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Timber Harvesting & Forest Operations (ISSN 2154-2333) is published 6 times annually (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/ December issues are combined) by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscriptions are free to U.S. logging, pulpwood and chipping contractors and their supervisors; managers and supervisors of corporate-owned harvesting operations; wood suppliers; timber buyers; businesses involved in land grooming and/or land clearing, wood refuse grinding and right-of-way maintenance; wood procurement and land management officials; industrial forestry purchasing agents; wholesale and retail forest equipment representatives and forest/logging association personnel. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $50 annually; $60 in Canada; $95 (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.timber harvesting.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Timber Harvesting & Forest Operations 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 Timber Harvesting & Forest Operations. Copyright ® 2023. 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.

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2023 Timber Harvesting Logging

Business of the Year Skookum Timber Co. owner Ken Swanstrom is a passionate advocate for the logging industry and its place in the environment to help maintain healthy forests. Article begins on PAGE 12. (Jessica Johnson photo, design by Shelley Smith)

Swanstrom Part of Montana’s Landscape

Often, I feel like we focus on the “wrong” thing when it comes to logging businesses. We go into the history of the company, we make a pass or two at their business philosophy, and then we get into the details of the machinery. Tires, chains, saw teeth—all the pieces and parts that are critical to running a feller-buncher, and for that matter, a logging operation. We might give a few words to the type of ground the given operation works. But we don’t linger on any one specific thing, we try to cover it all. Frankly, that’s our specialty. Managing Editor Dan Shell has worked really hard to bring this well-rounded, delightful and insightful editorial content you expect from Timber Harvesting But this issue is different. Our annual Timber Harvesting Logging Business of the Year annual story is somehow more special, more in-depth. Typically, this story goes into all of what makes our winner stand out. For the 2023 Timber Harvesting Logging Business of the Year Award winner Ken Swanstrom, there’s not one single thing that makes him “worthy,” instead he’s got a lifetime of “worthy” elements. When I landed in Kalispell, Mont. in early August, it was hazy thanks to wildfire smoke, there was a dry heat my skin certainly wasn’t use to and posted signs everywhere about the highly favorable fire weather conditions.

I’ve met a lot of loggers in my day, big operators and single, two-man crews: I’ve always believed that loggers truly love the land they work and want what’s best for it, despite what might be said to the contrary. But never in my life have I met someone so amazingly passionate about the land he lives on and works as Ken Swanstrom.

Even under these conditions, as Swanstrom and I rode the 155 mile loop around Flathead County where his whole life is marked by parts of the land, I was mostly speechless. Speechless at how beautiful the world was. My first time in Montana certainly didn’t disappoint and it was certainly and delightfully nothing like the silly Yellowstone television show makes it out to be. I watched and listened as Swanstrom pointed out the spot where his very first skidder was delivered. The areas where he and his father did salvage work in the 70s and 80s for Champion International. I listened with rapt attention as he told me about how they worked an area that was originally created by Chinese immigrants, hand dug out for a railroad that connected part of the West. Part of the buttresses that were

put in the 1880s to bridge the Continental Divide still stand.

Swanstrom showed me the first tree he ever felled, as its stump still stands in the old forest that was once Champion’s land. He talks with passion about the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge, in Pleasant Valley, where he admits he was wrong about something the government wanted to do to his beloved land. Now, the over farmed, parched pastures are a truly marvelous sight to behold with wildflowers, birds and rumors of elk—though this born and bred Southerner didn’t get to see one!

Its not just the trees and the forests and the mountains and the wildlife that Swanstrom loves and wants to preserve and protect. Its his knowledge of the history behind it all. As an example: Swanstrom and I rode out to one of his favorite jobsites, a church camp nestled in the Lakeside community of the Flathead. How in the 1920s and 1930s the Lutherans and the Methodists had been sharing some land and some cabins before they decided each group needed their own space— he recalls the history of how Lutherans snowshoed into the undeveloped wild on the shores of Flathead Lake and bought the property for $1,000. Later, when some hiking trails needed to be cut out and otherwise have some management done Swanstrom prepared and delivered a presentation to the camp’s Board of Directors to give him the job. Of course, his management plan won the bid and he still remembers nearly every detail of the job, as he does with almost all the jobs he’s done across his five decades long career.

No Swanstrom’s operation, Skookum Timber, doesn’t have a huge machinery footprint in Flathead County, Montana and he doesn’t move the most loads off the mountains. He does something much more important: He gives every piece of his heart and soul to the land that raised him. And for that, I cannot think of a more worthy Timber Harvesting Logging Business Of The Year award recipient. TH

“Stewardship truly has been my focus all these years,” Ken Swanstrom says as he points to a patch of trees on the other side of Flathead Lake.

ALC-Idaho Launches Medical Insurance Plan

Responding to concerns from its members, officials with Associated Logging Contractors-Idaho rolled out the organization’s medical insurance plan, August 1, featuring special discounts and coverages designed for ALC-Idaho members, says ALC-Idaho Executive Director Shawn Keough.

Emily Koleno, director of operations for Associated Insurance, notes that the ALC-Idaho board has been tremendously supportive of the formal process as the plan was developed over roughly 16 months. She adds that officials with the Idaho Dept. of Insurance were very respon -

quired to put together a plan.

TPA Executive Vice President Ray Higgins reports that the association has begun working with Choice Plans to begin research about a potential plan. One of the first steps is to get a count on the size of the potential group, and TPA members have been e-mailed employee census forms and healthcare questionnaires.

Minnesota Passes Wider Load Rule

After two legislative sessions worth of lobbying and negotiation, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a provision allowing wider loads of timber. The provision came into effect August 1 for Minnesota loggers and log haulers with a raw forest products (6th axle) permit.

According to a report in the Timber Bulletin of the Minnesota Timber Producers Assn., provision is designed to help those hauling 9 ft. wood to sawmills like PotlatchDeltic in Bemidji and Jake’s Sawmill in Baudette. Savanna Pallets also buys longer wood so they can make bigger pallets for their customers with less waste.

The plan is open to ALC Regular members and is tailored for small businesses like logging and log truck driving. For example, groups as small as two are eligible, as long as both work at least 20 hours a week in the business. Employers can offer one to three different plans.

