In regard to the taxes on property - in my case, the answer is "yes" and "no." Hardwoods that are already on the farm that I own and live on don't really create an extra tax burden. In fact, I get an ag/forestry tax exemption for some of them. But, woodlots I buy primarily for a wood source, do indeed add extra taxes.
One example. Last year I got a chance buy (from an estate) 30 acres of mature hard maples, ash, and red oak. I bought it for $18,000 and it's less then a mile from my farm. So, I'm out the $18,000 cash that would have been getting interest somewhere at 4%. And, I'm paying around $700 a year in taxes on that 30 acre lot. My plan is to selectively cut it, and at the same time develop part of it into a building lot for a home or camp. Then, someday sell it - hopefully for a lot more than I bought it for. But, you never know.
I'm in cental New York. I also have a small farm in Northern Michigan and I'm thinking about moving there. I've got 40 acres of woods - but it's all cedar, poplar, and red pine - all pretty-much useless for firewood. I've been looking for a reasonbly priced woodlot for firewood in that area - but as of yet have not found one worth buying that will be cost-effective. Hardwood lots in northern Michigan are more scarce and more pricey.
Heating and trying to plan ahead with any fuel is a toss-up unless you own your own source (gas well, oil well, wood lot etc.). If you have to depend on getting it from somebody else - you are subject to the ever changing market, and supply-and-demand. In my area, many people changed over to wood pellet stoves a few years back and are now sorry. Wood pellets are back ordered and prices are way up. Right now, one dollar of wood pellets (if you can find any) buys you 49,000 BTUs of heat. Same dollar spent on firewood buys 117,00 BTUs of heat.
In regard to your face cord question. A true cord is 4' by 4' by 8'. A face cord is 4' by 8' by whatever the cut length is. A face cord of 16" wood is about 1/3 of a full cord. Face cords in my area were $25 a few years ago, and are now up to $65-$75. That is for hard woods only - beech, ash, hard and soft maple, red and white oak, birch, etc. Soft woods can usually be for free. Local saw mills have piles of softwood slabs that are free for the taking.
Antoher factor is what kind of wood you are buying. All wood has the same BTU energy per pound - 7800 BTUs. But, not all types of wood weigh the same - and some soft woods have resins that create chimney fire-hazzards.
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Today's Featured Article - Harvestin Hay: The Early Years (Part 2) - by Pat Browning. The summer of 1950 was the start of a new era in farming for our family. I was thirteen, and Kathy (my oldest sister) was seven. At this age, I believed tractor farming was the only way, hot stuff -- and given a chance I probably would have used the tractor, Dad's first, a 1936 Model "A" John Deere, to go bring in the cows! And I think Dad was ready for some automation too. And so it was that we acquired a good, used J. I. Case, wire tie hay baler. In addition to a person to drive th
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