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Vol. 49, No. 10
(Founded in 1972—Our 577th Consecutive Issue)
F E AT U R E S
October 2020 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 Senior Editor Managing Editor Senior Associate Editor Associate Editor
Rich Donnell Dan Shell David Abbott Jessica Johnson Patrick Dunning
Publisher/Editor Emeritus David (DK) Knight
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Steven Hunter Logging Illinois Island Hopping
out front:
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Markets are tough and rain is frequent, but Arkansas logger Gene Givens, left, and his son Gregory Givens, right, maintain an upbeat and grateful attitude for all God has given them. Story begins on Page 8. (Photo by David Abbott)
Cedar Eaters Texas Mulch Service
Art Director Ad Production Coordinator Circulation Director Online Content/Marketing
Cindy Segrest Patti Campbell Rhonda Thomas Jacqlyn Kirkland
ADVERTISING CONTACTS DISPLAY SALES Eastern U.S. Kathy Sternenberg Tel: 251-928-4962 • Fax: 334-834-4525 219 Royal Lane Fairhope, AL 36532 E-mail: ksternenberg@bellsouth.net Midwest USA, Eastern Canada John Simmons Tel: 905-666-0258 • Fax: 905-666-0778 32 Foster Cres. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com
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Forestry Ins. Co. South By, For Loggers
Western Canada, Western USA
Southern Stumpin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Tim Shaddick Tel: 604-910-1826 • Fax: 604-264-1367 4056 West 10th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6L 1Z1 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca
Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Kevin Cook Tel: 604-619-1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com
From The Backwoods Pew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Industry News Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 ForesTree Equipment Trader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Coming Events/Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
International Murray Brett Tel: +34 96 640 4165 +34 96 640 4048 58 Aldea de las Cuevas • Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
Bridget DeVane
Tel: 1-800-669-5613 • Tel 334-699-7837 Email: bdevane7@hotmail.com
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 ® 2020. 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 Member Verified Audit Circulation
Other Hatton-Brown publications: ★ Timber Processing ★ Timber Harvesting ★ Panel World ★ Power Equipment Trade ★ 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
VOTE!! t’s that time again…the most wonderful time… I’m talking, of course, about football season! Thank God, because I really wasn’t sure we’d get one this year. And of course, in case you haven’t heard...it’s also election time. Yay. Ok, so politics isn’t as fun as football, but it might be almost as important. Maybe. And politics has been on my mind, not just because of the election, but because of my new side gig as a 7th grade civics teacher. See, since mid-August, thanks to coronavirus concerns with schools starting back in our county, I have been sharing my office space at home with my four kids who have been doing virtual school for the first nine weeks. This means that, while juggling my duties with Southern Loggin’ Times, I have had the pleasure of helping my younger step-daughter Allie figure out multiplication and division, and the honor of introducing my younger son Logan to the study of the American political system. While going over the history and concepts underlying the Constitution, I’ve been reminded of just how much there is to appreciate in our republic, things we too often take for granted. It’s far from perfect, but our justifiably lauded Founding Fathers designed our system in recognition of its inevitable limitations—because if it involves human beings, there will be corruption and incompetence. That’s why our Constitution has built-in measures to keep the various factions of government and media in check and in balance with one another. Yes, even the media, for all its faults, plays an important role; that’s why it’s in the First Amendment. It’s a constant give and take struggle, this system; it’s messy and frustrating, but that’s, I think, how it was meant to be, and how it has to be, to keep any one group from gaining total control. I explained to my son the division and sharing of powers among the branches thusly: it’s like rock/paper/scissors, I told him; each one can stop, or be stopped by, the others. Everyone in every part of the government has someone who can tell them no, including, ultimately, us, the voters. That’s the most beautiful and remarkable thing about it: we do get a say in it. I know it’s easy to be cynical, but think about it. We can voice our opinions, formally and informally, and engage in public discourse about policy. Not everyone everywhere has always had that right; in fact before we did it here it was quite rare. We can protest (peacefully—like John Lennon sang in “Revolution,” when you talk about destruction, you can count me out). We can openly criticize our own government, without fear of legal reper-
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cussion, imprisonment, or execution. You know that wasn’t the case in most places historically, and it’s not the case in a lot of places now (try to speak against Putin in Russia or the little rocket man in North Korea, and see what happens). When our leaders break the law, they can be exposed (by the media, when they do their jobs right). They can be arrested and imprisoned. Don’t think so? Ask Don Siegelman and Mike Hubbard, our former Governor and House Speaker, respectively, down here in my sweet home Alabama. Heck, it sometimes seems like half of our state leaders are indicted, in prison or otherwise in trouble. That’s something that also wouldn’t be the case under despots and tyrants. Here, we can meet with our representatives, we can get involved in the process, we can even run for and serve in office ourselves, thereby taking a direct role in leading and shaping public policy. And at the most basic level, we can vote. Don’t like the government? Throw the bums out; give some new bums a try. Our leaders are accountable to us, ultimately. Loggers, and those of us connected with this essential industry, have seen this first hand. Many of you have been to Congress, and to state legislatures, to have input on public policies that impact your businesses directly. We’ve seen your state and national associations try to secure for loggers a share of the COVID relief funds from Congress. We saw a logging representative speak at the Republican National Convention. We’ve elected loggers to state legislatures (in Maine and Georgia that I know of, and I’m sure elsewhere as well). That’s all civics in action.
Our Time Now, as I mentioned above, there’s actually an election this year. I know you may not have been aware of that, because it’s not something people talk about much on TV news or social media (sarcasm alert). By the time this issue hits your mailbox, there will be just about a month left before we collectively get the opportunity to vote on our President, a third of the Senate, all of the House of Representatives and a number of state and local offices. I’ve voted in every election since I turned 18 in 1996 (I voted for Bob Dole that year, but somehow Bill Clinton won anyway). My wife actually just registered and voted for the very first time in her life this summer, in a Republican primary runoff here in Alabama (former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tubberville against former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions). I didn’t pressure her to do that; she just decided on her own she was ready to take part in
the system. And I’ve seen a lot of other people say they’re voting for the first time this year; people who have never paid attention to or cared at all about politics now say they see what’s going on and they want to do their part. I think that’s great. Even if I don’t agree with your views, I’d still want you to vote. It’s our God-given, constitutionally-protected right, and, in my view, a sacred responsibility, one people have literally fought and died to give us. Every election, every two and four years, the pundits and propagandists on both sides say the same thing: this is the most important election of our lifetime. If our side doesn’t win, then kiss your freedoms goodbye! Now on the one hand, I think that’s hyperbole. The dire warnings and lofty promises either way tend not to really come true. But from another perspective, despite their hyperbolic rhetoric, those partisan cheerleaders are also always kind of right: every election is the most important election yet…because it’s the one happening now, and the future always depends on the choices we make today, just as the present grew from the choices we made yesterday. It’s a never-ending story, and this right now is our time to write our part of it. Let’s not waste it. I wouldn’t dare try to tell you who to vote for…I trust each and every person reading this can figure that out for yourselves. But I do hope every one of you will get out and vote for whomever you honestly believe is the right person for each job. I feel safe in observing that many, perhaps most, of the people I encounter in the logging community are fans of President Trump, and if he’s your man, then I say go cast your ballot for Trump. If you like Biden instead, then I say vote for Biden. If you don’t like either one of them, then write in Mickey Mouse and vote on your local and state reps. I don’t care who you vote for, I just want you to vote. Even if you choose the wrong candidate—wrong as someone else might reckon it— voting is always the right choice. So please, like I’m teaching my son, let’s all do our civic duty on November 3: vote.
New Addition This month we are presenting the inaugural edition of a new monthly column we're going to try out in SLT: From The Backwoods Pew, on page 30. The writer, Brad Antill, is a forester and a Christian minister. I know a lot of our readers are people of faith, so I thought his forestry-related perspective of spiritual matters might be of interest to a lot of you. Check it out, and let me SLT know what you think.
