Selling Timber in Smith County, TN
Quick answer
There are 2 timber businesses listed for Smith County, Tennessee: 2 timber buyers, loggers and mills. 2 of them have offices in the county. The rest are registered to work here and travel in, and every listing shows how far its office is from the county seat.
Timber prices for Smith County
No county publishes its own timber prices. These are Tennessee's published stumpage prices, what landowners are paid for standing timber, and the best public guide to what timber in Smith County is bringing. Your own timber can sell above or below them. Tennessee has no free maintained price series. These are the ranges reported for Tennessee in a regional article.
| Pine sawtimber | $17–$21 per ton |
| Pine pulpwood | $0–$4 per ton |
Source: Southern Ag Today (from Timber Mart-South), Q4 2025. All Tennessee timber prices
Before you talk to anyone, find out what your timber is worth
Most landowners in Smith County have no idea what their standing timber is worth, which is exactly the position a buyer wants you in. Four questions gets you a ballpark range before the first offer lands.
Timber Buyers, Loggers & Mills in Smith County (2)
These 2 are based in Smith County. Being close matters: hauling is one of the biggest costs taken out of your check.
Grant Cedar Mill is a sawmill in Gordonsville, Tennessee, on Highway 141 twelve miles east of Lebanon. It buys Eastern Red Cedar logs and standing timber, and it is "always in need of cedar logs" to keep the mill running. This isn't a logging outfit that comes to your land. All purchasing happens at the mill, and they don't cut or haul logs themselves, so you'd need to get your cedar logs there. Logs have to be trimmed clean of limbs, at least 4 inches on the top end, and cut to either 8 foot or 16 foot lengths, no more or less than 4 inches over. Logs with rot, that are too crooked, or that come out of yards or fence rows won't be bought as saw logs. The mill buys by weight or by the International Cedar Scale measure, and it covers Smith County. Richard and Leslie Smith, Jerrell Smith, and Gerald Kelley own and run it. The business "was started over twenty years ago with little more than one contract and a prayer" and now ships lumber across the eastern half of the United States, plus exports internationally, while still producing over 10,000 board feet of wholesale lumber a day. They also sell retail cedar products straight to the public. This fits a landowner with cedar logs already down or standing timber they're ready to cut themselves and haul to the mill, not someone looking for a crew to come fell and remove trees for them. From grantcedarmill.com, read 3 October 2026.
Vine & Branch Sawmill is a rustic sawmill in Hickman, Tennessee, at 6 Madison Lane. They do custom sawing and turn out lumber and timber products, mantles, beams, lap siding, shake siding, and CNC signs, along with hand painted barn quilts and charcuterie boards. The work is custom sawing rather than buying standing timber. Daniel and Lauren Greenwood bring "over 30 years of combined experience in the logging and sawmill industry in Middle Tennessee" to the business, and they cut on a "thin kerf bandmill" for precision. Everything is made to order, pickup is by appointment, and delivery is available for an extra fee. They serve Smith County and work out of Hickman and Middle Tennessee generally, and they offer a free quote on projects like custom mantles, beams, siding, or signs. This fits a landowner who already has logs or timber sawn and wants finished wood products made from it, rather than someone looking to sell standing timber off the stump. From vineandbranchsawmill.com, read 3 October 2026.
Questions landowners ask
How many timber buyers and foresters serve Smith County?
2 businesses are listed for Smith County: 0 consulting foresters and 2 buyers, loggers and mills. 2 of them have offices in the county.
How much is my timber worth in Smith County?
Nobody can tell you what your timber is worth without walking it. Value depends on the species, the size and grade of the trees, how thickly they stand, the ground conditions and how easily a logger can reach them. Anyone who quotes you a figure without seeing the land is guessing, and a guess in that direction is rarely in your favour.
What stumpage value means →Do I need a forestry consultant to sell timber in Smith County?
You do not have to use one. A consulting forester works for you rather than the buyer, marks the timber, runs a sealed-bid sale and typically charges a percentage of the sale. Research from several state extension services has found that timber sold through a consultant often returns enough more to cover the fee, though results vary by tract and by market. The decision usually turns on the size of the sale and whether you have sold timber before.
Do I need a forestry consultant? →Do I need a permit to cut timber in Tennessee?
There is no state permit or notification required to harvest timber on your own land in Tennessee. Best Management Practices for water quality are voluntary, though state environmental regulators can step in if a harvest actually causes a water-quality problem. Check with your county before work starts.
Permit rules in Tennessee →What is timber worth in Smith County?
No price series is published for Smith County on its own. Tennessee's latest published stumpage figures (Southern Ag Today (from Timber Mart-South), Q4 2025) put pine sawtimber at $17–$21 per ton. What your own timber brings depends on the species, the size and amount of it, and how far it is from a mill. A timber cruise by a forester settles it.
Forester listings for Smith County come from the Tennessee Forestry Association accredited forester directory, revised 2026-11-04. The register is updated quarterly.