Partnerships in Forestry: Mississippi Forestry Association

MFA Business Manager Casey Anderson and MFA Executive Vice President Tedrick Ratcliff exhibit at the MS Lumber Manufacturers Association meeting in Biloxi.

J. Tedrick Ratcliff, Jr. Executive Vice President, Mississippi Forestry Association

Mississippi Forestry Association (MFA) has had an active summer with Teachers Conservation Workshops, exhibits at several annual conventions, and in-person Summer Board Meeting and education sessions. Though COVID-19 has not gone away, it was nice to have some normalcy and to see our members in-person again!

This year marked the 57th year MFA has conducted Teachers Conservation Workshops across the state. During our North workshop, Mississippi Bug Blues brought live insect species into the classroom and taught about forest health. WAVE Raptors and Reptiles also brought live snakes, owls, and hawks for the teachers to view. During our Metro workshop, teachers followed the journey of a tree as it went all the way from harvest to finished product. Each year, these workshops train and equip teachers with the tools they need to teach conservation education in their classrooms.

MFA also partners with the Mississippi Sustainable Forestry Initiative State Implementation Committee (SIC) to attend and exhibit at various conventions around the state. This summer, MFA and SIC exhibited at the Mississippi Association of Supervisors convention, the Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association convention, and the Mississippi Society of American Foresters meeting. Exhibiting at events such as these allows MFA to connect with individuals and companies from a variety of government and business entities.

Our summer CFE (Continuing Forestry Education) sessions, crawfish boil, and Summer Board Meeting were held on the Mississippi State University campus in the Department of Sustainable Bio-products facility. These were all very well attended and were a great way for earning education credits and networking with other industry professionals.

We are now looking forward to our 2021 MFA Annual Meeting, which will be held at the Golden Nugget in Biloxi, Mississippi, from October 13-15. Additionally, we are pleased to announce that FMIC Insurance Agency is serving as our Title Sponsor for Annual Meeting! We appreciate the attendance and financial support FMIC gives our association and the interaction and support they provide to our members.

This year’s Annual Meeting theme is “Building Toward Our Future” and will feature an economic development Q&A panel, a presentation on the outlook of Mississippi lumber exports, and a forestry economic update and market forecast. Registration is now open at www.msforestry.net.

We were very pleased to see the USDA announcement this summer regarding pandemic assistance for timber harvesters and haulers. Our logging and trucking members have been significantly impacted by COVID-19, and this is a step forward in helping them get the financial assistance they need. More information on how to apply can be found at www.farmers.gov/pathh.

Though COVID-19 keeps rearing its head, MFA staff continues working hard and standing ready to assist our members in any way needed. We know FMIC is there for them too, and we look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.