“The prices are competitive and the coverage is great,” Keough says. “The more people we get enrolled, the stronger the plan will be.”

Since she began working with ALC-Idaho in 2000, obtaining affordable health insurance has always been an issue for association members, Keough says. The group tried a selffunded plan 40 years ago but wasn’table to sustainit. She adds that ALC-Idaho members have always wanted some sort of health plan but their voices have become louder more recently as costs have risen.

The association was able to put the plan together by working with its long-time affiliated insurance company Associated Insurance Service, which in turn has coordinated with PacificSource Health Plans.

sive and ALC-Idaho’s experienced staff were abig help. PacificSource also has some of its business roots in the forest products industry and their people were excited about helping make the plan work, she says.

The issue of health insurance being offered—or not—by logging contractors is increasingly being raised as a big obstacle to both recruiting employees and retaining the ones already on the payroll.

In addition to Idaho several other groups are also working on health plans. The North Carolina Forestry Assn. (NCFA) is putting together a health care plan that the group hopes to begin offering the first of 2024, pending a board vote in September.

“We hope to bring value to our members, and especially a health care option for smaller groups,” says NCFA Executive Director John Hatcher.

Other logging groups are taking a closer look: An item in the Timber Bulletin newsletter from the Minnesota Timber Producers Assn. (TPA) noted that the group’s annual meeting included presentations on the steps re-

When hauled crosswise on a rail trailer, loads with this longer wood exceed the 102 in. maximum truck width. The new legislation adds the ability to haul up to 114 in. (9 ½ feet) to the raw forest products permit.

The recently passed provision includes these conditions:

● Loads more than 106 inches wide will need to be flagged during daylight hours, or lighted during hours when headlights are required. State and federal regulations conflict on this; federal regs are more stringent, but the best rule of thumb will be to flag/light the load once it exceeds 106 in.

● Mirrors must be extended to the point that the driver is able to see behind the wider load.

● Wider loads are not allowed in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.

“This is a huge help for loggers bringing us this longer wood,” said Jake Hasbargen of Jake’s Sawmill.

“There’s a demand for this wood and now our suppliers will be able to deliver it legally on their rail trailers. My thanks goes to everyone in St. Paul who helped improve things for loggers with this bill.”

Idaho loggers now have a new healthcare option.

NewsLines

Forisk: Logging Employment A Big Capacity Concern

Logging companies nationwide are losing employees, according to a report by Shawn Baker, Vice President of Research at Forisk Consulting, who contributed the following to the Forisk Research Quarterly Q3 2023 edition:

“An old Ray Charles song uses one of the many iterations of the phrase, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” The saying feels regrettably fitting for the logging sector of late. Over the last two years, inflation stressed contractors with higher logging costs. A recent cooling of lumber markets amid continued slow paper demand forced production quotas on many loggers, as well.

Low margins and constrained production are a financially damaging mix. Historically, logging employment declines in response to reduced wood demand. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that a four-quarter moving average of U.S. South logging employment declined 13 consecutive quarters through the end of 2022. Despite the recent slowdown in lumber, Southern wood demand did not decline over the last 13 quarters. Harvest levels in 2022 exceeded those in 2005, prior to the Great Recession. Western logging employment fell 3% year-over-year in 2022, but the decline has not been as consistent as in the South.

Looking beyond national trends, there are 23 states in the U.S. with at least 100 logging businesses headquartered in them. Out of those 23 states, only two increased logging employment between 2018 and 2022, Pennsylvania (+4%) and Texas (+6%). Of the remaining 21, nine recorded logging employment declines greater than 10%. Montana and Idaho are two of the top three, each losing more than 14% of their logging force as wood demand fell in the region. Louisiana recorded the second greatest drop in logging employment (15%), likely influenced by the closure of Georgia Pacific’s Port Hudson pulp mill. Oregon also recorded a 14% decline. Four sawmills closed in Oregon between 2018 and 2020.

Total employment increased in seven of the nine states, indicating logging employment fell while the workforce in most states rose. Louisiana again stands out as an exception, highlighting general labor concerns there. With substantial investments in sawmill and bioenergy capacity over the last three years, Louisiana wood demand could increase as much as 30% over the next decade. Shrinking harvesting capacity should be a concern.”

Sun Mtn. Purchasing R-Y Timber Sawmill

Sun Mountain Lumber of Deer Lodge, Mont. is purchasing R-Y Timber of Livingston, Mont., according to reports. The two lumber mills are 146 miles from each other. With the acquisition, the state’s largest lumber pro-

ducer is now even larger.

R-Y Timber suffered two structural fires in a span of six months that threatened to close the lumber manufacturing plant. In September 2022, a fire burned the planer mill building and machinery. In February, a second fire burned the sawmill building.

Mill operators sought to recover from

the September blaze and had started rebuilding, but the February fire dealt a heavy blow. Soon after, mill owners announced they were closing the 60MMBF facility that employed 78.

A week after the February fire R-Y Timber officials confirmed they were closing the business and terminating some employees.

Musser Expanding Virginia Biomass, Byproduct Division

Musser Biomass and Wood Products, a division of family-owned and operated Musser Lumber Co., will invest $7.5 million and create 10 new jobs to expand its operation at Rural Retreat, Va. in Wythe County. The expansion will more than double production of dried hardwood chips and sawdust the company supplies to composite decking manufacturers, plastic extrusion companies, and BBQ and heating wood pellet companies.

In 2020, in an opportunity to expand its operations, the Mussers established Musser Biomass and Wood Products, which has enabled the company to purchase sawdust and wood chips from their mill supply base and grow its sales of these materials. Musser Biomass and Wood Products plans to bring on a second dryer this year and then open a pulpwood and log yard to supply its dryer operations. Musser Biomass and Wood Products will also significantly increase its purchase volumes of hardwood residuals from regional sawmills, which will create a new market for this operational byproduct.

California Tribe Developing Biomass Biofuel Partnership

Native American owned Tule River Economic Development Corp. and Kore Infrastructure have partnered to develop a wood-based biofuel refinery in Porterville, Calif. Fuel load thinnings in the area will be used as the primary feedstock. The facility will consume up to 17,000 tons per year.