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■ The Givens family stands strong together, not giving up or backing down. By David Abbott SPARKMAN, Ark. had a little trouble finding the place— ★ GPS is good but it has its limits in the woods, and the pin originally sent me to a spot a highway mile or so away from where Gene Givens Logging, Inc., was actually set up on August 12. My guess is the little gravel road I first found was probably an exit somewhere on the other end of the block that Gene and his son Gregory were working at that time. A brief phone call to Gregory quickly righted my course. A few minutes later: pay dirt, I knew, as I could now see two Givens log trucks about a quarter mile off Highway 9, past a shooting house on the right. I was optimistic as I turned off the blacktop that the little Chevy Equinox (classified as a compact SUV) in which Enterprise Rent-ACar had placed me could make it down what at first looked like a pretty smooth log road. Not 30 yards in, just past the tree line, I realized I was wrong and put it in reverse. A pickup, better suited to the deep puddles and mud than that Equinox, came out just behind me and stopped on the side of the paved road. The driver was Mack Smith, a forester with Idaho Timber, a mill in Carthage with which the Givens have a long relationship. I had figured I could walk in, but Mr.
so much,” he reflects. “You have to change with it to keep up with the times.” His daughter April, who, like her brother Gregory, plays an integral role in the business, adds, “You can’t predict it, so you have to be versatile. We are at the mercy of the weather and markets.”
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Gene, left, with Gregory, right, and Grant Givens, 8, who can hardly wait another decade till he’s old enough to work with his dad and granddad
Smith gave me a ride to the landing. The road was slick, the mud was thick and the accumulated puddles were deep. Rain like this has been par for the course for the last six years, as Gregory explains: “In 2011, 2012 and even in 2013, we hit it real good. It was dry in the summer and it stayed dry. But ever since then, give or take a spell where it’s dry for a few weeks, then, like today, it comes a three inch rain. So we take one step for-
ward and two steps back.” Early August continued that trend. The day before Southern Loggin’ Times paid the Givens crew a visit, it was 97 degrees and dry. That next morning, Nashville and Ashdown reported 10 in. in 12 hours. The Givens tract between Fordyce and Bearden got three and a half inches. It’s been almost 50 years since the family company’s patriarch, Gene Givens, started working for himself. “Logging has changed over the years
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Markets have been down for six to nine months, Gregory admits. “And to be honest, COVID has not affected us much yet, but I think it will. I think it will affect us indirectly in the near future.” His dad considers, “When COVID came up and they started talking about shutting things down and telling people they can’t work, I told the kids, ‘Hey, I might get a little time off.’ But April told me nope—logging is essential.” Pandemic-related or not, markets have been down this year, but the Givens don’t let it get them down. “I feel we have been blessed thus far to go like we have been going,” Gregory says. “I say we are fortunate because it is not as bad as it could have been and not as bad as it has been in some other places. And we are fortunate to work for Idaho Timber; it has been steady.” Mack Smith and Tony Carder are the Idaho foresters who keep the Givens busy. Givens has been working with Idaho since 1993. “They’ve been
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good to us,” Gregory says. He figures they cut timber Idaho buys nearly 75% of the time; most of the rest of their time the loggers cut tracts they buy for themselves or on part of the 5,000 acres of land they already own. “Especially, primarily what we own,” Gregory emphasizes. “When we buy, we buy on hills to cut in the winter when it’s wet…you know, not like it is today,” the younger Givens jokes, nodding at the puddles and mud everywhere. Idaho generally puts them on pure pine log stands or a 50/50 mix of pine clear cut stands and select cuts. When working on Idaho contracts, the Givens send pine logs to Idaho’s mill in Carthage. Other outlets for pine logs include Georgia-Pacific in Gurdon, Ray White Lumber in Sparkman and Anthony Timberlands in Bearden and Malvern. The Givens also work with Andy Taylor, who in this case is not a good-natured sheriff in a sleepy town called Mayberry but a forester for Georgia-Pacific. The Givens currently haul their pine pulpwood to Georgia-Pacific’s OSB plant in Fordyce and hardwood pulp to Evergreen Packaging in Pine Bluff. Highland Pellets in Pine Bluff is still shut down for upgrades. “We need them to come back online bad,” Gregory says, while his sister April interjects that she heard a new pellet mill might be coming to somewhere near Bismarck, 40 minutes from Sparkman. “The hardwood pulpwood market is really bad,” Gregory continues. “They shut the G-P Crossett paper mill down, and I think Domtar in Ashdown is about to shut a line down, too. It is all because of demand. Last year we sold hardwood pulp for $70 a ton delivered to the mill; now it is $30 a ton, with strict quotas on pine pulp. Hardwood is wide open but it brings no money, while pine pulp is one load a day.” Chip-n-saw goes to Shields Wood Products in Arkadelphia, while hardwood saw logs are bound for Rogers Lumber in Camden and Brazeale Lumber Co. in Sparkman. Light poles head to any of three Stella Jones locations in Rison, Leola, and Delight, whichever is closest at the time. The crew averages 50 loads a week, though in the right conditions they have doubled that.
It was dry the day before, but that morning Mother Nature dumped more than 3 in. of rain on the job site. The crew worked on, undaunted; God's given the Givens the gift of a good attitude, it seems.
start this company with a used C65 single axle Chevy and Prentice H model loader. With the addition of a new Timberjack 240 cable skidder, “I was off to the races, or I thought I was,” Gene laughs in retrospect. He was 22 then; he’s 69 now, and he always said he’d work till he turned 70. Now that that age is in sight, he’s changed his mind; he might “retire” next year, but he’s not going to stop working. “I enjoy what I do too much,” he explains. “The good Lord has been good to me and I am in good health. As long as that continues, I plan to continue.” Gene started logging the same time as Mack Smith started working as a forester. They’re the same age, only a few weeks apart, born
respectively in January and February. His relationship with Idaho Timber started when the company from Boise bought what had been a shuttered C&S Lumber mill to which Givens had previously hauled. “Since we had hauled so much wood over the years to C&S, they recommended dad when Idaho
wanted to know some good loggers they could trust,” Gregory recalls. Mack and another Idaho man, Jack Beverage, came to visit Gene and Jeannie in 1993; the kids were in grade school. Gregory joined the business in 2000, after graduating high school third in his class. “I had to leave work
History This summer, clan patriarch Gene Givens marked 47 years since he married his wife Jeannie on June 15, 1973. He started logging a few months later. He had grown up around the business—his dad had a groundhog sawmill—and he had already been working for another logger. He bought his boss out to
Gene has given nearly every brand a try, spreading the love among Deere, Tigercat and Barko.
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Gene Givens, right, with Tony Carder, Idaho Timber forester, left
Crew, Left to right: Isel Perez, Gene Givens, Gregory Givens, Dayton Johnson
early to make it to graduation,” he recalls. He could have gone to college wherever he wanted, but where he wanted to go was the woods. It was the same for Gene. It only took him one semester at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia to know academia wasn’t for him. “This is not what I want to do,” he remembers realizing. “I know what I want to do and I don’t need a college education to do it.” Scholars might analyze the meaning of “Know thyself,” the ancient Greek maxim inscribed at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, or Shakespeare’s
Truck drivers, from left: Larry Smith, Freddy Howard, Selina Leaks, Quasen Pigg
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line from Hamlet, “to thine own self be true.” Gene didn’t need an English lit or philosophy class to understand the underlying truth and apply it to his life. “When you know, you know,” he says. “Why waste your time on anything else?” April predicts the next generation of Givens kids will be the same way. “They already know it’s in their hearts.”
Equipment Over the years the Givens men have used a variety of brands, and continue to demo many so they
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Gregory’s family, from left: Cecily and Gregory with their kids Blakely, Capp, Grant and Katie Rae
know what they want when the time comes to buy. Gene ran John Deere skidders for a long time; he still has one 12-year-old model with 17,000 hours. “Those are good machines,” he nods. These days they stack with a 2019 Barko 295 loader and merchandize with a 2013 Prentice 2384B with CTR delimber and CSI slasher. Felling duties fall to a 2018 John Deere 843L while a 2020 Tigercat 630E skids. In
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The Givens family, left to right, front: Jeannie, Gene, Katie Rae, Winston, Grant; and in back: Quasen, April, Minnie and Gregory
reserve are a spare ’11 Deere 748H and ’11 Deere 700J dozer. Dealers are Stribling Equipment in Camden for John Deere; Don’s Diesel in Sheridan for Prentice; Crouse Truck Parts, also in Sheridan, for Barko; and MidSouth Forestry in Cado Valley for Tigercat. “We try to do all the maintenance we can do by ourselves,” Gene says. They change oil every 250 hours and grease once a week with Red Mystik brand grease and Citgo oil products,
supplied from Hendry Oil Co., Arkadelphia. Diesel and DEF they buy in bulk from Sewell Oil Co. in El Dorado, with capacity to store red fuel in a 7,000-gallon tank and highway in an 8,000-gallon. They run four Mack trucks, including a red 2019 that is Gregory’s. The truck and its trailer, bought in 2018, were his first purchase of his own. His brother-inlaw, April’s husband Quasen Pigg, is the driver. They also keep two
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spares, ’11 and ’13 Peterbilts. Dealers are Tucker’s Truck, Inc., in El Dorado and Peterbilt of Little Rock. Viking trailers come from Lonestar Truck Group in Texarkana, and Pitts from Crouse Truck Parts in Sheridan. They also have a Magnolia lowboy from Lucedale, Miss. April and Quasen’s son Winston, 4, enthusiastically insists that when he grows up, he’s going to drive a Peterbilt, a blue one, and definitely
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The Prentice delimbs and Barko loads trucks.
