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Vol. 54 No. 5

(Founded in 1972—Our 632nd Consecutive Issue)

FEATURE

May 2025 A Hatton-Brown Publication

Phone: 334-834-1170 Fax: 334-834-4525 www.southernloggintimes.com Publisher David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer Dianne C. Sullivan Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell Senior Editor Dan Shell Managing Editor David Abbott Senior Editor Jessica Johnson Associate Editor Patrick Dunning Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight

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Mullis Logging Logging/Army Vet

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Air Burners Woods To Energy

Art Director Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator Patti Campbell Circulation Director Rhonda Thomas ADVERTISING CONTACTS

out front:

DISPLAY SALES

Ryan Medlin of Roanoke Rapids, NC, spent 15 years as a procurement forester for Coastal Lumber Co. When Coastal shut down its hardwood mill in Weldon, Medlin formed a partnership with one of the loggers with whom he’d worked at Coastal, buying timber for that company. When that logger decided to retire a few years ago, Medlin bought half of the operation and went into business for himself as Medlin Forest Products, LLC. Now he buys, harvests and hauls his own timber.

Medlin committed to slow growth and produces both roundwood for local mills and chips for Enviva. Story begins on Page 8. (David Abbott photo)

Eastern U.S. Kathy Sternenberg Tel: 251-928-4962 • Fax: 334-834-4525 407 Barclay Ave. Fairhope, AL 36532 E-mail: ksternenberg@bellsouth.net Midwest USA, Eastern Canada

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SLT Scrapbook Back In Time

Southern Stumpin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 From the Backwoods Pew . . . . . . .24 Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . .26

John Simmons Tel: 905-666-0258 29 Bugelli Dr. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 3B7 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com Western Canada, Western USA Tim Shaddick Tel: 604-910-1826 4056 West 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6L 1Z1 E-mail: twshaddick@gmail.com International Murray Brett Tel: +34 96 640 4165 Mobile: +34 66 931 5837 58 Aldea de las Cuevas • Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net

Iron Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Coming Events/Ad Index . . . . . . . .38

Tel: 1-800-669-5613 • Tel: 334-699-7837 Email: bdevane7@hotmail.com

Bridget DeVane

Southern Loggin’ Times (ISSN 0744-2106) is published monthly by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscription Information—SLT is sent free to logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel in the U.S. South. See form elsewhere in this issue.

All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $65 annually; $75 in Canada; $120 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries— TOLL-FREE 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.southernloggintimes.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Southern Loggin’ Times magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. harmless from and against any loss, expenses, or other liability resulting from any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Southern Loggin’ Times. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2025. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed In USA.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Southern Loggin’ Times, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, AL 36102-2419

Other Hatton-Brown publications: H Timber Processing H Timber Harvesting H Panel World H Power Equipment Trade H Wood Bioenergy

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SOUTHERN STUMPIN’

By David Abbott • Managing Editor • Ph. 334-834-1170 • Fax: 334-834-4525 • E-mail: david@hattonbrown.com

...More Green Choice ay back in our November 2024 issue, I presented excerpts of Bruce Vincent’s keynote address at the American Loggers Council annual meeting in California last October. Vincent is an author and third-generation logger from Libby, Mont. There was too much material to fit into one Southern Stumpin’, so I only got less than half of it in. I said then that we would try to present the rest of it at a future date if we could, but I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested. As it turns out I actually got several emails from people who appreciated Vincent’s words and wanted to see the rest. So, picking up where we left off, here you have it: Bruce Vincent, part 2:

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Common Ground “We’ve got to own our past, we’ve got to own our current truth, and we’ve got to talk to the public about what we’re trying to do for them and their forests. And that requires transparency. They want to come out and see. We need to be ready to let them come look. Because we have a history that includes timber barons. Are we really doing what we say we’re doing? So they need transparency and they need to hear this from somebody they trust. Americans right now trust folks over the backyard fence. They do not trust threepiece suit-and-ties and talking heads on CNN. They want to hear from a real person. That is your job as ambassadors of this industry: to be that human face.

“We have science, they have emotion. That is frustrating, but we need to understand that we are also emotional animals, and packaging of our truths is as important as the content of our truths. It’s a human condition, emotion, and instead of blaming them, we need to understand that we too have that emotion. We need to package our science with emotion, because we are emotional animals.

“Ultimately we need to stop blaming the public for buying into the hype.

They want healthy forests. They love animals, trees, clean water. They want forests for their children. Who can blame them? That is our common ground.

So stop blaming them and figure out how we can talk to them about our common future. Our message to assure the public is pretty simple: I’m listening, I understand, I respect and share your concerns, and I am part of the answer.

Nowhere does it say we have to agree. I had to learn the hard way: God gave us two ears and one pie-hole and I had to shut the pie-hole for a minute, use my ears and listen. What is the public telling us? When we can tell them that we’re listening and we understand, we respect or share their concerns and we’re part of the answer, that’s how we maintain our social license. That’s how the light at the end of our tunnel is not a train.

“What do we want from the public? We want them to allow us to care for their forests. And for some, we want them to choose an occupation in logging.

We’ve got to remember that the next generation is only gonna choose a career path associated with forestry and logging if they believe it is honorable and socially acceptable as a profession and enjoys the respect of society at large.

That’s where the professional logging certification comes in. We need to be proud of our profession. We need to be proud of being the green leaders. We need to stop using language like ‘tree-hugging hippy’ and ‘environmental whacko.’ That does not help us.

“What can you do? You can show up. What I ask people to do when they go home is add one line item to the business plan, and make it right in front of equipment maintenance so that in 30 years we still have equipment to maintain. That line item is advocacy. I encourage you to start at home. It’s important to go to Washington, DC, and we have issues in every city in America, but the most important is local. Local collaboratives work. Local media, local schools, local leaders, your employees, your family, make sure they understand your issues and can talk over their backyard fence.

“What kind of tools work? American Loggers Council works. You are moving the needle. Leadership programs, information programs, they work.