According to news reports, engineering should be complete by 2025. The Tule River Economic Development Corp. manages 57,000 acres of timberland, and has

an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to manage an additional 325,000 acres.

Louisiana College Offers Forest Technology Degree

Central Louisiana Technical Community College in Winnfield is now offering students an associate degree in forest technology. “The need for good technicians who are trained and well-versed is definitely out there,” said instructor Jordan Franks. “It’s a big need and the industry sees that.”

The curriculum goes way beyond theory, and students will get hands-on training with simulated heavy equipment, enhancing their skills and preparing them for real-world challenges in the field. “So having the students trained not only gives them a competitive edge in the job market, it makes them very well rounded and really good employees,” added Franks.

The students will be able to work on projects in the nearby Kisatchie National Forest. "We have the U.S. Forest Service here locally,” said Jeff Johnson, the dean of the college, who added the forest "will serve as an incredible classroom for students, offer-

ing them firsthand experience.

“The forestry industry is an agriculture industry,” continued Johnson. “It touches in manufacturing also, bringing a lot of jobs to our area. It helps us get our students into local positions with our partners.” CLTCC already announced the acceptance of its first two students into the program.

WestRock Tacoma Closure Hits Northwest Chip Markets

With WestRock’s Tacoma, Wash. pulp mill scheduled for closure by the end of September—the company’s fourth permanent mill closure in the past two years—Northwest chipmarkets are taking another hit following reduction s at PCA’s Wallulah, Wash. mill and Cosmo Specialty Fibers in Cosmopolis, Wash.

According to a report in the August 10 Fastmarkets-RISI North American Woodfiber & Biomass Markets newsletter, whole log chip producers have traditionally provided up to 25% of the market, but are among the first to be

cut as mills seek to lower raw material costs. The move also puts a drag on pulp log prices across the region.

Adding to the Northwest chip woes are export volumes to both China and Japan, which have slipped substantially this year.

WV Receives New Firefighting Funding

West Virginia wild land firefighters received a big boost recently when Gov. Jim Justice signed legislation that will provide $4 million for new forestry wildland firefighting equipment. The department lost funding in 2019 when the West Virginia Legislature cut severance tax collection on state timber. Assistant State Forester Jeremy Jones said state of the art fire suppression gear will help counter an ever-growing wildfire danger.

“This historic investment will provide severely needed modernization to our wildfire program and our equipment,” Jones said, after the far-reaching legislation was signed.

Logging Safety Focus: Top

10 Critical Issues

The following safety reminders from leading forest products business insurer, Bitco Insurance Companies, are reprinted from the Texas Logger newsletter 2Q 2023.

● Hiring Practices—Qualify all of your new hires with proper background and reference checks. Don’t hire your next workers comp claim.

● Proper Risk Transfer/Contracts—Ensure that you obtain singed legal contracts from all of your subcontractors and haulers naming you as an additional insured on their insurance policies with primary and noncontributory protection.

● Too Much Speed/Distracted Driving—These are the two primary reasons for the majority of our auto claims. Slow down—drive the speed limit or, more importantly, the proper speed for the road conditions. DO NOT drive while distracted. No eating, drinking or talking on a phone while driving. Stress the tremendous responsibility involved with driving a log truck. The livelihood of your business and the lives of your employees and others depend on it!

● Safety Meeting Records—Maintain a clear record. Review your history on at least a monthly basis. Mandate pretrip inspections every day with timely maintenance to avoid out-of-service violations. Carefully review the unsafe driving history to monitor potential speeding violations NOT disclosed by your employees. Plaintiffs’ attorneys love the SMS website!

● Personal Protective Equipment—Safety glasses and hard hats for most activities, coupled with chaps and cut-resistant boots when using chainsaws.

● Lockout/Tagout—We seldom see a minor injury as a result of a LOTO violation. ALWAYS shut off the power, bleed the pressure and let the centrifugal force expend itself BEFORE working on any type of machinery.

● Reflective Tape/Beacon Lights—You simply can’t have too much reflectivity when pulling a log trailer! Light it up like Las Vegas at night!

● Backing Off or Onto Highways—This is a very dangerous procedure, particularly in darkness or low light conditions. Try to avoid it at all costs and NEVER attempt it without at least two flagmen and proper lighting.

● Tie Down Straps—Always use the underhanded method of throwing straps or cables over a load of logs. The average rotator cuff claim is easily $50k.

● Log Tail Swing Radius—This is a major new crash problem that must be addressed with all drivers. We sustained two policy limit claims in 2017. TH

Focusing on safety delivers a bottom line benefit.

When The Dust Settles The Land Is Left

JESSICAJohnson

Ken Swanstrom’s Skookum Timber Co. is the 2023 Timber Harvesting Logging Business Of The Year.

KALISPELL, Mont.

For Ken Swanstrom timber harvesting in Montana means more than loads per day. For the entirety of his five decades-long career, it has been about so much more. He is the original environmentalist—his whole life’s legacy is in the land where he lives and works, and he takes tremendous pride in the way his crews have worked tracts, focusing on how the forest looks after the machines have rolled, pre-

serving the natural beauty of Big Sky Country. His company has never been the most productive—one of Swanstrom’s regrets he admits as he stares down the barrel of retirement—but he says he holds his head high because he held the woods to a higher standard. It’s because of this higher standard he set and achieved for himself and his company that Swanstrom’s Skookum Timber Co. is the 2023 Timber Harvesting Logging Business of the Year award winner.

Swanstrom, 66, is the second winner from the state of Montana and the first past-president of the American Loggers Council to receive this award. So, when he somewhat rhetorically asks, “Where do you draw the line between pride in what you did and how you are going to end up the last 20 years of your life?”

The answer might not be measured in cabins on the lake or flat screen televisions. Instead, this age old and incredibly tough question can be answered by riding around the Pleasant Valley and the greater Flathead Lake and the city of Whitefish Lake and countless other spots in and around Kalispell, Montana where Swanstrom’s emphasis on the land has helped preserve it for generations to come.

Changes

Over the years, Swanstrom has seen his fair share of industry changes—like when he and his father made the move from hand falling salvage timber to purchasing a feller-buncher. Then later effectively, amicably, splitting up their partnership. Swanstrom has watched as selling land became an industry that brought vibrancy to the area in the form of construction jobs for mega mansions and folks “not from around here” who are anti-harvesting.

