Hate to hijack a thread but ya'll have struck a raw nerve with me. "Distance to the mill" is BS!!! Why should a land owner get more for his timber because he is further from the mill?? I can understand the logger making more because of fuel and turn around time but the land owner should be the same. If anything, the closer to the mill should get more because of the affects of the mill (according to some). Most we can usually get out of an AC unit is 3 years. Heating and cooling companies have stopped giving warranties in my area and say its because of the mill. There have been lawsuits over this and they have paid for some new units. Besides that, the same timber 10 miles from the mill should be paid the same as 50 miles from the mill. If ya'll can't tell I live close to TWO mills.
The landowners closer to the mill should get paid more than those further away. Mills sometimes pay buyers more to bring wood from further distances to their mill but the landowner usually still gets less because of the fuel cost and time, etc for the longer travel.
Maybe the difference you are seeing is just what the buyer is willing to pay and does not reflect the delivered mill prices.
