Cedar Trees?

[dj]

BLAIR CEDAR & NOVELTY WORKS
345 W HIGHWAY 54
CAMDENTON, MO 65020
Phone: (573) 346-2235

Dun it's on the west end(north side of the road, Blair is on the south) going out of town.
Best I can remember haven't been through there in 7-8 yrs.
And haven't ever stopped. Recently contacted them for a price sheet and if I rememeber right. They paid $1.44 for a 44" log 7 inchs at the small end. Figured I could do better selling posts out of the gate.

 

[dun]

Thanks, I just may give them a call wehn I can get back to cutting the cedars

dun

 

[Chuckie]

My thoughts on Cedar trees: I think they are one of the better trees to have around cattle. The limbs of a cedar hang low and are perfect for cattle to stand under during fly season. One thing about cedar, it is a fly repellant. I see the cattle standing under them a lot. The limbs knock off the flies and the scent of the cedar rubs off on their backs. When they are standing under them, they are not fighting the flies off. I will make sure there are a row of cedars in the pasture.
Cedars do not spread out as far as oaks do, and do not shade out as much of the grass. Chuckie

 

[dun]

My thoughts on Cedar trees: I think they are one of the better trees to have around cattle. The limbs of a cedar hang low and are perfect for cattle to stand under during fly season. One thing about cedar, it is a fly repellant. I see the cattle standing under them a lot. The limbs knock off the flies and the scent of the cedar rubs off on their backs. When they are standing under them, they are not fighting the flies off. I will make sure there are a row of cedars in the pasture.
Cedars do not spread out as far as oaks do, and do not shade out as much of the grass. Chuckie

Must be different kkind of cedars. The ones here are as invasive as thistle. Next to every post along the fence line the cedars sprout. Grass won;t grow under them or anything else for that matter and I've never noticed the cows being any less bothered by flies. But we use cattle mops so that may keep the fly population down. Cedars are the worst tire staubers I've ever run into (over).

dun

 

[dj]

My thoughts on Cedar trees: I think they are one of the better trees to have around cattle. The limbs of a cedar hang low and are perfect for cattle to stand under during fly season. One thing about cedar, it is a fly repellant. I see the cattle standing under them a lot. The limbs knock off the flies and the scent of the cedar rubs off on their backs. When they are standing under them, they are not fighting the flies off. I will make sure there are a row of cedars in the pasture.
Cedars do not spread out as far as oaks do, and do not shade out as much of the grass. Chuckie

I've heard this from a fella down the road also. At one time he allowed it ought to be against the law to cut them down. :roll:
Heard this sermon for 2-3 yrs, then he worked into selling cedar posts and haven't heard the cedar is mother natures Ivomec speech in 6-7 years.
IMHO cedar is a poor choice for either application.
Plus the cedars play havoc with heat detection :lol:
And they rob the ground of moisture that at this point in time is becoming a REAL concern. Here on my little rock anyway.
Cedar, Locuss, and River Willows. Why did the good Lord make them?

 

[Chuckie]

Dun, you are right on them being invasive. They do sprout in any spot they can. They do have to be kept in check.
Nothing will grow under them pretty much like a pine tree. But not much will grow under a large shade tree either since it pulls all the moisture out of the ground. Still, I can always find the cattle underneath the limbs scrubbing their backs when summer gets here. If all the limbs are left on, the cattle will eventually wear the lower ones off from rubbing on them.
I am not having a lot of luck with the rubbers vs. the large horseflies, and they make the cattle miserable. Is there a solution that will kill them when they go to bite the cow? If I spray them directly, it will kill them, but I can't stand over them all day with the sprayer. But as soon as it dries on the cow, then there are more to replacements diving in. I have tried three different kinds of spray, one was the Pyrethrian II.

 

[dun]

The only thing I know of that is effective for horseflys is a fly trap. The ones I've seen are as big as a truck andthe cattle have to walk through them. If you cna decrease the area that is available for them to breed you can decrease them but I don;t think you can ever totally eliminate them.

dun

 

[ctlbaron]

Why in the world would a farmer not want a few cedars and locust on the place? It's hard to beat a good locust or cedar post. They will out last anything you can buy.

 

[dj]

Why in the world would a farmer not want a few cedars and locust on the place? It's hard to beat a good locust or cedar post. They will out last anything you can buy.