Or the opposite, a real estate agent tells a dentist from California that his new 10 acre piece of property has $100,000 worth of trees. It then falls to Swanstrom, who 15 years ago was getting calls from 160 acre landowners who wanted property thinned, to give these smaller landowners the bad

news: “I say, sure, if you want to take them all off, it probably does.” This means tracts have become smaller and smaller and smaller, unfortunately, he says.

Another huge blow is the loss of infrastructure. Swanstrom says in his area they are down to just two sawmills, affecting what loggers can sell logs for and how much truckers can be paid. Add to that the ever-changing climate becoming drier and hotter— things are not easy in the mountains. Like many places, logging in Montana is seasonal, with spring breakup shut-

ting down roads (and operations) for a few weeks each year and what the locals call “hoot owl” time during the fire season, where hot saws can begin working at 1:00 a.m. but must be finished each day by 11:00 a.m. to help control sparks from machines that might ignite a fire. “Hoot owl” can last until September.

Still, Swanstrom says he wouldn’t do everything differently if he could go back to 1975 when he graduated high school and started working in the woods for another logger. Sure, for the 10 years he was first working without

his dad after the move to mechanized felling in ’84 he says it was even harder, hunting for work like a third of the other loggers in the area. He persevered. “In 1984, when I bought the feller-buncher, I could buy a stand of green lodgepole before the bugs ever got there. I knew the future wasn’t in chain sawing down one lodgepole at a time,” Swanstrom says.

Again not unlike most loggers around the country, employees continue to be a concern for Swanstrom and it has been a contributing factor to why he’s scaled back. “You can’t hold a good man back. I don’t blame them for wanting to make a good life for their families,” he remarks just a handful of months removed from having lost two veteran employees as they went on to start their own job. Replacing the 12- and 17-year veteran opera-

tors has proven nearly impossible— but it has helped Swanstrom refocus.

Swanstrom's refocus came after a bit of soul searching—as he affectionately called his employees his "angels" and losing them was a blow. But there is no bad blood between them and he's incredibly grateful for their long tenure with Skooknum Timber. A third 8-year veteran employee also left earlier this year, which helped Swanstrom drive the refocus, while also remaining grateful for their work and what the crew was able to accomplish for so many years. "I will certainly still give them a big hug when I see them," he adds.

He plans next year to work at the fires, spending the winter converting one of his skidders into a skidgen. A skidder with a water tank on the back, the skidgen will be more valuable than just a log skidder sitting at

Swanstrom’s shop, as the federal government pays well when machines are working fires. The difficult regulations have always held Swanstrom back from signing up to work fires the last 20 years, but with tight market conditions at home it is hard to say no to having guaranteed work at almost triple the rate.

Part of the decision to go firefighting has to do with Swanstrom’s stamina, he admits: “I don’t have the energy I used to.” He wonders if he worked too hard on the wrong thing, focusing solely on survival as a logging contractor. In the modern business world, he thinks you have to have an attitude that reaches higher than survival. Though owning a business for 47 years (and counting), that survived two recessions is nothing to be ashamed of. Especially, in Swanstrom’s words the Great Recession that totally “spanked.” While he might not have said he was going to succeed, most would say he has!

Job Site

Now, aided by Tim O’Brien who’s been with Swanstrom 11 years, the two-man Skookum crew works beautiful land as hard as they can, with as many as nine sorts per job on long hauls. Mainly, Swanstrom cuts different types of fir, Western larch and some lodgepole pine.

He has to hustle, but Swanstrom works hard to stay ahead, while Tim skids to himself and delimbs. He doesn’t have to load, but he likes loading because it gives Swanstrom a chance to cut a few more to get ahead.

Of course, as soon as the pair started out with this flow they had two back-to-back difficult projects that made it impossible for Swanstrom to cut ahead. Often there will only be a handful of drags to skid in the morning but it works for them. Swanstrom, ever aware of his surroundings, in the same breath points out that Montana SMZ rules are different based on location (if the ground is steep you are you to be 100 feet away; if it is flat you can be 50 feet away).

He also mentions that three generations of a single family have owned the land he and Tim are working this summer. “It has been 20 years since they cut a tree here. I feel really lucky to be the steward of this,” he says pride.

Markets

Swanstrom is selling logs today for the same rates as 2016, which makes it brutal for him to be able to compete against $40/hr. basic construction jobs in the area. An upside to the boom in construction jobs is the demand for firewood. A lifelong Montanan, Swanstrom understands that people move here and want to have wood heat. It means that sometimes, cutting green trees down and letting them sit and dry out can be worth more than trying to shop them for building products.

A lot of what they cut that they classify as the “junky” stuff, Swanstrom adds, is sold to the fancy hotels in town. “Those folks don’t care how

well it burns, because the room is heated. It is just for ambiance,” he laughs.

In addition to firewood, other side markets for Skookum include large house logs, Douglas fir beams for a beam specialty plant 100 miles to the south. In order to make the operation work, Swanstrom says, he has to hit all the side markets. Adding, “If any one of those components fails, we’re in tough shape.”

The downside of the influx of residents coming to create paradise is they aren’t fans of harvesting. Swanstrom points to Plum Creek selling 2 million acres often to the highest bidder with no care for how the land would be used long-term. Western larch grows incredibly slow, but makes a super good lumber so it’s a catch-22 for outfits like Skookum. Western larch’s growth rings often need a microscope, the boards are super, mega high-quality, but it is difficult (and expensive) to get them from the mountainside to the store.

One harvesting champion is the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Swanstrom says, calling them very progressive about timber sale activity as they are required by law to harvest what is grown every year. The Feds work at a different pace, he adds, though thanks to the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) the state can operate a timber sale on Federal land: “We have had a lot of them and they work really, really well. It works. We are

surrounded by Federal land. There are some really good upsides.”

Swanstrom, who two years ago made the move to strictly working stumpage he purchased himself, says his DNRC website works phenomenally to show new timber sales, past sales, bid sheets, maps and everything. Whereas, in his opinion, the Federal government prospectus website is complicated.