Field operation tours, those things work. That’s transparency. Bring people out on your landing and talk to them about what you’re trying to do. Public media:

Peter (Wood, in Minnesota) has a podcast. It works. There are people who tune in and want to hear from us.

“Welcome wagons: how many of you are concerned about the people who have moved into your rural areas since Covid? We can treat them like the enemy until the week after they’re dead, but if we do that they will congeal into peer groups (with) others who are treated like outsiders and they will become a problem. We’ve got to quit having the ‘close the door behind me’ mentality. We know why they’re coming: they have fallen in love with the things we love. We’ve got to do like they did in the old days: when someone new came into a rural area, it was new blood, new money, somebody besides a cousin to marry our daughter; we met them with a pie. We need to resurrect that. We need to welcome the newcomers and then explain what they can do to help us maintain that little thing that they just bought 10 acres of.

“We have a lot to learn about their reality; they have a lot to learn about ours. I can tell you they are desperate to hear from us. We are so disjointed from the rest of society that “Ax Men” is prime time viewing: we are the zoo.

They want to come view us in our natural habitat. We’ve got to build bridges to society; they don’t know how to build one to us. That fact gives me hope.

Hope “There is something wrong. The truth has been outrun by lies for so long that the public doesn’t recognize the truth, and that is a problem for us. So what can we do? We can engage the public that wants to engage with us.

“It would be easy to lose hope. It would be easy right now to think everything is awful. We get 200 rotten channels of news. It’s ugly, ugly politics.

We just came out of a pandemic; that sucked. How many wars do we have going on? Ukraine, the Middle East, terror groups blowing stuff up? Climate change, fires blamed on it, floods are blamed on it; good heavens, Greta said we had 12 years left eight years ago; that’s four years left! Inflation, an open border…is everything really the worst it’s ever been? We hear that over and over and over and more important, the next generation is hearing that.

“My grandpa once said, most happiness and unhappiness is caused by comparison. Comparatively speaking, is it the worst it’s ever been? I don’t know. When we were growing up in the ‘60s, the President got shot; his brother running for President got shot; Martin Luther King got shot. We were burning our cities; 58,000 of my peers came home in body bags from Vietnam. Was that the worst it had ever been? Not according to my parents and grandparents: they had the Korean War, and World War II—that was kind of burly! —the Great Depression, World War I (the “war to end all wars”), the Spanish flu that killed tens of millions…was that the worst it’s ever been? I don’t know. Go back to the turn of the last century, they had killer smog in London that killed 3,000 people a month because of the sulfur in the coal they were burning. Was that the worst it had ever been? I don’t know. The Civil War was kind of rough. Wasn’t politics ugly when Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton ...were shooting at each other and one died!

“Is it the worst it’s ever been? No. That’s click bait from a conflict media that is trying to get the public’s attention and they are running the risk of scaring the hope out of people. And people that are hopeless make terrible decisions. My generation faced that. We were the first generation to understand that somebody in the world could poke the wrong button on a red phone and we are a nuclear shadow. And that developed a…drop out culture of hippies that ultimately didn’t work in the real world. And we need to address the fact that they’re trying to have fear run hope out of us and the next generation.

“We should not buy into that click bait because it is not true. Do we have challenges? Absolutely. But in terms of human history, this is the bestequipped generation ever to deal with the issues facing society, and I am convinced, as loggers, as leaders, you are going to rock it as long as you SLT don’t give up hope.”

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Shifting Gears n When his mill closed, former forester Ryan Medlin changed directions mid-stream to become a logger.

By David Abbott ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC H yan Medlin, 48, spent 15 years working as a procurement forester for Coastal Lumber Co., first at their pine mill in Suffolk, Va., then at their hardwood mill in Weldon, NC. That’s where Medlin served most of his 15year Coastal career, other than a brief stint in 2004 in Columbia, SC, where he bought timber for Coastal’s Walterboro and Denmark mills. That was just too far from home for him, he says. “About a year of it was all I could take,” he laughs. He wanted to be near his own more familiar stumping grounds, and more importantly, near that special someone he’d only just recently met. “I was single when Medlin was a timber buyer who transitioned to logging in recent years.

I left; then I met my wife, but she lived here in town.” They were married that next year, in 2005 (happy 20th anniversary!). Coastal transferred him back in late 2005 and there he stayed until 2011, when Coastal closed down that Weldon hardwood mill.

During his tenure with Coastal, Medlin worked with three or four contract loggers at a time. One of them was Richard Steiner, owner of the very successful Steiner Logging.

When the mill shut down, Steiner and Medlin decided to team up. “I knew how to buy timber, and he knew how to log,” Medlin says.

They formed a partnership to buy and log their own timber; that lasted till 2019, when Steiner retired and moved to Missouri. Medlin bought half of Steiner’s operation (the other One of his two skidders has dual rear tires to help in wet terrain. half sold to an employee, Phil Hack-

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man, who then contracted under Medlin for several years).

Thus, Medlin Forest Products, LLC was born six years ago, and the former procurement forester was now a full-fledged logger all on his own, buying and cutting his own timber with a single crew.

Lessons Learned Right after high school, Medlin went to Louisburg College for two years on a golf scholarship, still unsure of what he wanted to do Left to right, Royer Saravija, Marvin Alston, Clifford Lynch, Taevon Evans, William Campos, Ryan Medlin with his life. He then went to Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, earning a degree in forest management in 1998. He went to work for Coastal that spring, starting his forestry career that would later lead him to logging.

Medlin hadn’t grown up in logging or forestry at all; his dad Steve was a banker and regional president with what was then BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust Co.) for 40 years. The younger Medlin knew that wasn’t the career for him. “I’m not one to sit at a desk all day,” he knew.

That instinct to work outdoors was something his parents understood. “My dad grew up on a farm and continued to be a part-time John Deere knuckleboom keeps log trucks loaded. farmer as well as a banker.

