August/September 2015
70th Annual Meeting set to deliver premium value
O
pening with a keynote address from ArborGen President and CEO Andrew Baum and concluding with James Kroll, aka “Dr. Deer,” the 70th AFA Annual Meeting general session on October 7 will provide insight on topics ranging from fiber demand, delivery and sustainability to “Building Your Own Deer Factory.”
Featuring... ‘Building Your Own Deer Factory’ with Dr. James Kroll, aka ‘Dr. Deer’ drdeer.com
Other events include golf and skeet outings; forest management workshop, including an hour of Forestry Ethics training; Women in Forestry Art Studio Tour; ArborGen Opening Reception; Deltic Bluegrass and BBQ Dinner; and AFA Awards Breakfast. The meeting will take place October 6-8 at the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa in Hot Springs. The group room rate of $99/single or double is available through September 7. Call 1-800-643-1502 and refer to the “AFA Annual Meeting” to make a reservation. Early-bird registration ends September 7. AFA Member Early-Bird – $160 Non-Member Early-Bird – $200 Online registration is available at www. arkforests.org/event/70thannualmeeting To receive the AFA-member-only, early-bird registration rate of $160, users must sign into the secure membership area shown in the block to the right of the meeting details. A member’s username is the email address that AFA has on file. If you do not know your password, simply click the “forgot your password?” link to reset it. After registering for the meeting, please take a few moments to review your membership profile page, available by
clicking on Profile Home in the box on the right. Here, you can edit your contact information and, if applicable, renew your membership. There is still time to sign up as a sponsor and/or exhibitor and
AFAEF seeks auction donations
The AFA Education Foundation (AFAEF) is requesting donations for the annual meeting silent auction. Funds raised will support AFAEF’s programs for educators, students and timberland owners. AFAEF sponsors landowner education and assistance programs, Project Learning Tree, Teacher Conservation Workshop and Log A Load For Kids, among other activities. Please consider making a 100-percenttax-deductible donation of a gift certificates, merchandise or services. Contact Jennifer Johnson at (501) 3742441 or jjohnson@arkforests.org to make a donation. Thanks to the Arkansas Chapter of the Association of Consulting Foresters for sponsoring a Yeti cooler drawing. Tickets will be available at the annual meeting or by contacting Rob Beadel at (501) 374-2441 or rbeadel@arkforests.org. In addition to the Yeti cooler, AFAEF will hold a drawing for a hunting rifle during the Deltic Bluegrass and BBQ dinner. Also, George Rheinhardt is donating a hand-crafted log bench again this year.
get your name in the program book and on event signage. Contact Jennifer Johnson for more information at about registering or signing up as a sponsor and/or exhibitor at jjohnson@arkforests.org or (501) 3742441. We look forward to seeing you in Hot Springs, October 6-8!
CALENDAR August 27 Executive Committee 10 a.m. - AFA Office September 7 AFA Office CLOSED in Observance of Labor Day September 12 River Valley Log A Load For Kids Russellville September 14 Program Committee 10 a.m. - AFA Office September 23 Forest Protection Committee 10:30 a.m. - AFA Office September 26 Bradley County Log A Load For Kids Hermitage October 6-8 70th AFA Annual Meeting Hot Springs www.arkforests.org/ event/70thannualmeeting
October 20-21 Tree Farm Program Strategic Planning Session DeGray Lake Resort State Park October 27 Forest Practices Committee 9:30 a.m. - AFA Office October 30 Coley Family Tree Farm Tour Details TBA
Feral hog workshops address control
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he University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service is holding two free workshops on feral hog control: Thursday, August 27 6 - 9 p.m. SW Research & Extension Ctr. - Hope Saturday, September 19 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Pine Tree Research Station - Colt To register, contact Becky McPeake at 501671-2285 or look online at www.uaex.edu/ environment-nature/wildlife/feral-hogs. aspx. These workshops are funded in part by the AFA Education Foundation and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, in cooperation with the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center. Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) are prevalent in many portions of the southeastern United States and Arkansas. Feral hogs are domesticated swine released accidentally or purposefully for sport hunting. After a generation or two, progeny of a domesticated hog appear untamed, with thickened fur and tusks. Sows produce litters (average six piglets) starting at six months of age and have few predators after reaching maturity.
Their feeding and wallowing behaviors create a number of problems, including agriculture crop loss, pasture damage, wildlife habitat loss, water pollution (e.g., sedimentation, transmission of E. coli), and disease transmission to livestock and in rare cases, people. Non-native feral hogs compete directly with native wildlife species for limited food supplies, disturb habitat, and consume small mammals and reptiles, the young of larger mammals (e.g., fawns), and eggs and young of ground-nesting birds (e.g., bobwhites, wild turkey). Although small herds of feral hogs have lived in Arkansas for generations, the feral hog population has increased and expanded dramatically in recent years. Many believe this expansion into previously uninhabited areas is from hog releases by sport hunters. The National Feral Swine Mapping System is updated monthly using data collected from state wildlife agencies and USDA APHIS Wildlife Services. These maps illustrate the dramatic expansion of feral hogs throughout North America. Controlling the prolific feral hog has proven difficult. They are adaptive and learn to avoid hunters and traps. Hogs are mobile and will range for miles in search of food or mates. Most feral hogs are nocturnal, and therefore unseen. Signs of feral hogs are rooting, tracks, wallows, nests or beds, tree and post rubs.