Gregory bought his first truck two years ago.
NOT a Mack. “He is determined,” his mom says. She often takes him to the refueling depot so he can go truck watching and signal his arm down for the drivers to honk at him. Trucks get serviced every 20,000 miles and checked out thoroughly every other Saturday at the company shop by Gene and Jeannie’s house. Drivers walk through a pretrip inspection every morning. “Most DOT officers are not out to get you,” Gene believes. “They can tell when you’re trying and when you’re not trying. We try to keep them clean and know that they’re safe, so we don’t have many problems there.” Gene Givens Logging runs Vulcan scales, another Crouse Truck Parts purchase. “They have paid for themselves because you can be so consistent,” Gregory notes. McClain Welding Shop in Fordyce handles all welding repairs. Chapel Creek, a Crouse subsidiary owned by Buddy Crouse, supplies mats for bridges. JMR Tire Service in Fordyce and Bounds Tire Services in Camden repair log truck flats. A-1 Tire in Pine Bluff takes care of equipment tires. The Givens run a mix of Firestone and Primex forestry tires. Log truck tires come from Southern Tire Mart in Hope and Wingfoot Commercial Tire in Pine Bluff. Gene has worked with FBT Bank & Mortgage in Fordyce since he started logging; he deals with bank President Jim Hulse, Lance Nutt and David Sisson there. Equipment insurance is with EPG Insurance Co. in Memphis. Truck insurance is Campbell & Co. in Camden; Suzanne Horn is the agent, HARCO National is the underwriter.
Manpower Before last year, the Givens fielded two crews, but downsized in spring 2019, Gregory says due to markets but mainly because it was too hard to find enough quality help for both, so they folded it all into one. “We have a really good crew,” Gene says now. Most everyone out here has been fitted with playful nicknames. “Bossman” Gene runs the skidder, while “Puppy Dog” 14
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Despite quotas, rain and oversupply, the Givens count themselves blessed.
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Gregory mans the cutter. Former employee Dayton “Nobody” Johnson, Sr., had to retire with a bad shoulder, but his son, Little Dayton “Somebody” Johnson, Jr., operates the delimbing loader. Truck drivers are Freddie “Frog” Howard, Quasen “Trouble” Pigg, Selina “Blue Eyes” Leaks, and Larry “Hobo” Smith. Deckhand Isael Perez limbs and tops anything too big for the delimber.
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April was a nurse but joined the family business to keep the books when Jeannie retired from that role in 2016. Accountant Ronnie Phillips in Fordyce has handled payroll since Gene has been in business. The crew holds safety meetings at the tailgate when they move onto a new tract, or once a month, whichever is sooner. “New employees receive a safety packet to go over what we do and don’t allow, what is expected and required,” April says. “If you’re on the payroll, you sign it, and we keep it on file.” Rules include no texting while driving. Workers’ comp is through Amerisafe in DeRidder, La. The whole family attends New Hope Baptist Church in Sparkman. In the spring they were doing Facebook virtual services due to coronavirus, and a few times they had services in cars in the church parking lot: “If you wanted to say amen, you’d honk the horn,” Gregory laughs. But since July they have gone back to doing regular in-person meetings, with masks and distance of a pew or two between families. The church has a Fall Festival fundraiser the first weekend of October every year. It raises $1822 thousand. All proceeds go back into the community, to help needy families—such as if a house burns down—or into a holiday cheer fund to help parents struggling to give their kids a Christmas. “We like to support that,” Gregory says. They’re also involved in Log-aLoad for Kids fundraisers through the Sheridan chapter, and locally they donate to Sparkman schools, buying yearbook ads and sponsoring events like the annual “Field Day” for students. Also, Gregory’s wife Cecily is in charge of the Sparkman Christmas parade, which always features Givens log trucks. Along with April and Gregory, Gene and Jeannie have their older daughter Gena Rae and six grandkids: Blakely, Capp, Grant, Katie Rae, Winston and Minnie. Gregory and Cecily were just married October 19, 2019, right behind their house. If logging and all those grandkids don’t keep him busy enough, Gene doesn’t have to worry about getting bored. He also has a 365acre cattle farm with about 100 head. They roll approximately 300 rolls of hay each summer. And there’s that 5,000 acres of timberland the family owns. He says, “We enjoy getting out and looking at the timber, and deer and turkey hunting. It’s good to just enjoy these wonderful creations God has SLT richly blessed us with.”
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Island Time ■ Illinois logger Steven Hunter works the Mississippi on the Missouri-Kentucky line.
By Patrick Dunning MAKANDA, Ill. ust across a levee where the Mississippi River used to flow ★ and the Number Three Chute tributary now serves as the Missouri-Kentucky border, Steven Hunter, 43, is revisiting a 3,600-acre island tract in southwest Kentucky. Dubbed Island Number Three, the place is steeped in history and, for Hunter, personal memories. He’s worked here before, when he was just 19, alongside his father, John Hunter, another lifelong logger in southern Illinois. The island-harvesting Hunters are no strangers to Hatton-Brown publications. When Steven and his sister Christina were still working for their dad, the family trio was the focus of a feature article in the March/April 2013 issue of Timber Harvesting, a sister periodical to
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Hunter prefers Bear Paw chains on his skidders for additional grip in tight spots.
Southern Loggin’ Times. They were working on an island then, too: Burnham Island. That was just about a year before the elder Mr. Hunter lost his battle
with lung cancer in 2014. “When he got lung cancer, I came and worked with him because he was sick,” Steven says. John had smoked an average of five-to-six packs of Pall
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Malls a day and never blamed anyone, accepting his diagnosis with humility. Steven recalls that his father’s unrelenting demeanor, through ➤ 20
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A pair of Hydro-Ax cutters help harvest a large cottonwood population.
Steven Hunter Logging averages 64 loads weekly.
Historic Ground Island Number Three is one of six total islands owned by investment group Island Number Three LLC, totaling 10,000 acres of timberland spread out along the Mississippi Valley area. Other islands include Burham, Angelo, Wolf, Number Six and Number Ten. In the tight radius surrounding Island Number Three, a couple of remarkable incidents have unfolded. More than two centuries ago, unusual seismic activity began in December, 1811, when a strong tremor shook the New Madrid region, located near the Mississippi River in present-day New Madrid, Mo. Averaging between 7-8 magnitude on the Richter scale, aftershocks from this event are said to have rung church bells in Boston over a thousand miles away. The Mississippi River’s water turned brown; whirlpools developed from depressions created in riverbeds; and the river flowed backwards for several hours after a thrust fault created a sudden dam several feet high near the bottom of the river loop near New Madrid. “That culvert you drove over to get onto Island Number Three used to be where the Mississippi ran before the earthquakes raised the ground and pushed it backwards for several hours,” Hunter says. “It changed the route of the river, but the Mississippi still surrounds the island entirely.” Fast forward a half century. During the Civil War in 1862, the Battle of Island Ten took place about 50 miles down the Mississippi River. It proved to be one of the war’s most inaccessible battlefields. Upstream
from New Madrid within the sideways S-bend where the river snakes through the junction of Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, there are two 180-degree bends in the river. Island Number Ten is recognized as the 10th island south of the juncture of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and located at the base of the first turn going south, at the time dominating the river and any vessels attempting to pass. Union and Confederate forces engaged in a month-long stalemate that resulted in the first of three important Union victories to maintain possession of the vital waterway from Confederate control. Confederate batteries led by Brig. Gen. John P. McCown positioned along the shoreline of the island to deter Union naval forces and successfully kept them from opening the river bend. Throughout March, Union Brig. Gen. John Pope assigned engineers to clear a bypass canal across the neck of the first bend to avoid Confederate defenses. The canal was 50 ft. wide and 12 miles long with six miles cut through heavy timber where every tree had to be sawed off 4 ½ ft. under water. During a thunderstorm on the night of April 4, the Ironclad Carondelet successfully snuck past Island Number Ten and anchored in New Madrid at dawn. The Ironclad Pittsburg followed two nights later and helped overthrow Confederate batteries and guns, enabling Pope’s men to cross the river and block Confederate escape routes. Southern Loggin’ Times
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The first load of the day goes to industry friend Chris Farrell in Cairo, I ll., who manufactures furniture material.