He supported me in whatever I business: he saw too many loggers That unfortunate incident stuck wanted to do.” get too big too fast. Then, when their with him. “When I started this advenNo doubt Medlin picked up a markets changed, they were stuck ture, I didn’t want to put myself in pointer or two about finances from with an excess of equipment just sitthat position. The first year I logged his father, though, and the same ting idle, collecting debt without pro- on my own, I chipped 100%, no applied to his years with Coastal. “I ducing income. “One guy we had roundwood, I just went behind people don’t take anything for granted, cutting for us at Coastal started out at cleaning up hardwood tops. And then because I learned so much watching 50 loads a week, but within a year he I gradually built it up from there.” other people,” he admits. “I have was sending us 125 loads a week,” seen loggers come and go. I watched Medlin recounts. “Then the pine mar- Machinery their mistakes, and that taught me ket fell through the floor, so they didThe Medlin Forest Products crew more than anything.” n’t need too much pine. He had been For example, one observed pattern basing everything off of so much pro- centers its landing around a 2018 John Deere 437E loader and a 2013 he wanted to avoid with his own duction, and he just didn’t make it.”

Medlin focused on chipping at first and expanded gradually.

Caterpillar 559B loader feeding a 2015 Bandit 3590 chipper. A pair of skidders— a 2022 Tigercat 630H and a 2019 Tigercat630E— pull from a 2024 Tigercat 734 cutter. The E model 630 is outfitted with dual tires on the rear, offering improved floatation in muddy ground.

Equipment dealers are Bullock Bros. in Garysburg for Tigercat and James River Equipment in South Hill, Va. for Deere. For routine repairs and maintenance, Medlin says, “What we can do in the woods, we do for ourselves.” Anything beyond what they’re equipped to handle, they send back to the dealers.

CTW Equipment Co., Inc., an authorized Bandit dealer in Williamston, helps with chipper repairs.

Medlin has three trucks (two Kenworth W900s and one International), but only one is on the highway this spring, pulling Peerless chip vans and an Evans log trailer. Medlin also has three contract trucks running full time, and another part-time contractor hauling all roundwood. For any major truck issues, he looks to local shops in Emporia, Va. and Garysburg, NC, and he has a good relationship with Will Kesller at Pinnacle Trailer Sales, Inc. in Wilmington.

On tires, Medlin puts size 44s on his skidders. He likes Primex but says he doesn’t really have a favorite. “The most important part is the ply, how thick it is,” he believes. For truck tires, he likes B.F. Goodrich but says they’re too expensive so he buys Blackhawk.

Though some people like to use off-brand replacements, Medlin calls himself a stickler for OEM parts. “If it’s a John Deere loader, it gets a John Deere filter. Yeah, it costs a little more, and in the long run it may not make a big difference, but in my head it just makes sense. I’m sure some-

All chips go to Enviva plants.

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The Cat loader still runs well for a 12-year-old machine.

Chipping is about half of Medlin's production.

body out there can prove me wrong, but that’s ok,” he laughs.

Medlin Forest Products employs one full-time company truck driver, Clifford Lynch, along with four men in the woods: Marvin Alston operates the Deere loader, William Campos runs the 630H, Taevon “Junior” Evans mans the 630E, and Royer Valencia drives the cutter. “The guys in the woods, we’re all a team,” Medlin says. “They call me the boss but really, I don’t ask them to do anything that I wouldn’t do. They make it work; I’m honestly just here to help. I couldn’t do it without them, and I’m very blessed to have the guys that I do have working with me.”

Insurance is through Bitco; Josh Adams in Greensboro is the agent.

va. All non-merchantable material goes through the chipper, and the trucks don’t haul too much hardwood pulp as roundwood, either. “I’d rather just chip it,” Medlin says. “It makes more sense, because it keeps trucks flowing better, and that works better for me. The chipper will out-produce anything in the woods.”

When Southern Loggin’ Times met with Medlin in February, the crew was on a tract owned by Coastal Timberlands. It’s called the Mush Island Farm, about 2,400 acres of timberland right on the Roanoke River, which runs only about 400 yards southeast of where Medlin’s landing was set up, as the crow flies.

The crew was cutting a 35-acre block that week.

“They have been a joy to work with,” Medlin attests. “Everything is straight forward all the time, there is no question.”

Timber In terms of roundwood production, Meherrin River Forest Products takes a lot of Medlin’s grade hardwood, while low-grade hardwood goes to Clary Lumber Co. or Enfield Timber.

Crossties Plus, LLC in Plymouth takes mat logs, and he has also sold veneer logs to export markets from time to time.

Depending on truck availability, the crew hauls seven or eight chip loads daily, about half of his total production output. All chips go to Envi-

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The Coastal Timberland forester who works with Medlin is Brad Antill; he’s also the author of “From the Backwoods Pew,” a regular column in SLT for the last few years.

Antill manages all of Coastal Timberland’s holdings in this part of North Carolina, down to South Carolina and up into Virginia, a wide territory covering about 50,000 acres, Medlin figures. Years ago Antill and Medlin both worked at Coastal Lumber when it was all one company before it broke up. “I’ve known Brad pretty much since I started,” Medlin says.

Challenges It was especially cold on the day SLT visited in February, and the

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Medlin crew had to get out of the woods early because the area was expecting heavy snowfall after noon; up to 10 inches was predicted. “It’s been a colder winter than we’ve had in the last few years, and relatively dry,” Medlin reports. The upside of those late-season winter storms: since weather limited how much people could work, mills weren’t oversupplied and so they loosened their quotas a bit.

To access the kind of timber he logs, the Medlin crew can’t load trucks from the roadside, and that

Bullock Brothers is his Tigercat supplier.

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means extra expense to get deeper into the woods, on rougher ground.

To that end, Medlin buys a lot of mats from Long Island Lumber out of Long Island, Va. As far as future growth plans, Medlin says he kind of likes where he is at present. “I’m about 65-70 loads a week right now. Doing any more production requires a little bit more planning; I’m pretty content. I think the markets would need to get a little better if I was going to do that. I could do it with the same crew I have; I would really just need to add one more truck.”

These days Medlin only has one of his own trucks hauling fulltime, but that wasn’t always the case. “At one point I had all four of my trucks on the highway,” he says. Finding and retaining enough qualified drivers to man each truck has been the problem.

