Measuring Standing Sawtimber One of the most important aspects of forestry is growing a crop of trees. However, a crop of trees is measured and sold in a different way than are the crops familiar to most of us. Soybeans are sold by the bushel, and cotton is sold by the pound or bale. Farmers receive a certain amount, depending on the markets, for each bushel or pound they sell.
Lumber is bought and sold by the board foot.
Board foot is also the term used to measure and express the amount of wood in trees. For example, a tree farmer might have 50 MBF of pine sawtimber for sale. Selling timber is a business proposition, so it is important tree farmers know how many board feet of sawtimber they have. To determine timber volumes, farmers must measure their trees. Otherwise, they would not know the value of their timber crops.