Steven Hunter, founded the company in 2007 .
18 ➤ several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, spoke volumes about John’s perseverance. That strength of character in the face of grave illness impressed Steven even more. “He died on a Monday and was working in the woods the Saturday before that,” the son says. “He never stopped working.” Steven describes John as a good ole’ boy. “I talked to him every day. He was my best friend.”
Operations Hunter is currently engaged in battles of his own; a fight to be half the man his dad was, as he sees it, as well as to infiltrate new markets and find a happy medium with respective departments of transportation. Thankfully the region’s light-colored cottonwood soil expedites harvest cycles in Hunter’s favor. When Southern Loggin’ Times visited Steven Hunter Logging in August, he was clear-cutting 3,600 acres of majority cottonwood on Island Number Three in Carlisle County, Ky. Other species harvested include willow, hackberry, hickory, poplar, white and red oak. Plantation cottonwood is harvested as early as eight years after planting. “After you harvest the first time you can come back eight years later because the trees have been genetically designed in their root systems to shoot back up,” Hunter says. “It’ll be about 14-16 in. on the stump.” Hunter has a cavalry of woods equipment with a few additions to compensate for marshy tract conditions. His lineup includes five skidders: a pair of Prentice 490s, 2004 and 2005 models, ’07 Prentice 2432, ’15 Tigercat 610E and ’17 John Deere 848L; two loaders: ’05 Tigercat 240B with CTR delimber and ’07 John 20
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Deere 437C with CSI delimber; two ’05 Hydro-Ax cutters, 570 and 670 models; and a John Deere 550G dozer. All skidders are equipped with Bear Paw chains for extra grip in tight spots. “There’s about 2-3 in. of slime out here because of about 12 ft. of water over this whole island,” Hunter explains. “When it rains it gets real slick out here. You’ll just sit there and spin so the chains give you a little bit more bite.” Rollison Equipment in Bard-
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well, Ky. is Hunter’s Tigercat dealer. Erb Equipment in Cape Girardeau, Mo. supplies his John Deere equipment. Hunter believes he can fix almost anything out of his F-350 service truck. “I can rebuild motors, fix hoses, whatever needs to be done,” he says. “I specialize in hydraulic systems so I can keep my gauges and work on any kind of hydraulics.” A handful of Stihl 661 model chain saws are mounted in the bed of the truck as well.
His fleet of trucks include a ’93 Peterbilt, and ’95 and ’02 Macks, pulling nine Magnolia trailers and one homemade holding trailer ranging years ’98-’21. Oil is changed in woods equipment every two to three weeks or 60-100 hours using Rotella 15-40. Truck oil is changed every 10,000 miles using Rotella 15-40; and Hunter greases his equipment regularly. “Every time I fuel a piece of equipment we grease it,” he says. “When we all get together at the
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end of a shift we’ll grease the equipment again.” All maintaince on equipment is serviced at his shop in Makanda, or directly on the job site.
Travel Limitations Living in Illinois and hauling wood through several states on a regular basis can create problems with altered weight requirements and separate departments of transportation from one state to the next. Hunter says Kentucky allows 88,000 lbs. if not hauling on a federal highway. In Missouri, 80,000 lbs. is the maximum weight allowed but a $75 permit allows haulers to go up to 120,000 lbs. if not on U.S. highways. Illinois’ DOT sets their weight limit at 80,000 lbs. regardless of using state or federal highways. “Trucking is the biggest thing; nobody wants to run trucks through Illinois to get to Wickliffe or any of the mills in Kentucky because of the DOT,” Hunter says. Steven Hunter Logging hauls pulpwood to Phoenix Paper Co. in Wickliffe, Ky. Bigger saw logs go to industry friend Chris Farrell’s operation in Cairo, Ill. Farrell saws high-grade wood to manufacture casket and furniture material. The second load of the day goes to Hickory Hills Woodworks in Raleigh, Ill. where pallet stocks are assembled. Remaining production goes to the two sawmills Hunter owns and operates, a way he diversifies in an everchanging market. Under the Steven Hunter Sawmill name, both sawmills cut pallet stocks, ties and 20 in. crane mats using Wood-Mizer processing equipment. Located in Makanda and in Ullin, Ill., the mills’ markets are wide-open aside from a slowdown in lowgrade, Hunter says. “The pandemic hasn’t really affected us,” he says. “Ties are selling well; low-grade sales are down but I don’t know if the coronavirus is behind that. There really aren’t any quotas right now.” Hunter notes that poplar, hickory, white oak and walnut are currently in demand while red oak remains down. A total of about 64 loads are hauled weekly. Steven Hunter Logging’s solo crew includes Michael Lesley, cutter operator; Christina Hunter, skidder operator (and Hunter’s sister); Marvin Harris and Mike Miles, truck drivers. They’re insured through Acord. Hunter and his wife Amy have two SLT daughters.
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Kids Write To The Pastor Dear Pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won’t be there. Stephen, age 8 Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister. Arnold, age 8 Dear Pastor, Please say in your sermon that Sam Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Sam Peterson (age 9). Dear Pastor, My father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert, age 11 Dear Pastor, I’m sorry I can’t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn’t give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Patty, age 10 Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every week, even if she has a cold. Annette, age 9 Dear Pastor, I think a lot more people would come to your church if you moved it to Disneyland. Loreen, age 9 Dear Pastor, Please pray for all airline pilots. I am flying to California tomorrow. Laurie, age 10 Dear Pastor, I hope to go to heaven someday but later than sooner. Love, Ellen, age 9 Dear Pastor, Please say a prayer for our little league team. We need God’s help or a new pitcher. Alexander, age 10 Dear Pastor, Are there any devils on earth? I think there may be one in my class. Carla, age 10 Dear Pastor, I liked your sermon last Sunday—especially when it was finished. Ralph, age 11 Dear Pastor, How does God know good people from bad people? Do you tell Him or does He read about it in the newspapers? Marie, age 9
Signs From Clever Minds Shoe Repair Shop: We will heel you. We will save your sole. We will even dye for you. Curtain & Blinds Truck: Blind man driving. Gynecologist Office: Dr. Jones, at your cervix. Podiatrist Office: Time wounds all heels. Septic Tank Truck: Yesterday’s meals on wheels Optometrist Office: If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place. Plumbing Company Truck: We repair what your husband fixed. Tire Shop: Invite us to your next blowout. Electrical Service Truck: Let us remove your shorts. Labor/Delivery Room Door: Push, Push, Push. Muffler Shop: No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.
Veterinarian Waiting Room: Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!” Restaurant Window: Don’t stand there hungry; come on in and get fed up. Funeral Home: Drive carefully. We’ll wait. Propane Gas Tank Exchange: Thank Heaven for little grills. Radiator Shop: Best place in town to take a leak.
Quotes From Thomas Sowell “I have never understood why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.” l “Can you cite one speck of hard evidence of the benefits of ‘diversity’ that we have heard gushed about for years? Evidence of its harm can be seen–written in blood–from Iraq to India, from Serbia to Sudan, from Fiji Sowell to the Philippines. It is scary how easily so many people can be brainwashed by sheer repetition of a word.” l “When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.” l “It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites.” l “Some people pride themselves on their ‘complexity’ and deride others for being ‘simplistic.’ l “Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.” l “Socialism is a wonderful idea. It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export... Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea—in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders. We should realize that the truth is often not very complicated. What gets complex is evading the truth.” l “The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” l “The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t read. The problem isn’t even that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.” l “Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.” l “Some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering that they are not God.” l “Racism does not have a good track record. It’s been tried out for a long time and you’d think by now we’d want to put an end to it instead of putting it under new management.” l “Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on ‘income distribution,’ the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: It is earned.” l
Cemetery Visit, Reflections
In September New Jersey forester Bob Williams took this photo of a load of Atlantic white cedar, harvested in Jersey by logger Colin McLaughlin, owner of Advanced Forestry Solutions. The logs were bound for a sawmill in North Carolina.
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As she visited a large military cemetery, the military widow took some photos and reflected on what’s going on in America today. Then she wrote this poem: I don’t see any color here, The headstones look the same, No black, no brown, no white skin tone; There’s no one here to blame. These soldiers fought and died for you, Their color you can’t see. Your rights are still protected, Here’s the place to take a knee.
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Cleaning Up ■ The Hegener family offers mulching and land restoration services in and around Texas.