In general, one of the most prevalent and persistent problems faced by loggers in many areas has always been and continues to be finding truck drivers and machine operators who are qualified, reliable and responsible. Medlin laments, “People just do not take care of your equipment; it’s hard to teach. Some people get it, some people don’t.”

Before he could consider expanding, he’d need to see increased demand from mills, but it’s not all bleak on that front.

“Since Roseburg came online and Binderholz down in Enfield, they have helped the area as far as helping everybody with extra wood, so it has gotten better,” he acknowledges. “What I cut mostly is 60-70% hardwood anyway, but I do like mixed tracts.”

Medlin knows he’s fortunate in terms of location: his region, between northern North Carolina and southern Virginia, is one of the healthier, more active timber market regions in terms of demand. “We really are in a great area,” he nods. “There are a lot of mills within 50 miles of here.”

Medlin observes, “For the most part, you have to love (logging) to be in it. I’ve always been fascinated by equipment but it is probably one of the hardest things you can do. There are so many variables that you don’t know what’s coming at you. It’s very demanding.”

Medlin and wife Amy have two daughters: Savannah, 17, and Charlotte, 12. Savannah is graduating high school this spring, and after briefly considering going to college at the University of Alabama, she now plans to stick closer to home, following her grandfather’s path by studying finance at the University of North Carolina SLT in Wilmington.

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Field Ready n U.S. Army veteran Greg Mullis stays busy on company land in the Georgia flatlands.

By Patrick Dunning HOMERVILLE, Ga. ong before Greg Mullis, 59, ever turned the key on a feller-buncher, the men H in his family were already steeped in these south Georgia pines. His grandfather cut sixfoot blocks of short wood by hand and loaded them onto rail cars in the turpentine days, inspiring his father to start logging full time in 1969. As Mullis grew older he fell in love with being in the woods. He admired his dad’s work ethic and lifestyle. Still, he didn’t go straight into the family trade when he was of age.

Mullis wanted to see the world, so he enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school as a Special Forces candidate (18E). After basic training and airborne school, he passed a rigorous four-week assess-

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ment and selection to become a Green Beret attached to the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, NC. He served active duty for eight years and helped assist operations across Central and South America—Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica—gathering intelligence for drug-trafficking operations and training foreign nationals to defend themselves against insurgents.

“We maintained a presence, not directly involved, but provided intelligence through the U.S. Southern Command,” Mullis says. “I learned a lot from my time in the service. I needed to grow up, change my lifestyle and the military helped me tremendously.”

After his service in the Army, Mullis got out in 1993. He enjoyed all the training and deployments, but it was hard being away from his wife and two young kids. Mullis’ family moved back to Homerville later that year and he worked for his dad’s log-

ging crew for the next three years.

Civilian affairs paled in comparison to his military experience. “Working with people in the service was a completely different ball game,” he recalls. “Nobody quits or leaves, and everybody follows orders. Adjusting back to civilian life took time. Folks thought I was mean and I wasn’t sure what they were even mad about.”

Branching Out At the time, his father was easing into retirement, and the industry around them was shifting: Mills were changing hands or shuttering

Greg Mullis, owner

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operations, hauling contracts were shifting, and longer hauls were becoming the norm.

With one crew, a few used machines, and a co-sign from his father, Mullis started his own company: Mullis Logging was born in 1996, allowing the father and son to split operations and cover more ground.

“Smurfit owned a lot of the land around here until they sold to Rayonier and the entire landscape changed,” Mullis says. “GP had a sawmill in Pearson and we also hauled wood to a mill in Brunswick. If you worked for Smurfit you had to haul your pulpwood to Fernandina Beach. The

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Across all three crews the company averages 250 loads weekly.

GP mill shut down and all our business moved further east, so we founded Mullis Logging to operate a wider radius and diversify a little. We didn’t want all our eggs in one basket.”

Outfitted with a Franklin 170 grapple skidder, Barko 160 loader and Morbark three-wheel cutter, the company focused on smaller plantation pine thinnings. They eventually scaled up to four crews.

hook dropping and staging loaded trailers for transport.

The company rotates one track cutter among jobs to handle wet terrain when needed.

Weiler’s 7,500-hour, fouryear warranty on woods equipment speaks for itself and was a no-brainer for Mullis. “You get an extra year and 1,500 hours,” he says. “If you run it longer you have more equity when you trade it to keep payments down. The cost of these machines goes up 3% per year, (so) you need those type of advantages to keep your payments from jumping each year when the pay doesn’t jump.”

Mullis Logging deals with Yancey Bros., Waycross, for everything Weiler. Meanwhile, Dobbs Equipment, Brunswick, serves all of Mullis Logging’s John Deere needs. “I like John Deere but there’s only so much difference in tractor brands,” the logger asserts. “The difference lies in the people you deal with.” Mullis deals primarily with longtime territory manager Jimmy Lydon. “Jimmy is willing to help, and financing is easier to deal with one guy. I trust him.”

Operations

Mullis started contracting for Langdale Forest Products in 2018. He downsized to three crews but gained a long-term partner in the Valdosta-based Deere's standard FD45 felling head bunches and holds 30-year-old pine trees easily. mill. When Southern Loggin’ Times visited Mullis Logging in March, the crew was conducting a rotational clear-cut on 200 acres in Echols County.

Mullis says the terrain is mostly forgiving—sandy, flat, and easier on equipment even if growth rates lag behind better clay soils. What the dirt lacks in nutritional value, it makes up in access. During wet periods when bottomland tracts are bogged down, flatwoods like this keep his crews working.