Cedar only lasts 7-10 yrs on this rock
Too much white wood on the ones around here.
And a 3 inch core(heart wood) on a rotted 10 inch post isn't that stout.
Locust
Never used them. How do they hold up? So many flats here I find it easy to clip and spray. No lost sleep for killing these trees here.
Bois D'Arc
Can't beat'em if you stand crooked posts :lol:
How do you debark these or do you worry about it.
The older ones I see in fence lines look like they have been
debarked before they were set. Some have insect tunnels
all up and down them. Telling me they were set with the bark on and left to peel?

 

[cypressfarms]

Why in the world would a farmer not want a few cedars and locust on the place? It's hard to beat a good locust or cedar post. They will out last anything you can buy.

Cedar only lasts 7-10 yrs on this rock
Too much white wood on the ones around here.
And a 3 inch core(heart wood) on a rotted 10 inch post isn't that stout.
Locust
Never used them. How do they hold up? So many flats here I find it easy to clip and spray. No lost sleep for killing these trees here.
Bois D'Arc
Can't beat'em if you stand crooked posts :lol:
How do you debark these or do you worry about it.
The older ones I see in fence lines look like they have been
debarked before they were set. Some have insect tunnels
all up and down them. Telling me they were set with the bark on and left to peel?

With cedar,locust, and osage orange (Bois d'arc), only the heartwood is resistant to insects and rot. The sapwood (white part), or outside few bands of growth will be eaten up quick by insects. Osage is a bright yellow when first cut, but will mellow to a orange color. Tough as cement. Locust will actually glow a yellow to green color under blacklight.

 

[MikeJoel]

(I can reply to this since it isn't so much about cows as trees

In my area (NE Maine) cedars are pretty much the only thing some of the lumber mills will cut. We have white cedar (not the nicer looking reds) but when I goes through our woods the fallen ones are laying all over the place. You can tell they are at least 3 years or more laying and you can bounce on them without a crack or snap. We use cedar for a ton of things around here. I never heard of the first 2 or 3 inches being eaten by insects. In fact when I cut dead or going cedars the rot or insect damage is usually towards the mid to center areas and it is usually more rot than anything (though carpenter ants are a problem).

Also I admit they do seem to be "weedy" but then up here poplars are a bigger pest.

Cedar makes excellent fire starters too But as for dry posts what exactly wouldn't burn?

Stick a untreated 4x4 pine post in the ground and a 4x4 cedar. Within 2 years (if you have wet soil like up here, sooner) the cedar will still be there and the pine wont (I doubt treated pine would even last as long). They also use cedar posts up here to mark land corners. There are some that have been in the ground for over 20 years.

Personally I would never doze a grove of cedars. There is to much money in them. It is pretty much like growing any other crop just longer.

Just my thoughts for what their worth
Mike

 

[AngusLimoX]

Lots of cedar post/split rail fences up here over 60 years old. Still holdin cattle.

Each decent post is over 8$ to buy I think.

Oops, forgot to mention, we use only cedar for kindling in the furnace - like wood gasoline that stuff.

 

[stocky]

Cedar makes good posts for about 20 years here in this climate if they have alot of red heart, if they are mostly white, they rot real quick. They will burn quick if there is a fire. Do not use them for corner posts because of their limited life. The best ones are 16 inches in diameter or thicker and split into 4 posts. They last because of all the heart. Here, they buy the cedar that are a minimum of 4 inches at the small end. The price was 1 dollar for a 4 inch stick and then 1 dollar per inch over 4 inches, so a 10 inch stick brings 7 dollars. The sticks are 52 inches long. Also there is a mill that buys all sizes and lengths for chipping for poultry housing bedding. They buy by the ton, but the price varies. Also some people buy them to use for poles for barns and they bring good money that way

 

[msscamp]

Cedar makes good posts for about 20 years here in this climate if they have alot of red heart, if they are mostly white, they rot real quick.

We alternated cedar posts with pine posts for fences on the ranch. I quickly learned to hate cedar posts - trying to drive a staple in them was a serious lesson in frustration! :x Dang, those posts were hard, but the next year - right on up to many, many years after - they were still standing, solid as a rock. I can't say the same for the pine posts.

 

[Calman]

When a kid in mo. used to get 25 cents a piece for all the 6ft fence posts .Red Cedar. Cut with a crosscut saw and split with hammer and wedges and double bitted choping axe. Had to carry coal oil to rinse the saw with because of the sticky sap in the cedar. Then I hear people say "that was the good ol days!"

Cal