that hold water..

 

I would love to have 25 acres if I found a lot that I could afford and the land tax was something I was willing to pay.

 

Our plan is to buy a lot in the next few years and build on it in 10 or so. We have a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 day old. I would like to make this happen while they can still enjoy it and maybe one day if they were interested in staying in the area they could build on our land too.