“This ground probably doesn’t Maintenance grow timber as fast and good Mullis Logging keeps 10 because of its clay-like soil, but trucks under its umbrella, along it certainly logs better,” Mullis with a couple of spares for each says. “This surrounding timbercrew to minimize downtime land is very valuable when you From left: Jimmy Spikes, Riley Alverson, Staten Levings, Bappy Griffis, James Mullis, Taylor Denmark, during routine maintenance. can’t log elsewhere. That’s Jeana Mullis, McCoy Moody, Greg Mullis, Davis Moody The company keeps a 50-50 why we’re here, because some of the tracts further north aren’t the 55 because it’s bigger, but all my As the four-man crew works through split between older rigs and trucks accessible at the moment.” guys like the 45 because it bunches the Langdale tract, Mullis moves the under warranty, but across the board runs mostly Kenworth. All A John Deere 643L-III cutter with and holds wood better, and keeps its loading deck forward, often reusing truck drivers are in-house.

FD45 felling head was targeting 30RPMs more consistently,” Mullis existing spots from previous thinAt the company’s shop and headyear-old loblolly pines, 25 ft. long notes. The John Deere 748L-II skidnings to keep the operation clean and quarters in Homerville, woods with 5 in. tops for chip-n-saw. Mullis der with dual Firestone 35x5s and efficient. equipment engine oil is changed has tested several of Deere’s felling 24x5s drags logs a quarter mile to the All three crews operate the same every 500 hours using Rotella oil heads and prefers the standard deck to be sorted by a Weiler K560 model equipment and use an old and greased three or four times per model. “A lot of people like to run loader fitted with a CTR delimber. five-ton Army surplus truck for

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Weiler's 7,500-hour, four-year warranty is hard to beat.

Majority of the company's chip-n-saw and saw log production is under contract and delivered to Langdale Forest Products in Valdosta.

After a spout of rain, Mullis Logging conducts a clear-cut on one of the Langdale's tracts.

Hook dropping pre-loaded log trailers saves time and money on high-volume jobs.

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Greg and his wife, Jeana Mullis

Mullis, second from right, with his son James, left, son-in-law Davis Moody, right, and grandson McCoy Moody out front

Thomas Cook, truck driver

week. Truck oil is changed every 15,000 miles and greased weekly.

Mullis keeps two full-time mechanics that both hold CDLs and wear multiple hats: moving equipment, hauling wood and turning wrenches.

“We work on brakes, tires, change oil, belts, pretty much everything but engines,” Mullis remarks. “If the engine needs to come apart, we don’t fool with that. All of our logging equipment stays under warranty and once the warranty gets close to expiring, we swap them.”

Mullis Logging boasts a mix of 25 Magnolias and Country Boy trailers, favoring air-ride and single-point suspension setups for easier inspections and smoother hauls.

Markets Across all three crews, the company averages 250 loads per week.

The bulk of Mullis’ volume, saw logs and chip-n-saw, is delivered to Langdale. Enviva Pellets, Waycross, receives half of the company’s total pulpwood volume, and a portion of Mullis’ chip-n-saw goes to Conner Holdings in Homerville.

Mullis’ long-standing relationship with Langdale gives the crews a level of consistency not every logger can claim. “They’re not stock market driven,” he explains. “They understand the cycle, know sawmills go up and down. If lumber’s not making money, they’re still making money on the land or fiber side.

They’ll cut off outside wood to take care of us.”

He’s worked under Langdale’s umbrella before, handling salvage and storm tracts, and has long-standing ties with Grant Harvey, who oversees logging and site prep for the company’s quarter-million-plus acres. Mullis currently has a crew dedicated to storm-wood cleanup following last September’s Hurricane Helene.

“Most of the damage from recent storms was further north, but we try to take the worst tracts first—blown-down timber, leaners, SLT whatever needs it.”

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Demo Highlights Possibilities n With Air Burners products, biomass can be converted to energy directly in the woods.

I

PALM CITY, Fla. n early March, a diverse group of industrial users, Forest Service scientists and other experts gathH ered in Palm City, Fla., to experience and evaluate the leading air curtain burner system in the world, the BioCharger, by Air Burners. Developed in collaboration with Volvo Construction Equipment and Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the BioCharger directly addresses the need for more efficient forest management and land clearing in wildfire-prone areas, while reducing black carbon emissions compared to traditional disposal methods.

The BioCharger is a fully portable air curtain burner system that converts radiant heat into electricity, stores the generated power, and then charges electric vehicles and equipment on-site. The machine utilizes an organic rankine cycle system to generate electricity, which is then stored in the attached

storage module’s 600 kW battery, allowing the end user to charge their machinery locally.

“Electric machinery is the logical next step in the fight against climate change and concerns over air quality,” Brian O’Connor, president of Air Burners, told the crowd. “We saw a need for offgrid power generation and charging in the forest and vegetative management space to accommodate that shift. The BioCharger is our response to filling that need.”

The event took place at an Air Burners demonstration site hosted

by TCIRood, a Florida landscaping company. Attendees were treated to a presentation covering the current landscape of vegetative waste management and the technology behind this new product.

As part of the demonstration, a Volvo compact electric wheel loader was used to show the capabilities of the BioCharger to SLT recharge 48V equipment.

Developed in collaboration with Volvo Construction Equipment and Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the BioCharger directly addresses the need for more efficient forest management and land clearing in wildfire-prone areas.

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SLT Scrapbook Looking back over the years.

M ay 19

75

95

19 Aug us t

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May 1985

M ay 1995 M ay 2015

May 1985

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May Is For Mother’s Day A man called his mother in Florida: “Mom, how are you?”

“Not too good,” said his mother. “I’ve been very weak.”

Her son asked, “Why are you so weak?”

She answered, “Because I haven’t eaten in 38 days.”

The son replied, “That’s terrible! Why haven’t you eaten in 38 days?”

His mother answered, “Because, I didn’t want my mouth to be full in case you should call!”

My mother taught me about: 1. Weather: “Your room looks like a tornado hit it.”

