Managing Veneer Walnut Trees - Benefits Whitetails | Timber Improvements | Habitat |

Managing veneer walnut trees can be a great future investment AND will benefit whitetails too!
Veneer walnuts can range from $1,000 up to $15,000 + a tree in rare occasions. Good quality walnut trees are gaining value at an annual rate of 7-10%. This makes a great long term investment that many people would love to have! If the investment isn't enough of a reason, managing in this manor can really benefit whitetails in multiple ways.
Getting rid of trees that bring zero value to whitetails or your investment walnuts will in return give you amazing whitetail habitat. Opening the canopy and letting light hit the ground will allow a flush of vegetative growth giving whitetails a buffet of food. With all that food comes tons of cover and bedding for deer to feel safe in what was a very open area. In our opinion, it's a Win-Win situation that doesn't take a ton of your time or money!
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[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Great article that gets into veneer & lumber grade value. A MUST READ!!!!! www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/forestry/walnut_economics.pdf

[@dammitbobby283]

Awesome. I'm planning on growing a black walnut plantation on at least 15 acres on an 80-acre tract. I'm going to give the land to my 2-year-old nephew in my will, hopefully, he will keep the land in the family, or at least until he's 50+ years old, then he can cash out the trees or let his own kids and grandkids use them for their needs. Also looking into a land trust.

[@chadwilliams9826]

Great video, Skip. Love how you show actual examples.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Thanks Chad. Glad you liked it!

[@muleskinner485]

Great info ,walnuts feed squirrels, and they plant or bury all kinds of acorns and nuts.

[@jake-hofer]

Great insight and find it interesting how much more board/foot you get with the added diameter. Thanks for sharing!

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Absolutely! Yeah it's pretty incredible how much an extra 10 to 15 years will add.

[@AndrewJackson33]

Great info Skip!

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Thanks! 👍

[@Raised-Right]

When you say a veneer walnut, do you meen its a black walnut with no limbs for a long ways so its got long straight trunks? We have tons of black walnuts and white oaks that are long trunked and no limbs for a long ways. Our farms were timbered in the early 80's before dad bought them and they were cut pretty light back then even. Trying to learn so we dont get taken advantage of when the time comes to harvest some. We're in west central Illinois. Thanks for sharing.

[@brittnchargmail]

👍

[@drakelamb563]

What's your spacing on these big walnuts skippy?

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

God spaced em. I managed them. Easier way to answer… 5-10 veneer walnuts per acre. On a good stand. Some will have 0. Forests support 200-500 trees per acre so clearly a small amount of space. Consider the value per acre what veneer walnuts managed properly can produce though!!!! 🤯🥳. Stay safe out there Drake!!!

[@oxford821]

Is a veneer Walnut the same as a Timber Black Walnut? What size were the trees when you planted them? How long have they been in the ground? Who sells those trees? I was telling my son we should do this on our place in the bottom. Great advice for investment.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Black walnut yes. 75-100 years old will be a typical harvest timeframe. Many of these were seedlings when I was a child or before. We are managing existing trees/forest. You can plant them for generations down the road but existing trees are the gold mine if managed!! Sell to loggers based on BIDS!!!!!! Get competitive bids!!!! I’ve seen 10 bids where lowest is $25k & highest is $120k!!!!

[@Ransom-Ark]

The Timber Black Walnuts that you are referring to are just trees that a nursery is selling that come from parents that the nursery says had good timber characteristics. Fast Growth, Straight, minimal branches. I bought some in the past and they do well, have budded out too early a few years since it is much warmer where I live than where those seedlings are from. This becomes a problem if you have a late frost as the frost will kill those buds off and on a young tree it can affect the shape of the tree. Best advice I can give you is ride around and look for walnut trees in your area. Either on abandoned lots or peoples yards. Most people would love for you to pick up the walnuts as they are a hassle when cutting grass. This way you get your seeds for free and they are local to your area and will be well adapted to the climate.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Yes!!!! I think it was university of Virginia or Tennessee (that region) that started selecting seeds off premium genetic trees & getting programs like that going. A lot of the top grade best genetics have been culled out after centuries of top ending the cuts. I haven’t planted those but good feedback. I’ll plant all sorts of varieties of trees that will never be harvested in my life but I love doing it. & spot on with the lawns!!! U used a rolling basket gadget to fill up the bed of my truck about 20 years ago. Those seeds are nice little trees today & the owner was thankful for the clean up. Great advice & feedback.

[@ryurc3033]

Ive always been ripped off selling my logs. Like 10c on the dollar ripped off. Turns out, that most of the guys in my area buying all work together to rip off the local community. Same log i sold for $450, he turned around and sold a mill for 5k My neighbor sold one for 1200, that was turned around and sold at the mill for for 10k. Definitely get more than one opinion. Find the guy running the mill, not a middle man. i didn't even know there was a mill local, and perhaps because these guys have been in the middle for the last 35 years.

[@ruinsumn]

Do you sell scion wood?

[@native_landscapes]

Do you battle walnut seedlings taking over the understory? I love some walnut but hate their prolific re-seeding into my understory.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

I do not. The forbs take over. I rarely see too thick of walnut thickets. Hasn’t been issue but ways to address that way down road if so.

[@native_landscapes]

@@Iowa_Whitetail Thats interesting I wonder if it has to do with shade levels. I get them sprouting mostly in fields adjacent to crop trees. Not too much under the canopies of the trees themselves.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

U are lucky if walnuts grow up in thickets. I wish I had more. U want that because it creates massive competition for the trees to grow straight up. The best trees that win will often be your top end veneer trees. Way down the road u can thin these thickets. Vast majority of veneer walnuts started with a lot of competition.

[@danr1920]

Since when do we need more deer? I'm going to say the values will out pace inflation.

[@randyhoffman2702]

Can you help make veneer trees by keeping limbs side trimmed

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Sometimes. I do trim limbs. Smart to do when dormant. It does help IMO.

[@MrSummerbreeze01]

If the Chinese quit buying the price of Walnut will fall at least 50%.