“This country has had stewards and it has had pillagers,” Swanstrom says of timber sales. The first few years in the mid-70s, and Champion offered them the ability to go in and cut poles instead of doing heavy cutting, the philosophy that shaped his career was born.

“For me, I got tired of people bad mouthing loggers,” he says, “Even back then, its way worse now, but even back then, it was not fun being looked down upon. We used to have this mantra we would log 80 acres and we wouldn’t leave a scab on a tree, as a crew we all worked at it.”

Going hard is the easy route, Swanstrom adds. “Anyone can do what I do, how you pay for it is just pay for it with your wallet. It costs money to be a steward of the forest. Whereas it doesn’t cost you to run and gun and move on to the next patch working cheap for the mill. I just couldn’t get there. I tried to bring it up some notches,” he says, but still he focuses on how the land looks and how it will grow tomorrow over today’s load sheet.

Greene Retires As Dean Of UGA Warnell

After nearly four decades of leading future foresters through stands of pine trees and into successful careers, Dale Greene, dean of the University of Georgia’s Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, has announced his retirement.

Greene has served as the school’s dean since 2015, though his tenure at Warnell began in 1986 when he joined the school’s faculty as an assistant professor. His retirement will become effective January 1, 2024.

“Dean Greene has had a remarkable career as a teacher, researcher and administrator who prioritizes student success,” says UGA President Jere Morehead. “As a result of his exemplary leadership both as a faculty member and dean, Warnell is one of the top programs in the United States for forestry and natural resourcess.”

Greene also researched and wrote extensively on the wood supply chain, including the condition and characteristics of logging businesses,

harvesting techniques, thinning applications, log trucking efficiencies, mill policies and much more.

Greene also led efforts to increase funding for teaching and learning, more than doubling the number of named professorships, scholarships and fellowships available to faculty and students. Additional donations have supported technology upgrades throughout Warnell’s facilities. And recently, the sale of 2,500 acres of

property in south Georgia, which was donated to Warnell in 1989, secured $18.5 million for instruction, research and building improvements.

Teaching has always been Greene’s passion, and he says his hours spent in the classroom are among his favorite memories. He has served as an advisor to 49 graduate students.

Over the years, four of Greene’s former students have been named Georgia Logger of the Year. Greene can also claim as his former students the state foresters for Georgia and South Carolina, Tim Lowrimore and Scott Phillips, respectively.

Greene was inducted into the Georgia Foresters Hall of Fame in 2007, received the Wise Owl Award from the Georgia Forestry Assn. in 2011 and was named a fellow of the Society of American Foresters in 2022.

Greene received his B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1981, an M.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1983 and a Ph.D. from Auburn University in 1986.

Dale Greene has led an amazing 37-year career.

Gathering, Analyzing Logging Business Metrics Effectively

Tracking costs and productivity by machine and operator doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming.

When I started my career as a professional economist working in Washington, DC, I certainly never planned on owning a forestry software company in Hinton, Alberta. Yet as life would have it, that is precisely what happened. This has presented me with a fascinating, real-world-laboratory from which to watch microeconomics and the mechanics of capitalism in action every day. I see both the beauty and the brutality with which markets can work, and I get to observe how different entrepreneurs approach everyday business decision-making in the real world.

I’ve met some extraordinarily astute, successful logging and sawmill entrepreneurs in these last 15 years who could run circles around many of the multinational corporate professionals with whom I worked in my prior life. These entrepreneurs have figured out the business metrics they need to monitor in order to compete successfully, and they’ve implemented efficiency-enhancing data management tools to collect and deliver that data.

I’ve also met some very hardworking, successful forestry business owners who run their business mostly by “braille”—blind to their key business metrics. They work 10-12 hours a day, and operate on a hope and a prayer that their hard work will pay off, too short of time to keep an eye on their numbers. The last thing they have time to do is spend countless hours gathering data. But tracking your data doesn’t have to be daunting if you approach it pragmatically.

And then, of course, I’ve met forestry business owners who love being in the woods, but aren’t prepared for the business responsibilities that come along with making a viable livelihood out of their endeavor. All too often, their logging operation is nothing more than an expensive hobby at best, and at worst, a hobby that puts their livelihoods and their families at risk.

And so it seems my vocation in life was not to become a tax policy economist, as I aspired to do when laboring over econometrics text books, but rather to proselytize to forestry companies about the importance of tracking

and analyzing the economics of their business so they can stay in business.

Key Logging Metrics

I interviewed a small handful of companies for this article from North and South, East and Midwest, and also reflected back on reports that various of our users have commissioned over the years. Based on that experience, I’ve listed my top five favorite business metrics for logging companies.

1. Average cost per ton (or MBF or cord or cubic meter) of wood

2. Ratio of volume produced to machine hour spent—ideally by phase of operation

3. Truck Cash Flow (Portion of revenue attributed to the hauling phase for the loads delivered by a given truck relative to the truck expenses for the same period, including driver wages, fuel, insurance costs, and major repair bills)

4. Major Equipment Expenses by Machine Unit

5. Truck Revenue per Driver Hour Worked and Per Loaded Mile Traveled

TERESAHannah

Developing representative cost and production data segments makes key business metrics tracking less burdensome.

Measure, Gather, Monitor

Gathering and analyzing data doesn’t have to be that complicated, as long as you approach the task pragmatically and note the cost-benefit tradeoffs so you get to the finish line. Basic principles include:

● Rely on data to inform decision-making: I often ask clients and prospects about whether they know their average fuel consumption per hour for their various types of machines, or if they know how many hours or man-days it took to do the cutting, skidding, and loading on the last job they did relative to the volume they produced on that job. For every one who tells me of course they do, I probably have a dozen more who respond with a deer-in-the-headlights look. Thankfully, gathering data and making use of it doesn’t have to be as daunting as it seems, which leads me to the next point.

● Use sampling to keep the data collection manageable: You don’t have to commit to keeping detailed records on every single machine every day, or tracking every single machine expense down to the last penny in order to operate a data-driven business. But you should commit to tracking key data for discrete amounts of time to get some representative benchmarks in place. For example, you can commit to tracking fuel gallons consumed by a single logging crew for two weeks. During a twoweek data gathering exercise, get your operators to mark down the hour meter reading at the start and end of that two week period, so that you can look at the gallons/hour each machine on that crew consumed. Figure out the average price per gallon during that two week period to get a reasonable estimate of the fuel costs associated with every hour you have your machine running.