Tigercat's M726G mulching head operating in the Texas hill country
NOTE: This article originally appeared in the April 2019 issue of Between the Branches, the official publication of Tigercat Industries, Inc.
By Bre Elbourn COMFORT, Tex. elcome to Texas Hill Country – where the ★ land is dry and the brush is thick. Texas heat coupled with sparse rain means vegetation must be resilient in order to survive. Ashe juniper (belonging to the cypress family but commonly referred to in Texas as cedar) is well adapted to these harsh conditions and, without intervention, poses a threat to other native vegetation. In Texas, mulching has become the intervention of choice for landowners battling cedar on their ranch lands. Recognizing a need for brush clearing services in their community, husband and wife Stan and Pam Hegener started Cedar Eaters in 2001. Now co-owned with their son, Spence Hegener, Cedar Eaters of Texas offers mulching and land restoration services across the state of Texas, occasionally breaking into bordering states.
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Located in Comfort, Tex., the Cedar Eaters base of operations, including the mechanical shop and offices, backs onto the Guadalupe River on a gorgeous 20-acre property. Pam and Stan’s personal home sits at the back of the property, overlooking the river. A beautiful ponderosa pine barn, with an interior that looks more like a high-end cottage, is home to the administrative offices. It is a relaxed environment where employees are even able to bring their dogs in for the day. An inhouse property maintenance crew keeps the grounds in peak condition. Totally focused on land restora-
tion, Cedar Eaters offers services such as cedar and brush mulching, mesquite grubbing, and hand crew cutting and chipping for both residential and commercial properties. “But most of what we do is selective clearing of cedar for ranch owners, because cedar trees are viewed as a bad tree in our neck of the woods,” Spence explains. Cedar Eaters operates four Tigercat M726E mulchers with Fecon heads, one 470 track mulcher, and two M726G mulchers equipped with the new Tigercat 4061 head. Spence explains that by sticking to one brand of mulcher, parts and
The Hegener family believes that mulching is the best long-term option for dealing with undesired cedar growth.
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tools can be swapped out interchangeably. If there is a mechanical issue on one machine, mechanics can keep an eye out for similar issues with other machines and perfect the repair process, reducing the overall downtime required to service the fleet. “Buy one kind of machine, stick with that machine,” Spence advises. “Tigercat was the best quality machine after being through all the other ones; that was what we went with and decided to keep building on.” Spence notes that another reason he chose and then stuck with Tigercat is because, “They listen to the customer. For example, there’s a lot of things that I think I may have had some input on with this head! Or I’ll ask for something to be done on the machine, and then I look down on some of the newer machines and those things have been taken care of. Access to different areas where it was a pain in the butt in the earlier models, now it’s easier to get into them. Just little things like that. They listen to the customer and take that knowledge and implement it. We don’t get that anywhere else.”
Roots Pam and Stan Hegener first made their name in the industrial construction and pipeline industry in Louisiana. With Pam’s background in HR and business management and Stan’s in industrial construction and operations, the two successfully managed a large industrial construction company, with over 500 employees, for over 15 years. In 2001, the Hegeners left the industry in Louisiana, purchasing a ranch in Texas Hill Country with the intention to retire there. Stan found himself contending with brush, particularly cedar, on their own ranch. Having worked in the industrial construction industry, the Hegeners were familiar with mulchers, which are commonly used by pipeline contractors for ROW (right-of-way) clearing. Pam and Stan decided to buy a small mulcher of their own for personal use. After clearing their own land, Spence says they “cleaned a friend’s ranch up, and it kind of got out through word of mouth that we
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were cleaning properties up around us in the Hill Country.” Thus, Cedar Eaters came to be. Having started out with just one small mulching machine, Cedar Eaters now employs around 25 people with seven Tigercats in their eight-machine fleet. While Spence has taken hold of managing day-to-day operations, Stan and Pam still have yet to actually settle down and retire.
Cedar So what’s so bad about cedar trees? The short answer: they’re really good at retaining water. Cedar trees are known for their ability to thrive in poor quality soil with sparse rainfall. Spence describes how a cedar tree is built to direct rainwater to its own root system, “If you ever look at a cedar tree—our cedar trees— they’re kind of built like this,” Spence motions a funnel shape with his hands where the branches of the tree are wider at the bottom. “All the branches get smaller as they come up the trunk, right? So when it rains the tree is like a funnel and it catches the water in its branches where it runs down each branch to the trunk of the tree.” Its denseleaved canopy offers a large surface area to collect rainfall. As a result, very little rainwater reaches the soil surface below. With cedar hogging all of the water, other native grasses and trees are unable to get what they need to survive and thrive. So why does grass matter? Why not just let cedar take over? The long root systems of native grasses help to hold soil in place, preventing ground erosion. Removing cedars using the mulching method not only helps prevent ground erosion, it improves the health of the grasslands and will increase the underground water supply. Instead of water getting sucked up by the tree’s root system or evaporating from the tree’s canopy, water is filtered through the soil and grass roots and goes back into the water table. Another very important reason is wildlife diversity. A variety of grasses and other vegetation attracts a wide range of wildlife and promotes a healthy, well-balanced eco-system. It’s not so much that cedar is an undesirable tree; it just requires some maintenance if you don’t want it to be the only tree on your property. Spence explains that cedar was once controlled by natural disasters. “Wildfires would run rampant, people would set fires, lightning would strike and fire would just go. Well now that we’ve privatized and subdivided all the land, we have this issue where no one wants to burn anymore, for fear of being sued if it gets out of control. So, we have this
From left: Spence Hegener, operations manager, with his parents and partners, COO Pam Hegener and President Stan Hegener
problem that used to be controlled by nature or by humans and now it’s not. It doesn’t have fire to keep it at bay, so now the only thing people can do is go in there and doze it, shear it or mulch it. We prefer the mulching method because over time the mulch will turn back into soil, and it’s better for the land in the long run.”
Mulching Benefits Terrain in the Texas Hill Country is rocky, predominantly consisting of limestone. It’s very dry with little topsoil. Unfortunately, the process of turning organic material into topsoil doesn’t happen overnight. Formed from the erosion of rocks and decomposition of organic materials and organisms over hundreds of years, it forces landowners to think long-term. Mulching essentially helps speed up that decomposition process. Conventional methods such as dozing or burning strip away all organic material with nothing left to decompose. “Basically, cedar trees are very acidic and limestone is an alkaline agent. When the cedar trees are mulched over limestone, it creates an acidic layer over top of it that will break down over time and create new topsoil. You can see this when you look underneath a cedar tree, there’s actually more topsoil underneath the tree. Well, that’s because the needles are falling down every year, and then it’s actually breaking down and creating topsoil. So the concept is, 50 years from now, the property that has been mulched is going to have more topsoil than the guy that goes out there and dozes it.” Spence also mentions, “The benefit of mulching versus dozing is that the regrowth is considerably less with mulching, because dozing disturbs the ground allowing berries that contain the seeds to be replanted.” Mulching creates a protective layer over the ground, since the machine mostly drives on top of the mulch, leaving much of the land undisturbed. This layer of mulch left behind also locks in moisture. It’s full of nutrients, creating the ideal environment for native grasses
and desirable trees to thrive. In turn, this helps prevent soil erosion and can also help to improve the water table by preventing evaporation. When asked about the performance of the new M726G mulcher, Spence tells us that, while they’ve had some growing pains with the 4061 head, “We’ve been really happy with the M726G mulcher. It runs cooler than even the M726Es. It’s got a lot more power. From what I’ve seen, the production rate on the M726G models has improved by at least 25%. The cut rate is quicker, basically. We can go through more land faster with either head on that machine.” The Hegeners decided to start switching to Tigercat mulching heads because they “feel it will outlast the heads of Tigercat’s competitors.” While they’ve had a few setbacks, Spence says, “Any issues that have occurred have been addressed quickly with the support of Tigercat and our dealer in Texas, Tejas Equipment.” Acknowledging that any new
product is a work in progress, Spence is confident in Tigercat. “With its robust build and the engineering behind it, the 4061 will no doubt rule the market over time.” Since 2001, Cedar Eaters has owned a total of 22 mulching machines spanning over five different brands before committing to Tigercat. “The reason we have settled in with Tigercat is their attention to detail and their unwavering drive to improve their products. The support from Tigercat’s ownership, engineers and Tejas Equipment’s technicians as well as our sales rep, Jared Swenson, has been unmatched.”