Canadian companies expand presence with acquisitions
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onifex Timber Inc. has completed the purchase of 100% of the outstanding shares and shareholder loans of a private Delaware company that had the exclusive rights to acquire a sawmill and related facilities and equipment, including approximately 186 acres of land, located near El Dorado. Concurrent with the closing of the purchase, Conifex exercised its right to acquire the El Dorado mill. Ken Shields, Conifex CEO, commented: “It’s important to Conifex to secure this ideal site and high quality infrastructure in one of the most advantaged softwood supply regions in North America.” Shields added, “The uncertainties flowing from the expiry and renegotiation of the Softwood Lumber Agreement could potentially impact the timing of the modernization and upgrade of our Canadian sawmills, while we expect the SLA will have less impact on capital expenditure decisions for mills located in the US.”
The El Dorado mill is situated in an area well regarded for its availability of high quality sawlogs within cost effective proximity and a skilled labor pool. Conifex is currently completing its review to evaluate the optimal capital upgrade for the El Dorado site, following which management expects to determine the priority in which to rebuild its currently idled Mackenzie Site I mill or the El Dorado Mill. Over the longer term, the Company expects to undertake capital upgrades to rebuild both of these mills. Vancouver-based Interfor acquired The Price Companies, Inc.’s sawmill in Monticello. For the 12 months ending March 31, 2015, the mill produced approximately 75 million board feet of lumber. In addition, the mill has a number of operational and capital investment initiatives underway, including the construction of a continuous dry kiln that is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015. These initiatives
should increase the mill’s near-term production to more than 100 million board feet per year and provide for drying capacity of approximately 150 million board feet per year. As a result of this transaction, Interfor’s total annual lumber capacity will increase to 3.2 billion board feet, reinforcing its position as the fastest growing lumber company in the world. The company’s lumber capacity in the U.S. Southeast will total 1.3 billion board feet, representing more than 40 percent of the company’s total pro forma capacity. “This transaction is another illustration of our strategy to grow in regions with strong timber baskets and access to important lumber markets,” said Duncan Davies, Interfor’s President and CEO. “The Monticello Sawmill fits these criteria, as well as having significant upside from initiatives that are underway and on the drawing board.”
Engineering center to focus on cellulose-based materials
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orestry researchers and agricultural engineers will be working together at the nano- and micro- levels as part of the new statewide Center for Advanced Surface Engineering, or CASE. Research will be conducted through a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Division of Science and Technology. Over five years, about $1.7 million will go to researchers working in partnership from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, the Arkansas Forest Resources Center and UAM School of Forestry and Natural Resources. As director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, Phil Tappe is a bridge among the institutions. The center is a collaborative partnership between the Division of Agriculture and the UAM School of Forestry and Natural Resources, where Tappe also serves as dean. “This is an incredible research opportunity for us. The potential applications for the cellulose-based materials that we expect to develop could open new horizons for engineering and medicine at the nanoand micro- levels,” he said.
Forestry in Arkansas accounts for more than 24,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in wages annually, with products including pulp and paper, solid wood products and furniture. “This is a good example of using our research expertise to develop technologies that can be utilized by one of the state’s most important industries, adding to the economic contribution by the forestry sector,” said Mark Cochran, University of Arkansas vice president-Agriculture and head of the system’s Division of Agriculture. Tappe said that “we envision linking forest science and existing nanotechnology research and fabrication capacities to develop novel surfaces with changeable permeability which, for example, will allow for control and release of antimicrobial compounds or antioxidants. We are prepared to put our unique expertise in forestry to work in this project.” CASE researchers will develop novel lubrication materials, permeable food packing materials and other novel surfaces that can be fine-tuned for specific applications, such as selective filtration. The project will strengthen the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
workforce using a variety of innovative approaches to train students, teachers, researchers, and practitioners in surface science, material fabrication, and surface characterization techniques. Ten Arkansas institutions of higher education are collaborating on CASE work to enable discovery, design, fabrication, and testing of multifunctional surfaces. The CASE research and educational activities encompass material-science needs in agriculture, medicine, and industry. Applications include manufacturing, food packaging, and healthcare industries. The funds will be used to support the ASSET project, Arkansas Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering and Technology, a multi-institutional statewide program with research areas that impact education and workforce, cyberinfrastructure, and engineering research. “This award will go a long way in strengthening STEM-based research and workforce in Arkansas,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “All eyes are now on Arkansas because of the strides we are making in science and technology.”
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