2. Religion: “You better pray that comes out of the carpet.”

3. Time Travel: “If you don’t straighten up I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week.”

4. Osmosis: “Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”

5. The Circle of Life: “I brought you into this world, I can take you out.”

6. Envy: “There are millions of less fortunate children in the world who don’t have wonderful parents like you.”

7. Receiving: “You are going to get it when we get home.”

8. Genealogy: “Shut that door; were you raised in a barn?”

9. Justice: “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”

10. Logic: “Because I said so, that’s why.”

11. More logic: “If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”

12. Stamina: “You’ll sit there until your spinach is gone.”

13. Irony: “If you don’t stop crying I’ll give you something to cry about.”

14. Foresight: “Wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.”

15. Contortionism: “Just you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”

16. Hypocrisy: “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times: don’t exaggerate!”

17. Medical Science: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way.”

18. ESP: “Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?”

19. Humor: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”

20. Nutrition: “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”

21. Wisdom: “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”

Words Of Wisdom (From Children) 1. Never trust a dog to watch your food. —Patrick, age 10 2. When your dad is mad and asks you, “Do I look stupid?” don’t answer him. —Michael, 14 3. Never tell your mom her diet’s not working. —Michael, 14 4. Stay away from prunes. —Randy, 9 5. Never pee on an electric fence. —Robert, 13 6. Don’t squat with your spurs on. —Robert, 13 7. Don’t pull dad’s finger when he tells you to. — Emily, 10 8. When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair. —Taylia, 11 9. Never allow your three-year old brother in the same room as your school assignment. —Traci, 14 10. Don’t sneeze in front of your mom when you’re eating crackers. —Mitchell, 12 11. Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a tictac. —Andrew, 9

12. Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time. —Kyoyo, 9 13. You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. —Amir, 9 14. Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts. —Kellie, 11 15. If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse. —Naomi, 15 16. Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick. — Lauren, 9 17. Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat. —Joel, 10 18. When you get a bad grade in school, show it to your mom when she’s on the phone. —Alyesha, 13 19. Never try to baptize a cat. —Eileen, 8

Memorial Day: George Patton Quotes l If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking. l Lead me, follow me or get out of my way. l Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will

surprise you with their ingenuity. l Always do everything you ask of those you command. l Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. If you have a 50% chance, take it. l People who are not themselves are nobody. l A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood. l A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. l Do more than is required of you.

May the Fourth Be With You May the Fourth is Star Wars Day, thanks to a little word play. Here’s some jokes from a galaxy far, far away…

What do Imperials pilots eat for lunch? TIE food.

Did you hear about the smugglers who were frozen in carbonite? They were hardened criminals.

Why did the Rebels take a bath after stealing the Death Star plans? They wanted a clean getaway.

What do you call an Ewok with no teeth? A gummy bear.

Do you remember when Mandalorians ruled the galaxy? Mandos were the days.

Why are droids expensive to own? They charge a lot.

What do you call a Jedi with four eyes? A Jediiii.

Did you hear about the guy who moved his cantina up to Cloud City on Bespin? He really raised the bar.

What is a storm trooper’s favorite store? The one next to the Target.

Why can’t you keep your Ewoks outside? Because they’re Endor pets.

What’s the internal temperature of a Taun-Taun? Luke warm.

Did you know Darth Vader had a sister? Her name was Ella Vader.

Chewy is short for Chewbacca and R2 is short for R2-D2. So what is Luke short for? A storm trooper.

The Wonder Years (Courtesy of Mississippi logger Ken Martin) I’ve finally reached the Wonder Years.

I wonder…where I parked the car?

I wonder…where I left my phone?

I wonder…where my glasses are?

I wonder…what day it is?

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FROM THE BACKWOODS PEW

Cotton Pickin’ My grandmother grew up in Arkansas, as did my mom. Grandma was a cotton picker. That generation of folks, who grew up in a time when agriculture still had segments that required extensive hands-on labor, is passing away; and with that passing, we will lose a connection to nature that will be hard to regain. Of course, speaking for my mom, and many of her cousins, all of whom spent a tour of duty in the cotton fields: “Good riddance to cotton picking!”

Grandma often told me about working all day at a given job, and then coming home and picking a row of cotton before dark, dragging her cotton sack behind her. It was part of her work ethic, and she was trying to remind an impressionable grandson of the importance of hard work. My mom would later use the same tactic.

On our visits to Arkansas, my sister and I knew when we were getting close to our destination. We would pass the fields where my mom had spent time as a youth, chopping or picking cotton, and we would hear the stories: stories of doing what was

necessary to survive, a reminder to us that not everyone had the luxury of a full refrigerator growing up. And as we drove through many of those same poverty-stricken areas, we began to understand that for many, today’s menu consisted of what you acquired today.

It was to such audiences that Jesus often spoke, to people who labored daily for what they would eat that day. No work, no dinner. One can only imagine the shock of hearing Jesus implore his followers to not fret over what they would eat or drink. To hear him proclaim that seeking the Kingdom of God was of more importance than finding today’s lunch.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” — Matthew 6:31-33 It was common for Jesus to speak in the open country, but they were not in the planted fields. Nor were they out amongst the herds. No, they

were in the unused portions of the country, too rough for a field, and not enough cover for herds. The crowds that followed him would overrun the small villages and hamlets. As he passed through, word of the healings would begin to spread, and the crowds would grow larger and larger.

When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. —Matthew 14:13,14 While Jesus taught, stomachs began to rumble. The crowd was full of desperate people, people who saw in Jesus a chance to be healed, to find the elusive meaning to life that seemed to be hidden from them.

Their daily struggle was for survival.

Little time was spared for philosophy, or religion. Yet, there was the unshakeable feeling that they were missing something valuable: that there was perhaps more to life than getting from one meal to the next.

And so, they followed Jesus out into the country. Separating themselves for the moment from that next payday, and that next meal.

“Don’t get caught in the swamp without lunch,” is a common motto for those who work in the timber business. Whether by purchase or paper bag, don’t trust the swamp to be on time or to provide you with nourishment. A simple trip can turn into a long hungry day. Here are a few rules to eat lunch by if you are traveling into and out of swamps: —Never enter the swamp after 10:00 am without first eating. Time in

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the swamp multiplies like mold in a dark basement, and what you figured would only take an hour will cause you to come out after 4:00 pm, very hungry if you didn’t eat first.

—Eat lunch before you drive down a bad, muddy road. If you hit the road first, you will get stuck, and supper will be in question before you get out.