Next Generation Spence has been a major part of Cedar Eaters since his parents founded it in 2001. While he did not start with the company until 2005, he would often run the machines on weekends at the family ranch in the early years. Spence has grown to develop a great appreciation and passion for what they do and strives to educate others about how to manage cedar in an environmentally friendly way. The Cedar Eaters name is a trademark. Spence mentions that he hopes to someday, “bottle up what we’re doing here and replicate it in different areas of the country that are battling the same issue with cedar”. With cedar rapidly encroaching on land in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas, there’s no denying that there’s opportunity for Cedar Eaters to grow SLT in all of these areas as well.
The Cedar Eaters base is on 20 acres overlooking the Guadalupe River.
Cedar Eaters of Texas home offices, interior, in Comfort
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Alternate Route ■ Logger-owned Forestry Ins. Co. of the SouthEast offers an alternative on trucking. By David Abbott MONCKS CORNER, SC rucking insurance has consistently been ★ among the top complaints of loggers in recent years, with limited options in some areas as many companies stopped writing policies for log trucks. With all the market disruptions, Rick Quagliaroli, President of South Carolina-based Swamp Fox Insurance Agency and board member of the Forestry Insurance Co. of the SouthEast, says several loggers came to him concerned about insurance carriers leaving forestry. One option, he told them, was to set up a captive insurance company. “In insurance it is referred to as alternative risk,” he explains. It would be owned by and insure only loggers, as an alternative to the standard commercial market. “There’s nothing wrong with standard insurance,” he emphasizes. “I’m not advocating against it. Both have a purpose, standard and captive insurance carriers, they both have a reason to exist.” In fact, his agency, Swamp Fox, works with both standard and captive carriers. The insurance man explained to his clients that it would require an investment from them to make it work. They were onboard. So, after founding the new company in 2016, they took the Forestry Insurance Co. of the SouthEast live in 2017 to write auto and general liability policies for the member-loggers. “From a startup basis in 2017, it has performed exceptionally well,” Quagliaroli says. “Loss ratios are very low.” What is the difference? “The primary difference is that it is a homogenous group committed to fleet management practices,” according to Quagliaroli. “Only other logging companies are members. So as a result they are very focused on the business. They put capital into the company, so they have skin in the game. They want to see it perform successfully, because they have the potential for dividends, so there is a real financial
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incentive. In a publicly traded company any dividends go to the shareholders. Here, the shareholders are loggers. There are no non-invested loggers in this company. Anybody who is insured is also an owner, so they have a real stake in how well it performs.” Forestry Insurance Co. is a separate legal entity from Swamp Fox, with no relationship other than that the latter provides underwriting and services to the former. Quagliaroli helped start the new company and sits on its board, but he does not own it; the members do. He describes his role as that of a gatekeeper, helping determine who can and can’t join. The owners set the standards of what it takes to qualify and his role is to apply those standards.
Fleet Management Before acquiring Swamp Fox in 2013, Quagliaroli had spent the bulk of his career to that point with the Hartford Financial Services. “At Hartford, one of the areas I ran was loss control and safety services,” he explains. Hartford, he says, was the company that originated the term “loss control” back in the ’50s. “It was a relatively innovative idea at the time. Loss control services bring real benefit to clients.” He continues, “If you think about it, what does a logger, or any business owner, do all day? He runs his business, solves problems and puts out fires. You can’t expect them to come home at night and think about fleet management practices. The insurance
From left, loggers Daryl Dunn and Michael Martin join Swamp Fox President Rick Quagliaroli at Forestry Insurance Co. of the SouthEast.
As of early September, Forestry Insurance has 29 members, all in South Carolina and Georgia. In time it may expand to the rest of the Southeast, as the name implies. Quagliaroli figures they have declined quotes to another 40. The main reason a business would be turned down would be over commitment to fleet management practices. “Fleet management is not an expense but an investment,” Quagliaroli says. “I know there are certain practices that if adopted will lower operating cost and improve profitability, because the shareholders are showing me the reduction in cost benefits.” He says the best examples of practices that can have that effect are reductions in drivers’ speed and eliminating hard braking. To achieve those aims, Forestry Insurance conducts driver and owner training sessions at least annually.
professionals should be out there two or three times a year providing our expertise to help them run a safer company, because safer companies are overwhelmingly more profitable. So when I think safety services, I think largely on the fleet management side. It is kind of the last frontier, because mechanized logging has changed the industry dramatically.”
Coverage Forestry Insurance Co. offers auto liability, covering exposure from extra heavies over the road, service vehicles and trailers. It does not cover woods equipment, only road equipment. It also offers general liability, in case of accidental injury in the woods. Excess liability, workers’ comp and equipment coverage they place with other companies. “When I bought this business in 2013 and brought up the idea of GPS
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in trucks, it wasn’t universally thought to be necessary, but you can demonstrate the value of it,” Quagliaroli says. “Our agency has sold, at cost, over 1,500 dash cams. The only friend a log truck driver has on the road is the dash cam.” Current market rates have an enormously wide range. “In 2013, a log truck could be insured as low as $850,” Quagliaroli says. “That’s a low rate, but an inadequate rate.” It doesn’t cover the cost to the insurance company. “The insurance industry was making a lot of money up through 2013, so commercial auto rates had become grossly underpriced, because it was very much a buyer’s market. Insurance companies were willing to insure not just log fleets but all commercial auto at inadequate pricing. Then there was an explosion in litigation. The factors of inadequate rates, increased litigation and limited to no fleet management practices has driven up rates or caused carriers to withdraw from insuring the industry.” He continues, “Insurance companies had been charging as low as 15-20% of what was adequate, so companies came and went. Some lost a lot of money.” When some companies pull out, others are willing to fill the void, but with dramatically higher prices than what would be required—some as high as $40 thousand a year to cover a log truck. The trick, Quagliaroli says, is to strike the right—sustainable and affordable—balance between the extremes. Forestry Insurance Co. of the South, he believes, is committed to achieving that balance. “This company stabilizes its rates, and gets adequate rates for exposure,” he explains. “From 2017-2019 rates went down 13%, and this year down another 6%. These rate changes are not due to market competition pressures but to fleet management practices and improvements driving down loss costs. It’s a balancing act; you have to be competitive, but we have stayed at an adequate rate level or passed on insuring an account. If you think of net cost, if you pay an acceptable rate and three years from now you get a 25% dividend, that is SLT a good investment.”
