First of all, what kind is it and what size is it? I've paid everything from $5 for a small pot to $250 for a large pot of something really special. To get an idea of the range for various bamboo, check out the prices at www.bamboosourcery.com. Typically, most bamboos go in the range of $20-$60 retail, in pots. If your bamboo all needs to be dug and potted, it's unlikely that you'd be offered these kinds of prices.

One other thing. Bamboo rarely flower, so seeds are only infrequently available, and they lose viability very quickly. If this person is promising to "seed" your property for bamboo next year, I'm not sure he knows what he's talking about. Almost all bamboo is propagated by growing it larger and digging up divisions as it grows. I have grown a couple of bamboo from seed over the last several years, but it takes many years for these seeds to grow into plants that are large enough to sell.

Thanks for your quick followup. The field is not well maintained however they are 25-30 feet tall. Bamboo is on the ground and he offered $5 per clump. He is going to propagate it and will seed into the other parts of the land.

Ouzon-
I'm presuming you don't know what kind it is, but I'm assuming it's fairly common. However, if you want to know, you could give a physical description and post a photo in the gallery and we could try to identify it.

Maybe you can post in what area/county you're in and if somebody is nearby they can tell you, in exchange for a clump?

Spiros

An acre of bamboo is very probably not clumping bamboo, esp as far north as NJ, esp not 30 ft high (afaik, common cold-hardy clumping bamboo doesn't get that tall). To cover an acre, a clumping bamboo would have to planted with may 10s, or more, of individual clumps.

More likely is a cold-hard running bamboo, like dirt-common Phyllostachys aurea "golden bamboo" that has spread over the property during a period of 10 - 20 years. It reaches up to 30 ft high.

If the "somebody" knows what they are doing, they probably want to dig up "field divisions", 2 or 3 culms together with rhizomes/rootball, to re-sell them.

see typical pricing here: http://www.lewisbamboo.com/pricelst.html. Retail nurseries will be equal or more expensive for potted bamboo.

If you don't want the bamboo, then you could let him harvest all of it for a lump sum, paid up front. I think it would be very difficult for you to define, price, and monitor the harvesting at per-division level.

btw, the harvesting is sort of destructive in the sense each extracted rootball will leave a hole in the ground, maybe 8" - 12" deep, and 12" diam. I'd require him to fill the holes. :)

I agree with UnAutre. It's probably phyllostachys although I don't think aurea would size up in NJ. The most common established bamboo in the NE is Phyllostachys Aureosulcata, which has a flat yellow groove along the culm and very occasionally has a zig-zag culm.

I'm still a little unclear on the "seeding" idea, though.