Bottom line, you have to answer the question: Is missing lunch worth whatever you are about to do in the swamp/forest?

When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” — Matthew 14:15 The crowd had failed to live up to my motto, and we see what happened: they were out in the boondocks and they missed lunch.

But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” —Matthew 14:16 Peeking ahead to verse 21 of this account, we will find that the crowd was 5,000 strong. Imagine you owned the little café in town and saw this group headed your way with hunger in their eyes…oh wait, they had spent the day with Jesus, not working, so no money. Anyone have a gift certificate?

The account of this miracle of feeding 5,000-plus in the wilderness is recorded in all four gospels, and all of the accounts state that the food on hand was five barley loaves and two small fish…yet only John records that these items were in the possession of a young teenager.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here

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who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” —John 6:8,9 And thus began a fascinating miracle, thanks to a hungry teenager who had the audacity to offer his food to Jesus. That meant he was sitting close enough to the disciples and Jesus to hear what they were talking about—listening enough to see a problem, and to understand he could help.

Jesus used a young teenager to teach the disciples, not the importance of bringing your lunch, but the importance of making Jesus the first of everything you do. He does not call you and me to perform the miracle, but he gives us a chance to participate in his miracle. I can only imagine the disciples, playing the part of the waiters handing out food, with each distribution knowing that their basket was empty, only to reach in again, and finding yet more. Don’t give up on Jesus, he knows your needs. Reach out in faith, and let him supply. Keep your eyes on him, and not on the basket of your need.

Excerpted from Woods, Worship, and Wasteland, author Bradley Antill See www.onatreeforestry.com for more!

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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP

As We See It: From The Woods To The White House

Louisiana delegation with U.S. Speaker of the Hose Mike Johnson, R-La.

Loggers from coast to coast and north to south across the nation converged on DC to represent industry interests.

Nearly 100 timber industry stakeholders representing 25 states flew into Washington, DC armed with a “Road Map to Recovery” to share with Congressional leaders, high

ranking agency officials and White House representatives. The Fly In was a joint event cosponsored by the American Loggers Council and the American Biomass Energy

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Assn. In two days, donning Making LOGGING Great Again hats and “wooden ties” provided by Bob Verrier (Rhode Island Wood Operators Organization), attendees conducted over 200 meetings and engagements.

Additionally, Congressional Representatives and officials addressed the group. Acting Associate USFS Chief Chris French kicked off the breakfast briefing at the Congressional Visitors Center (in the House alternate Chamber). Congressman McClintock (CA) and Congressman Westerman (AR) provided presentations during lunch. Additional Congressional lunch and dinner meetings were held.

Notably, representatives from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama met with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce to discuss the impacts of imported pulp and structural panels (OSB and Plywood) on U.S. markets. The Louisiana delegation also met with Speaker of the House and Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson.

A White House meeting with the Office of Public Liaison and the U.S. Trade Representative officials was attended by 12 ALC / state representatives with a heavy emphasis on discussions about the European Union Deforestation Regulation.

After the White House meeting, a copy of the President’s Executive Order 14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, was presented to the American Loggers Council.

Capping off the event was a reception at the USDA headquarters attended by the timber industry stakeholders, Congressional officials and USDA/U.S. Forest Service representatives. The location of the reception, in the ornate Whitten Building Atrium, with flags from all 46 states represented by the American Loggers Council, signified the collaborative partnership between the USDA/USFS and the timber industry as we work together to improve the health of the National Forests.

The American Loggers Council presented the 2025 Congressional Leadership Awards to Senator King (ME), Senator Risch (ID), and Con28 l MAY 2025 l Southern Loggin’ Times

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gressman LaMalfa (CA) in recognition of their strong support and legislative leadership for the American timber industry.

The overall takeaway from the participants was that there was a much more positive response and reception in DC regarding increased emphasis and support for forest management.

Recognizing this opportunity, the American Loggers Council will be investing in, and increasing our efforts and presence in DC, to advance the agenda. Already, legislation has been introduced (Safe

Routes, Repeal of the Federal Excise Tax, Future Logging Careers, Fix Our Forests Act, Secure Rural Schools Act) along with the Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production Executive Order and the USDA Secretary of Agriculture Memorandum Increasing Timber Production and Designating an Emergency Situation on National Forest System Lands. Acting Associate Chief, Chris French, released Implementation Guidance in response to the President’s Executive Order and Secretary’s Memorandum to meet the

goals and objectives of these directives.

The ALC Board of Directors and members also held the 2025 spring meeting before departing Washington, DC.

USFS Seeks 25% More Timber Sales U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a Secretarial Memo in early April to establish an “Emergency Situation Determina-

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tion” on 112,646,000 acres of National Forestry System (NFS) land, following President Trump’s Executive Order to expand American timber production by 25%.

“Healthy forests require work, and right now we’re facing a national forest emergency,” Rollins said. “We have an abundance of timber at high risk of wildfires in our national forests. I am proud to follow the bold leadership of President Trump by empowering forest managers to reduce constraints and minimize the risks of fire, insects, and disease so that we can strengthen American timber industry and further enrich our forests with the resources they need to thrive.”

The Memo spurs immediate action from the U.S. Forest Service directing field leadership to increase timber outputs, simplify permitting, remove National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes, reduce implementation and contracting burdens, and to work directly with states, local government, and forest product producers to ensure that the Forest Service delivers a reliable and consistent supply of timber.

Upon Rollins’ announcement, Acting Associate Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Christopher French, issued a directive to the Deputy Chief of the National Forest System, in consultation with other deputy chiefs, to immediately develop a national strategy that outlines the agency’s goals, objectives and initial actions related to increasing active forest management.

French also directs all regional foresters to develop five-year strategies, tiered to the national strategy to increase their timber volume offered, leading to an agency-wide increase of 25% over the next four to five years. These regional timber strategies will include an assessment of their current five-year program of work (POW) that includes timber volume, opportunities to expand that POW, a wood utilization facility risk assessment, barriers to achieving a 25% increase in volume (including information beyond funding needed), and potential solutions to overcoming those barriers.