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FROM THE BACKWOODS PEW
Gas Station Cuisine Off the beaten path, never seeming to make it into the fancy magazines that advertise the cultural heritage and antiquity of the South is the rural gas station. Usually giving optional meanings to the term “gas station,” these remote outposts of culinary Antill delight and deceptions are the oasis that appears on the shimmering horizon, beckoning to the hungry forester. Most timberland tracts in the South are still out in the “sticks.” Those tracts that were close to town have already been paved and changed into a Walmart. The forester, having spent all morning in the woods cruising timber, marking boundary lines, slapping the water trying to catch a rogue beaver, or practicing his dance moves on top of a ground bees’ nest, finds a break in his schedule and an opportunity to test out the air conditioning in his truck. Now comes lunch and a chance to not be in the woods. Brown-bagging it may be an option at times, but after a morning of slapping, stinging, and staring at trees, you need a break. Thus, the hunt for lunch begins. Buffets come in a variety of styles and locations. From the top of a general store to the basement of the local
meeting house, they are nestled and tucked into the landscape so that only a trained eye can find them. I look for DOT trucks. They are a dead give-a-way. These buffets come with pork barbecue, beans, boiled potatoes, field peas, corn bread, pork chops, and of course fried chicken. Others boast local favorites like quail and rice. The eating is tremendous and all thoughts of what is waiting for you in the swamp during the afternoon are erased. After the banana pudding, you wish for a nice shade tree to park under with the AC on low, and an hour or so to snooze the day away. But alas, duty calls, the swamp beckons, and it is back to the woods. Your step is slower perhaps for a time, as you sweat away that second plate, but the memories linger on. Even marking boundary lines is fun if a classy buffet can be slipped into the daily schedule. However, there are times when the buffet cannot be found or the wallet is not in compliance. Thus, the gas station steps up to provide sustenance for the hungry forester. Like the buffet, here the selection is stellar with cans of unidentified meat and poultry by-products, left over from the previ-
ous century, lining the shelves. Little sausages, dropped off by ancient explorers from the last century, and of course beans and wieners in a variety of special sauces anxiously await your choice. Plastic utensils are stored in an old coffee can, yours for the taking. A variety of potato chips, that you have never seen advertised on Super Bowl Sunday, are stuffed into racks by the door. Usually there is a little tilt-a-whirl machine loaded with hot dogs. You select your wiener with a sense of foreboding. Your day, your night even, may quickly change. Nothing will be said here about the giant jars of pickles, for fear of causing some folks to have flashbacks. Were it not for the Little Debbie Snack Cakes, peanut butter nabs, and soft drinks, lunch at the gas station would be brutal! Here’s how King David saw it: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. —Psalm 34:8-10 Do you long for a life of peace, one where despite the circumstances, you are content; and where even in times of desperation, you still have an inner joy and strength? There is an old saying, “You are what you eat.” (I
guess that means I need a bonnet and a medical degree because Little Debbie Snack Cakes and Dr. Peppers are a mainstay of my diet.) To have a life with the peace that only God can give, you need to eat right, spiritually speaking. Does fried chicken or banana pudding put a smile on your face? God will too! Trust in him; let him go beside you in the swamp, where the heat and exertion of the day will leave you tired and hungry. Turn to him and he will fill you with peace, with contentment, and with joy. While others who seek to find it on their own will fail; you will not, for God is faithful. The call to come to God and to let him guide you, like a dinner bell, is being sounded across the swamp. He offers peace. He offers to fill the aching void in your life and mine; and only he can fill it. We have to eat; it is the way we were created. What appeals to you today, the buffet or the gas station? It’s your soul that needs filling. Feed it with the Word of God. It promises growth beyond our ability to understand. To be fed by God’s Word is to be able to cling to his promises, to his strength. To fill yourself with the offerings of this world, like eating junk food at the gas station of life, will cause you to wake up one day when crisis and concern dominate your calendar and the compass leads deep into the swamp; only to find you neither have the spiritual health nor energy to survive. If that happens just as sure as you can be haunted by a giant jar of pickles you will look back and wish you had eaten better; that there would have been more buffets at God’s table and less eating in the world’s gas station. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as new born babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. —1 Peter 2:1-3 Excerpted from Trees, Traps, and Truths Find it at onatreeforestry.com Brad Antill has been a forester in the woods and swamps of the Southeast Coastal Plain for over 30 years. Besides being a forester, he is also an ordained minister of the Gospel, and together they combine as his two passions. He and his wife Cindy created On-A-Tree Forestry as a way of sharing his unique views of the gospel story. They share the fingerprints of God that are revealed every day in those same woods and swamps. Brad is a graduate of The Ohio State University forestry program, and a registered forester in North Carolina and West Virginia.
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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP have provided funding for As We See It: Impact Of COVID-19 (USDA) numerous agricultural categories, Countless businesses across the spectrum of industries have been impacted by COVID-19 and now can tell stories about how government assistance rescued them from the brink of col- Dructor lapse; but there are some stories left untold. A recent analysis generated for the American Loggers Council (ALC) shows that this year’s decrease in raw wood material consumption has led to a $1.83 billion reduction in the
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value of logger/truckerdelivered wood. The report, conducted by the analytics firm Forests2Market, found that raw wood material consumption between JanuaryJuly 2020 was 6.7% less than the same period in 2019— dropping 21.4 million tons of material. This resulted in a 13% reduction ($1.83 billion) in value of the delivered wood. While Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture
they have not yet classified timber within the category that qualifies for COVID-19 assistance. According to 7 U.S.C§1518, timber and forest are described as an agricultural commodity along with fruits, vegetables, and other common agricultural goods. Danny Dructor, Executive Vice-President of American Loggers Council, states that, “Given the fact that wool, cut flowers, aloe leaves, and upland cotton are included in the USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), it is a reasonable request to ask that timber
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and logging be covered under the program as well.” The USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) received $16 billion to provide direct support to certain agricultural producers based on actual losses where prices and market supply chains have been affected. The program will assist producers with additional adjustments and changes in marketing costs that result from oversaturated markets and lack of demand for the 2020 marketing year as a result of COVID-19. ALC created SaveOurLoggers.com as a new web site to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on the logging and wood products industry. The web site features testimonial stories and videos directly from those who have experienced difficult circumstances. The current conditions loggers are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic have left them in dire economic straits. Many loggers have shared their stories of how COVID19 is affecting their businesses on SaveOurLoggers.com. Bobby Goodson, star of the Discovery Channel’s hit show Swamp Loggers, describes how, as a fourth generation logger with more than 35 years in the business, his company has never experienced a situation as threatening to their existence as an industry as during the COVID-19 pandemic. He describes how logging is essentially farming with harvesting trees as an agricultural commodity. Dale Heil of Stratford, Wis., gives one example of how the pandemic is bleeding out a vital American industry: “The closing of the Verso mill caused by COVID 19 took away 70% of my market.” Justin Yale of Gwinn, Mich., who has provided trucking services for the logging industry for 10 years, gives further insight into the peril the pandemic has sent the industry into: “I provide trucking services to the raw timber product producers. Tonnage hauled so far this year is down 72% from this time last year.” Without assistance from the CFAP program loggers have turned to Congress and the Administration seeking help from the next COVID relief package through the Logger Relief Act. Bipartisan Logger Relief bills were introduced in the Senate (S.4233) by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), and in the House (H.R. 7690) by Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) and Representative David Rouzer (R-NC). Specifically, the bills would
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direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make economic relief payments to logging and log trucking businesses who experienced losses of greater than 10% in the first two quarters of 2020 (as compared to 2019). The program would be similar to others already enacted by Congress for agricultural producers such as CFAP. Members of Congress from 13 states have cosponsored the Logger Relief Act. American Loggers Council is an 501(c)(6) not for profit trade association representing professional timber harvesters throughout the United States. For more information please contact the American Loggers Council at 409625-0206, or americanlogger@aol.com, or visit our website at amloggers.com
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Logger TV Stars Call For Relief Carolina Loggers Assn. (CLA) and Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC) have released video statements from stars of the American Loggers and Swamp Loggers reality television series calling for action from Congress and the Trump Administration to provide pandemic relief to the nation’s struggling loggers and timber haulers. Eldon and Rudy Pelletier of Maine, stars of American Loggers, and Bobby Goodson of North Carolina, star of Swamp Loggers, recorded the statements in late August following months of market
declines and job losses in the nation’s logging industry due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of the pandemic have crippled loggers across the U.S., and though separated by hundreds of miles, the Pelletiers and Goodson describe similar scenarios of job losses, revenue losses and unprecedented challenges. They also agree that while loggers never ask for help and have never received any, they need help now like that already provided to farmers and fishermen by Congress and the Trump Administration. “Logging is farming,” Goodson says. “Loggers in North Carolina, we’re hurting right now, and we need some help.”
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Eldon Pelletier adds, “We’re not asking for handouts but we know the government has helped the maple syrup people, and we feel that being in the logging and the woods industry that maybe there would be something there that could be given to us to help us. Any help we can get would be a big plus...we’ve never needed it more than now.”
Adel Moves Forward On Pellet Plant A proposed 450,000 metric tons per year industrial wood pellet mill to be built in Adel, Ga. is gaining steam. On September 21 the Adel City
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Council voted to annex a 171-acre industrial park area in Cook County into the city of Adel and to re-zone the property from agricultural to heavy-industry. Meanwhile the wood pellet plant project owner, Renewable Biomass Group, has applied for air construction permitting for the plant, which would export its wood pellets to overseas markets as fuel for electricity generation. The company hopes to commence construction in the fourth quarter of this year with commercial production beginning in the first quarter of 2022. It plans to operate 11 pelletizers, one dryer, an RCO and RTO for air emissions control. The Renewable Biomass Group
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web site indicates the company wants to develop 2 million metric tons per year of industrial wood pellets projects over a seven-year period. The RBG web site also shows Craig Whitlock as CEO with experience in international business development; Jeremy Ham as CFO with experience in capital raising; and Patrick Madigan as general manager and director. Madigan was head of Ireland electricity producer Bord na Mona’s bioenergy division when that company announced its intention to build an industrial wood pellet plant in Georgia in 2017. The company ultimately backed away from the project. Bord na Mona has traditionally used sod peat for electricity
generation, but is turning away from peat in favor of wood and other biomass fuel while also delving heavily into wind-based energy. At an earlier city council hearing the executive director of the Cook County Economic Development Commission, Lisa Collins, spoke in favor the project, calling it “monumental for Adel.” Dogwood Alliance, the Southernbased environmental group, has taken an aggressive stand against the plant. Dogwood Alliance promotes only solar and wind renewable energy while alleging environmental dangers of wood harvesting. The RBG air permit application indicates the plant will procure 1.1 million tons of softwood annually.