● Sampling and estimating keep you focused on the forest, not tangled in trees: Accountants may need to track expenses down to the last penny, but economists don’t and neither do you. For example, when tracking machine repairs and expenses, keep it simple. Focus on the big expenses that are over a certain cost threshold, and get your mechanic to at least approximate how many hours each day he spent doing what on each machine, then apply a wage

rate to that time. If he’s on salary, then assume he works 40 hours a week, and convert his weekly salary to an hourly rate. Sure, he’ll work more than 40 some weeks, and less in others, but it’s a reasonable assumption that makes the tracking manageable. Commit to doing it for 3 or 6 months, then use that portion of the year’s worth of data to extrapolate to the whole year, excluding big things like new tires when you estimate the remaining year’s worth of data.

● Monitor productivity: Most loggers are pretty good at tracking their output: They can usually tell you the loads each crew produces each week, and the corresponding tons or MBF or cords. What most are surprisingly bad at is tracking the inputs. And yet it is output relative to input that defines your productivity and plays a big factor in your cost structure. As one of my more astute business owners from northern Michigan (who does monitor his productivity on a job by job basis) said to me, “Knowing how many tons only tells me half the story – the other half is knowing how many hours it took my operators and my machines to do it!”

It seems obvious, right? Revenue is driven by output, but costs are driven by inputs. Yet surprisingly few loggers really know their tons/hour statistics by crew, let alone by job. In preparing this article, I worked with two successful, established companies in the South who do a great job of tracking their production by crew, their average load weights, their stumpage costs and their trucking costs. Yet when it came to their harvest crew productivity metrics, they struggled. Come to find out, both had data that they had collected in the last year that would allow them to at least make an educated guess about their output to input ratio (tons/hour). Yet neither of them, until the writing of this article, had ever thought to use the data they had collected to look at their tons per hour ratios.

The first did not keep time sheets for their operators (though interestingly they do for their truck drivers). But they do keep records on the hourly meter read on each machine each week. By looking at the machine hour read at the beginning of the year, and at the end of the year on each machine in the crew, they were able to approximate the number of machine hours it took to produce the tons attributed to that crew during that same year period. Obviously, every hour that the machines were running were not actually productive hours, so using this data overstates the real productive hours. But if you back off at least an hour a day per machine to factor in lunch and breakdowns, then you have at least a reasonable approximation of productive hours. Is it exact? No. Does it need to be? No.

The second company actually kept time sheet records in our software as well as all their load ticket data, tracking both the operator and the machine on each job—a rare thing in the South! With this data, I was able to point them to a report in the system that let them see the total tons produced on the job, relative to the hours spent on bunching versus skidding versus loading.

Carrying this method of analysis one step further, we ultimately built up to an estimate of what it cost per productive machine hour for the crew to produce a ton of wood. With just a bit of algebra applied, we determined the costs per volume for the whole crew, which is really what you want to know, given that your revenue is generally earned per volume of production.

The bottom line? Given that you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in equipment, it’s imperative to invest some time in understanding the economics of your business to help guide your decision-making. Otherwise, you may just have an expensive hobby on your hands. TH

Teresa Hannah is owner of Caribou Software and she extends a big “Thank You!” to Reid Logging from Georgiana, Ala., St John Forest Products from Spalding, Mich., Usher Land and Timber from Chiefland, Fla., Khiel Logging from Denmark, Maine, Shelby Taylor Trucking from Sheridan, Ark. and many other loggers over the years who have contributed to this article directly or indirectly.

CuttingTechnology

John Deere FR27 Felling Head

The John Deere FR27 Disc Saw Felling Head is now standard on the John Deere 953M and 959M feller buncher models, and available as an upgrade on the on the 853M, 859M and 903M feller bunchers. This felling head attachment has a larger cut capacity compared to previous felling head models: Building upon the success of the FR24B, John Deere has successfully designed the durable FR27 as a solution aimed to increase productivity on the job.

A larger felling head solution to Deere’s lineup with the FR27 provides customers with a larger, more durable attachment to help increase their bottom-line, says Jim O’Halloran, global product marketing manager, tracked feller bunchers and harvesters & disc saw felling heads, John Deere.

The FR27 Disc Saw Felling Head is designed to take on a variety of timber applications, from large single stem cutting to mid-sized accumulation, and boasts an all-new design and overall rebranding from previous John Deere felling head models. In addition, this robust, high rotation felling head features excellent cut and accumulation capacity, offering top-of-the-line productivity compared to previous models. The FR27 features an impressive cutting capacity of up to 27.2 in. and an accumulation capacity of up to 7.5 ft, improving capability in the woods.

Building upon the success of the field proven FR24B, the FR27 features an updated frame and wrist design, which includes a tall horn, long harvesting arms and continuous hose routings that promote easy machine clean-out. The hardened saw housing wear plates are now standard and offer improved saw housing wear resistance.

Visit www.johndeere.com

Ponsse Scorpion Giant

Developed according to the requests from our customers, Ponsse Scorpion Giant conveniently fulfils the gap between Scorpion King and Bear in the Ponsse harvester line-up comparison. Ponsse Scorpion Giant can be equipped with the H8 harvester head. With the new C50+ crane offering more lifting power and more tractive force, Ponsse Scorpion Giant is right at home in working with larger trees, in snow, slopes, and soft grounds. Ponsse Scorpion Giant is a beast of a harvester with more modern and stylish features, and increased comfort. The best properties are still there –just upgraded from the feedback of operators. The entirely new cabin is full of features that improve visibility, safety, ergonomics and usability. All of these increase the operator’s comfort, while the completely new air conditioning system, larger storage spaces and dozens of other small details add their finishing touches. When you step into the spacious and quiet new cabin, you can experience a new kind of comfort never seen in work machines before. The new stylish design, high quality upholstery and increased spaces makes the operator feel like everything is in the right place.