French is also directing district rangers and forest supervisors, in addition to regular timber sale solicitations, to utilize direct timber sale opportunities with interested purchasers operating on and around forests. All agency timber sales will use base rates or minimum rates, where appropriate, based on the Emergency Authorizations outlined by the Secretary.

In addition, within 90 days, Regions will establish standard appraisal rates that can be applied and used over a geographic area where similar conditions exist. ‰ 37

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30 ‰ “Within the next 24 months, I expect each Regional Forester to establish two years’ worth of ‘shelf stock’ of timber volume coming from project decisions for out-year implementation of their timber related program of work,” French said. “I further direct all line officers to use innovative and efficient approaches to meeting the minimum requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and other environmental laws, including categorical exclusions, emergency authorities (including the Secretary’s recent expanded Emergency Situation Determination), condition-based management, determinations of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) adequacy, and staged or tiered decision-making.”

In early March President Trump signed an executive order for the “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.”

The order emphasized that the U.S. has an abundance of timber resources that are more than adequate to meet domestic timber production needs, “but heavy-handed federal policies have prevented full utilization of these resources and made us reliant on foreign producers,” which has impeded the creation of jobs, contributed to wildfire disasters, de-

graded fish and wildlife habitats, increased the cost of construction and energy, and threatened U.S. economic security. “It is vital that we reverse these policies and increase domestic timber production to protect our national and economic security,” the order stated. “All relevant agencies shall eliminate, to the maximum extent permissible by law, all undue delays within their respective permitting processes related to timber production,” the order added. “Additionally, all relevant agencies shall take all necessary and appropriate steps consistent with applicable law to suspend, revise or rescind all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and other agency actions that impose an undue burden on timber production.”

Sumitomo Purchases Teal Jones Sawmill Sumitomo Forestry Co. Ltd. announced it had acquired Teal Jones Louisiana Holdings LLC through a wholly owned subsidiary, Sumitomo Forestry America, Inc., including the sawmill in Plain Dealing, La. The acquisition will be carried out in accordance with procedures outlined under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act of

Canada and Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Sumitomo Forestry will make the acquired entity a wholly owned subsidiary with plans to expand the business in the Southern U.S. Teal Jones Group, based in Canada, and which had multiple wood products operations in Canada and the U.S., announced in 2022 it was starting construction of the $110 million sawmill. But in April 2024 the company filed for bankruptcy.

Walmart Installs Mercer CLT, Glulam Mercer Mass Timber (MMT), a manufacturer of sustainable timber building materials and a subsidiary of Mercer International Inc., announced the completion of a key role in the construction of Walmart’s new home office in Bentonville, Ark.—the largest mass timber corporate campus in the U.S. The installation of Mercer mass timber panels began in spring 2024 and is now complete.

Shawmut Design and Construction and Layton Construction selected MMT to provide cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (Glulam) for two major sections of the campus, opening in late 2025 to early 2026:

—Zone 1: Four hybrid mass timber buildings (four stories each) totaling 897,500 sq. ft. of office space and parking decks.

—Zone 3: Additional offices built with full mass timber frames including a single five-story building with a total area of 332,615 sq. ft.

Mercer Conway, located in Conway, Ark., supplied a total of 21,000 m3 of CLT and Glulam while providing jobs for 58 employees.

“This project showcases how mass timber can transform commercial construction,” comments Nick Milestone, SVP at Mercer Mass Timber.

“We’re proud to support Walmart’s sustainability vision and demonstrate how local, eco-friendly materials create beautiful, high-performance workplaces.”

“This marks the completion of our first major mass timber contract, but it’s just the beginning,” adds Ricardo Brites, Director of Engineering & VDC at MMT. “We look forward to leading more projects that showcase mass timber’s potential.”

Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, U.S. and Canada and reports consolidated annual production capacity of 2.1 million metric tons of pulp, 960 MMBF, 210,000 m3 of CLT, 45,000 m3 of glulam, 17 million pallets and 230 thousand metric tons of biofuels.

Southern Loggin’ Times l MAY 2025 l 37

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COMING EVENTS June 10-12—Hardwood Manufacturers Assn.’s National Conference & Expo, Knoxville Marriott Downtown, Knoxville, Tenn. Call 412244-0440; visit hmamembers.org.

July 19-22—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Omni Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Va. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.

20-24—SLMA 2025 Annual Conference, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla. Call 504-443-4464; visit slma.org.

25-26—Missouri Forest Products Assn. summer meeting, Chateau on the Lake, Branson, Mo. Call 573634-3252; visit moforest.org.

25-27—Georgia Forestry Assn.

Annual Conference, Jekyll Island Convention Center, Jekyll Island, Ga. Call 478-992-8110; visit gfagrow.org.

August 6-8—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Music City Center, Nashville, Tenn. Call 504-4434464; visit sfpaexpo.com.

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7-10—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, The Inn at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. Call 804677-4290; visit valoggers.org.

19-21—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Resort, Lake Charles, La. Call 318-443-2558; visit laforestry.com.

22-23—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com.

26-28—Florida Forestry Assn.

Annual Meeting & Trade Show, Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort, Miramar Beach, Fla. Call 850-2225646; visit flforestry.org.

September 3-5—Tennessee Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Chattanooga Downtown Marriott, Chattanooga, Tenn. Call 615-883-3832; visit tnforestry.com.

4-6—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, U.P. State Fairgrounds, Escanaba, Mich. Call 715-282-5828; visit gltpa.org.

16-18—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Lafayette, La. Call 409-625-0206; visit amloggers.com.

17-18—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Grandover Resort and Spa, Greensboro, NC. Call 800-231-7723; visit ncforestry.org.

19-20—Kentucky Wood Expo, Masterson Station Park, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

19-20—Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. annual meeting, Putnam County Fairgrounds & Expo Center, Palatka, Fla. Call 904-8457133; visit swpa.ag.

October 3-4—Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show, Starkville, Miss. Call 601-354-4936; visit midsouth forestry.org.

Listings are submitted months in advance.

Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

38 l MAY 2025 l Southern Loggin’ Times

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