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Harlowe Bowling’s Life Celebrated In Virginia On September 5 the family and friends of Harlowe Bowling gathered to celebrate the life of the veteran logger, who died on SepHarlowe Bowling tember 1 in his sleep at his home near Ridgeway, Va. He was 81. Born near Stuart, Va., Bowling grew up in a sawmill-logging family and developed a love for the woods at a young age. Interestingly, he spent a lot of boyhood time with the Wood brothers—Glen, Leonard, Delano, Clay and Ray Lee—sons of a nearby farminglumbering family. Early on, all the youngsters became skilled mechanics, a talent that served them well in their careers: Bowling in logging and the Wood brothers on the NASCAR circuit. After completing high school in 1958, Bowling remained with the family business but in 1962 started Bowling Logging with Roy Goins, a close friend. The business eventually expanded to include chipping operations and at one time multiple crews and contract crews. More recently, Bowling had turned day-to-day operations over to his son Tim Bowling, and his wife, Diana, grandson Matt Bowling, and his wife, Lauren. Known as a conservative who was slow to change and frugal with finances, Bowling built and maintained a solid reputation with
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area landowners. At the same time, he enjoyed traveling to evaluate new and improved harvesting machines and methods. One mill procurement official, upon hearing of Bowling’s death, said: “He was a
pioneer in chipping and debarking and a true Southern gentleman.” He was proud of his family and fond of his collection of some 300 antique cars and trucks, the first of which was bought by Tim Bowling
as a gift in 1994. “I guess that sparked a fire in him for old cars and trucks,” Tim says. “He loved to search for them. He’d find one he wanted, go check it out and often come back with three! I think he liked the trading part and meeting new people to add to his long list of friends. He loved for people to come here and see that collection.”
Alabama Timber Owners Receive Some Relief Alabama forest and landowner groups welcomed news of $10 million in state coronavirus relief to help forest owners impacted by the pandemic. Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell thanked Governor Kay Ivey and State Forester Rick Oates for working to provide relief for landowners who sold timber at reduced prices due to market disruption. “COVID-19 has hit Alabama’s forest industry hard,” Parnell
says. “Prices have decreased for timber used for lumber as well as pulpwood used to make paper. We appreciate Gov. Ivey recognizing the importance of private forest landowners to our economy and environment. This funding will help lessen the blow for those who sold timber this spring.” Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) will administer the Assisting Alabama Timber Owners Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic program. It will provide payments to landowners who harvested timber during the months of March through July 2020. The payment rate will be $1 per ton of timber sold. Initial payments will be limited to not more than $10,000 per applicant, pending evaluation of program participation and available funding. “The Alabama Forestry Commission understands that forest landowners in the state have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus. These assistance payments will not make landowners whole, but they will help,” Oates comments.
www.southernloggintimes.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP
Make Logging Great Again Dear SLT: As I walked through a wooded area the other day, I saw some beautiful, big old trees. I walked around admiring the beauty of the place, and then I looked down and saw some cute little tree sprouts. They were already standing straight, green, and even a little majestic for such a little tree. I thought about how if it were nurtured and left to grow, in years to come it would become shade for rest and refuge. This tiny sprout could become a home for birds, squirrels, opossums, or even a treehouse for children to climb and play. Working for a logging company I also thought about how it could provide shelter as wood for building homes, or pulp for paper or even chips to be made into toilet paper. If you live in a home and get the privilege to use toilet paperthank a logger! The logging business could also be considered a farm industry. We might cut down the trees, but we also plant them. It might take some time (even a generation) before we harvest, but these trees are our future. We are more than loggers, we are “tree farmers.” Our “crops” just take a little more time to reap what we sow. But without us tree farmers who is going to provide what we provide (think toilet paper)? Running and maintaining a logging business has become increasingly more challenging. We are limited by quotas on what we can bring to the mills. Some mills have closed completely. The severely depressed and diminishing log markets mean that an entire valuable supply chain could be disrupted. Loggers and log trucking companies face high operating costs, our insurance is astronomical, and lately we have seen a drastic loss of return on our investment. Logging throughout the United States is
being reduced and new investments in the logging sector are extremely limited. On July 21, 2020 bills H.R. 7690 and S. 4233 were introduced to Congress, and both were immediately sent to committee. Did you know that 90% of all bills die in committee? Languishing there with no thought, discussion, or action. The logging and log trucking industry is suffering and needs the help these bills would provide. The American Loggers Council has urged all loggers to write or call their congressmen and the President and urge them to consider logging as important as farming, and to pass the “Loggers Relief Act.” It will allow the USDA that already oversees forestry services to provide grants and loans that will help companies that have seen a 10% revenue decline due to COVID-19 and have been hit hard by this pandemic. The Loggers Council has told lawmakers, “This program is intended to ensure that contractors can have the opportunity to remain in business over the next 12 months and to adjust their operations as markets begin to stabilize.” During this pandemic we definitely learned from the great “Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020” how important TP is to all of us. We urge you to assist us loggers, or “tree farmers,” who bring this vital resource to you to get HR 7690 and S.4233 out of committee to the House and Senate floors for a vote, have it pass and go to President Trump to sign into law. Write or call your congressmen. Flood them with emails and messages imploring them to get it done. Remind them that they, too, use what we provide, and they need to help a logger—so we can keep helping you! Kathy Hunter Wade T. Biggs Logging, Inc. Pinetown, NC
Southern Loggin’ Times
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PRINT CLASSIFIED AD RATES: Print advertising rates are $50 per inch. Space is available by column inch only, one inch minimum. DEADLINES: Ad reservation must be received by 10th of month prior to month of publication. Material must be received no later than 12th of month prior to month of publication.
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A D L I N K ●
ADVERTISER American Logger’s Council American Truck Parts Around The World Salvage Bandit Industries Big John Trailers BITCO Insurance Carter Enterprises Caterpillar Dealer Promotion Cleanfix North America John Deere Forestry Eastern Surplus Flint Equipment FMI Trailers Forest Chain Forestry First Forestry Mutual Insurance G & W Equipment G&R Manufactured Solutions Granger Equipment Hawkins & Rawlinson Interstate Tire Service Kaufman Trailers Komatsu Forestry Division Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency LMI-Tennessee Magnolia Trailers Maxi-Load Scale Systems Mississippi 811 Moore Logging Supply Olofsfors Pewag Chain Pitts Trailers Ponsse North America Prolenc Manufacturing Puckett Machinery Quality Equipment & Parts River Ridge Equipment Southern Insurance Southern Loggers Cooperative Stribling Equipment Tidewater Equipment Tigercat Industries Todd Dossett Chipping TraxPlus VPG Onboard Weighing W & W Truck & Tractor Waratah Forestry Attachments Waters International Trucks J M Wood Auction Yancey Brothers
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COMING EVENTS October 31—Alabama Loggers Council annual meeting, Marriott Prattville Hotel and Conference Center, Prattville, Ala. Call 334-265-8733; visit alaforestry.org/events/Event Details.aspx?id=1425315.
Nashville Downtown, Tenn. Call 202-296-3937; visit forest resources.org. 21-22—Expo Richmond 2021, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.
November
July 2021
11-13—Forestry Assn. of South Carolina annual meeting, Myrtle Beach Marriott at Grande Dunes, Myrtle Beach, SC. Call 803-7984170; visit scforestry.org.
25-27—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Summer Conference, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.
February 2021
August 2021
24-28—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers annual meeting, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra, Fla. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.
5-8—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Call 804-677-4290; visit valoggers.org.
March 2021 3-5—SLMA Spring Meeting, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit slma.org.
April 2021 30-May 1—Mid-Atlantic LoggingBiomass-Landworks Expo, near Laurinburg, NC. Call 919-2719050; visit malbexpo.com.
May 2021 17-19—Forest Resources Assn. annual meeting, DoubleTree
11-13—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com. 13-14—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com. 24-26—Louisiana Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Resort, Lake Charles, La. Call 318-443-2558; visit laforestry.com.
September 2021 9-11—Great Lakes Logging & Heavy Equipment Expo, UP State Fairgrounds, Escanaba, Mich. Call 715-282-5828; visit gltpa.org. 17-18—Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show, Starkville, Miss. Call 800-669-5613; visit midsouth forestry.org.
October 2021 7-8—American Loggers Council annual meeting, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Call 409-625-0206; visit amloggers.com.
March 2022 29-30—Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; email dianne@hattonbrown.com; visit bioenergyshow.com. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.
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OCTOBER 2020 ● Southern Loggin’ Times
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