The new Ponsse H8 harvester head enables faster, more efficient, and comprehensively economical harvesting even when there are plenty of large-diameter trees to handle. Thanks to the robust structure, great sawing power, excellent gripping geometry and uncontested agility, the new H8 allows smooth processing without unnecessary interruptions. Steady progress makes work profitable and the new H8 one of the most essential tools for a successful logging business. Visit www.ponsse.com to learn more!

Tigercat 570 Harvesting Head

Tigercat harvesting heads are built to match the high-performance capabilities of Tigercat track and wheel carriers and are well suited to a variety of jobs including at-thestump harvesting, roadside processing and debarking.

The Tigercat 570 harvesting head is available with a fixed wrist for applications where positive control for felling and processing is required.

The fixed head design combines two proven technologies: the Tigercat 570 harvesting head and the Tigercat 340° wrist. The 570 is a durable, high performance, twowheel drive, three knife arm harvesting head. The 340° wrist is field-proven in felling head applications where maximum dexterity and positive control are needed.

The 570 fixed head is standard with a heavy-duty chassis and guarding designed for the 340° wrist. The 570 comes standard with 1000 cc feed motors, wide-track feed wheels, Tigercat hydraulic tension 0.75 in (19 mm) pitch main saw, hydraulic tension top saw [0.404 in (10 mm) or 0.75 in (19 mm) chain], fixed or floating front knife, and the full range of Tigercat D7 control system levels.

A wrist-float feature is standard for the 570, allowing the head to align more easily to the tree for felling and feeding. Fixed and float functions are fully adjustable to suit operator preferences. Visit tigercat.com

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ROM Employees Better Themselves

Louisiana-based RoyOMartin recognized a group of team members who since January 2020 have participated in the Corporate College program atCentral Louisiana Technical Community College@k@(CLTCC), and have recently completed their Associate of Applied Science degrees, with concentrations in general office and accounting.

They include John Budnik, Land and Timber; Jenna Foster, RoyOMartin-Plywood; Brandon Granger, Land and Timber; Crystal Hoover, corporate office; Cale Parker, Land and Timber; Raymond Rollins, Land and Timber; and Robyn Smith, corporate office.

Weyerhaeuser Buys 22,000 Acres

In July, Weyerhaeuser acquired 22,000 acres of timberland in Mississippi for $60 million. The company states that the highly productive tim-

berlands are strategically located to deliver immediate synergies with existing Weyerhaeuser operations and offer incremental real estate and natural climate solutions opportunities.

Partnership Fights Fires

Weyerhaeuser Co. and Firefighter

Behavioral Health Alliance announced an expanded partnership on Fighting Fires Together, a campaign that provides support for wildland firefighters and their families. In its second year, the program is designed to provide resources and increase awareness around the importance of mental health assistance for these first responders.

“After launching last year’s inaugural Fighting Fires Together campaign with FBHA, we are proud to continue this effort to support wildland firefighters and their mental health as they risk their lives to protect our communities,” says Bill Frings, vice president of Western Timberlands for Weyerhaeuser. “Weyerhaeuser’s approach to

wildfire preparedness, prevention and mitigation is a year-round strategy, and part of this work includes ensuring wildland firefighters have access to the resources they need to carry out this important work.”

The expanded Fighting Fires Together online resource hub contains content specially designed for wildland firefighters, including new videos on the topics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and suicide prevention, along with mental health tips, educational articles and contacts for occupationally aware support groups and counselors located in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

Weyerhaeuser and FBHA launched the campaign in May to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month and Wildfire Awareness Month. This partnership serves as an extension of FBHA’s mission to collaborate, develop and implement behavioral health awareness, prevention, intervention and post-crisis strategies to provide wildland firefighters with an

easily accessible and confidential source of information.

Visit www.wy.com/timberlands/ fighting-fires-together.

Late Auburn Coach Leaves Land Gift

azaleas, camellias, native azaleas, boxwoods, gardenias, magnolias, oaks, pines, beeches, river birches and firs. Included in the area adjacent the nursery is a two-acre retreat of walking paths along a stream with falls and pools winding among 200 mature Japanese maple specimen trees of 71 Japanese maple cultivars.

When McDonald retired and moved

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to Crooked Oaks in 2004, the couple worked together on the farm and continued its development into a beautiful retreat and sanctuary for wildlife and rescued dogs, cats, donkeys and horses.

“To me, living on this place is like living in paradise,” Dye wrote of Crooked Oaks in his 2014 book, “After the Arena.” “The good Lord created it and then I just put a few

Auburn University Real Estate Foundation (AUREF) and the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) have accepted a gift of 415 acres of Crooked Oaks Farm, the former homestead of legendary and deceased Auburn football coach Pat Dye. Located in Notasulga, Ala., the farm property includes Dye’s main house, a guest cabin, lodge, pavilion, gazebo, two barns and a nursery office.

“We had been longtime supporters of Auburn University through our charitable trust and in hosting fundraising events, and the timing was right to make the gift,” says Nancy McDonald, Dye’s longtime partner and retired nursing educator at Auburn University at Montgomery.

AUREF is holding the gift from the Dye/McDonald Trust and McDonald on behalf of the university and the college. The college plans to continue its operations as an event venue, while expanding its use for student instruction and community outreach.

“We both knew we would donate the farm to the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment and seeing the work CFWE leaders have done since accepting the proposal, I could not be more confident that the land will be valued and held to the standard Pat and I always wanted to see,” McDonald says. “I feel his spirit in this, and I know what’s happening is something he would be proud of.”

Dye began developing the property in 1998 and continued to improve all aspects of the land until his death in 2020. Ponds, pastures and woodlands contain numerous Japanese maples,

Pat Dye at his farm in Notasulga

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touches on it so I can enjoy it and appreciate it, because no one can paint a picture like Mother Nature.”

When not in use for private events, leaders within the CFWE plan to conduct educational programs and other activities at the farm.

“This incredible gift will have a tremendous impact on the college, our students and our academic programs,” says Janaki R.R. Alavalapati, the Emmett F. Thompson Dean of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment.

(Article from Auburn University communications)

Core Plans Facility For Pellets Handling

Core Industries plans to invest $8.75 million to construct a processing and storage facility at its port facility in Mobile County to support a contract to handle wood pellets for CM Biomass, according to the Mobile Chamber and the Industrial Development Authority.

The project will create 28 jobs over the next five years. As part of its agreement with CM Biomass, Core Industries will receive, store and load wood pellets for shipment. To advance the collaboration, Core will build two warehouses, each spanning 57,600 sq. ft., at its existing location on Claudia Lane in Theodore, near Mobile.

Core Industries operates one of the largest privately held port facilities in the Southeast and boasts impressive capabilities to handle multiple vessels simultaneously, with a depth of 40 ft. and two docking facilities.

Denmark-basedCM Biomass, one of the largest independent wood pellet trading companies in the world, has a pellet production facility in Jackson, Ala.

Lucky Branch Tract Finds Some Luck

The Lucky Branch tract, an 80-acre parcel of bottomland hardwood forest situated next to the Little River and Uwharrie National Forest in Montgomery County, North Carolina, has been conserved thanks in part to a grant provided by the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund. This grant enabled Three Rivers Land Trust to acquire a conservation easement on the property and safeguard the tract, which is part of a larger 520-acre easement, encompassing a variety of habitats.

“Thanks to funding from the NC Land and Water Fund, the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, and a generous easement donation by the landowner, these 80 acres on the pristine Little River will remain free from development and maintained as a beautiful hardwood forest for the enjoyment of future generations,” says Crystal Cockman, Associate Director, Three Rivers Land Trust.

Currently the site hosts habitat for two threatened species: the Carolina redhorse, and Villosa delumbis, a mussel species also known as the Eastern Creekshell. This stretch of the Little River is classified as the Yadkin/Upper Little River Aquatic Habitat natural area with a very high rating as determined by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program.

Enviva Forest Conservation Fund’s goal is to be a catalyst for investments in forest and habitat conservation in southeast Virginia and North Carolina’s coastal plains. As the fund enters its eighth year of the planned 10-year partnership, 31 projects have been funded with a total commitment of more than $3.8 million.

Roseburg Announces Leadership Transition

As part of the company’s planned leadership succession, Roseburg’s board of directors unanimously elected current Chief Operating Officer Stuart Gray to become President and CEO, effective October 1. He succeeds Grady Mulbery, who will retire from his position as President and CEO effective September 30. Mulbery will remain on Roseburg’s board of directors through the end of 2023 and serve as an executive advisor through 2024.

During 12 years of service to the company, Mulbery held increasingly senior roles. During his time as CEO, Mulbery presided over a period of exceptional growth for Roseburg, including expansion of the company’s timberland holdings into the Southeastern U.S. and addition of manufacturing operations on the East Coast and into Canada. Mulbery led the company’s entry into medium density fiberboard manufacturing, and oversaw the construction of new engineered wood

product and lumber manufacturing facilities in North and South Carolina.

With deep roots in the construction and building supply industry, Gray joined Roseburg in 2017 as senior vice president and general counsel, overseeing the company’s strategic business development, legal, compliance, and environmental teams. In January 2022, Gray was appointed chief operating officer and assumed responsibility for the company’s manufacturing business.

BC Biocarbon Teams With Dunkley Lumber

Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced a $10 million contribution to BioLesna Carbon Technologies LP, a joint venture between BC Biocarbon and Dunkley Lumber Ltd., for a new biorefinery in Carrot River, Saskatchewan. The contribution comes through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, which intends to support Canada’s forest sector through

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targeted investments in advanced technologies and products.

The Carrot River Biorefinery will utilize BC Biocarbon’s proprietary processes to convert residual biomass from forest operations to produce four initial products: biochar, bio-oil, wood vinegar and pyrolysis gas. These materials can be further refined into value-added products such as soil additives, filtration media, electrodes and specialty chemicals. Based on the project’s ability to substitute products derived from non-renewable sources and the carbon sequestration capacity of the biochar produced, carbon removal credits may also be generated.

“The conversion of residual biomass into innovative products like biochar is a great step forward in the evolution of Canada’s wood products industry. We’re proud to be part of this Canadian-made solution to a decades old challenge and look forward to seeing many similar installations over the coming years,” says Kris Hayman, VP Eastern Operations, Dunkley Lumber.

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Second Look: OLC Vintage Saws

Due to space limitations TH could only run one vintage saw photo in this year’s Oregon Logging Conference coverage, a one-man Titan. Here, however, TH takes a second look at some of the saws on display at the OLC in Eugene, Ore.

The saw collection is owned by the Hull-Oakes Lumber Co. and restored and curated by retired Hull-Oakesforester Don Wagner, who says he’s been a collector and restorer all his life. He’s worked on antique cars, trucks, buggies and lots of farm equipment along with chain saws. Currently, he’s working on restoring several bladeequipped drag saws that date from the1930s-40s.

Since he retired from Hull-Oakes Lumber, Wagner still pursues his hobby along with several members of the family who own the mill and are collectors and restorers themselves.

EventsMemo

Wagner picked 13 saws for the display, just saws that he liked and looked good, he said. The oldest was a PM 19, and the display included one- and two-man saws, swivel bar saws and even an early Canada-produced McCulloch saw bar with three geese engraved into it.

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September 5-8—Tennessee Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Marriott Cool Springs, Franklin, Tenn. Call 615-8833832; visit tnforestry.com.

September 7-9—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, UP State Fairground, Escanaba, Mich. Call 715-282-5828; visit gltpa.org.

September 10-12—Alabama Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Perdido Beach Resort, Orange Beach, Ala. Call 334265-8733; visit alaforestry.org.

September 15-16—Kentucky Wood Expo, Masterson Station Park, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

September 15-17—Virginia Forest Products Assn. Annual Conference, The Omni Homestead Resort, Homestead, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit vfpa.net.

October 3-6—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Sunday River Ski Resort, Newry, Maine. Call 409-6250206; visit amloggers.com.

This issue of TIMBER HARVESTING is brought to you in part by the following companies, which will gladly supply additional information about their products.

This Disston Henry & Sons Model DA-211 was produced from 1951-53. This saw featured a 9 HP Mercury engine by Kiekaefer and was produced for the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

This McCulloch Model 797 was made from 1968-69. The collection also included rare McCulloch saw bars.

Made in Vancouver, BC, the Industrial Engineering Ltd. Super Pioneer 51 was produced in 1951.