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Odds And Ends SOUTHERN STUMPIN’

You Said It!

And now, the top quotes of 2022:

“I stay in my own world for the most part and see about what I have to of mine, but the times are changing. I pay the county $3,000 a year, not counting fuel. We should not be treated like we don’t use that road or have a vote. If you pay that kind of tax in that county, they should be trying to work with you. I own land in every county around here; in some of them I own a lot of land. But they will treat you like you’re a criminal when you come in there and try to cut timber.”—Eddie Harrison, Eddie, Inc., Forest, Miss., p. 16, January issue

quotes from loggers we featured in the past 12 months of Southern Loggin’ Times. After re-reading every story from January through this December issue, these are, in my opinion, the funniest or most interesting remarks and the most insightful observations quoted from the loggers we’ve covered throughout the year. Some have aged well, some not so much, but I hope you will find them all as entertaining or thought provoking as I did. But first…

One More

I got this email in late October from a family who had hoped to submit material to be included in our 50th anniversary issue in October but missed the deadline due to a family medical emergency: My daddy was a logger for decades, and still subscribes to Loggin’ Times at the age of 81. He was so disappointed when his Bobcat cover page was not included. He was so proud of that cover!! I will accept responsibility for that shortcoming.

I’m writing to ask today if it could somehow be included in an upcoming issue, as he reads it front to back when it arrives. It would bring such delight to him.

With sincerest thanks, Carla Duffell Houston

Well Carla, this one is for your dad; hope he enjoys.

Obviously we

were very limited in how much we could include in the 50th anniversary issue; you wouldn’t believe the material that I selected and had to leave out, or how much people sent us that didn’t get used. There just wasn’t room for everything so we had to make some hard choices.

What I’d really like to do is collect a lot of the material into a much larger, bound volume, sort of like a yearbook or a coffee table book, publish it and sell it to anyone who wants a copy: Southern Loggin’ Times—The First 50 Years. I’ll credit Tom Hirt of FSK Equipment with the idea; he suggested it to me in Missouri in September. This would give us room to include so much of what we had to leave out in October. No articles, no ads, just pictures from SLT’s past, all that we’ve covered since 1972, tracing the history of the industry, and of multiple different logging families, equipment manufacturers and dealerships as they rose, fell and evolved over time.

The problem is, this would be a lot of work, and cost a lot of money for us to produce, and we have some skepticism that enough people would be interested to be worth the effort. But, I have had several people tell me one-on-one that they would love to buy a copy if we ever do it. So I am thinking maybe if we can get enough interest in advance, like pre-orders, then maybe, just maybe, we might can make it work. So: if that sounds like something you’d like to have, absolutely reach out to me in an email or a text and let me know. If I hear from enough of you, then we’ll see what I can do.

“It’s been going good ever since the ‘rona hit. Before corona, it was average; it could have been better. Now it is better. They are trying to work with you, and we’re running wide open. If they need the wood, they will work with you; if they don’t, they won’t. It’s just business.”—Father-andson tag team David and Michael Minnear of Minnear Logging, Sparta, Tenn., p. 8, February issue

“(Equipment) is a lot nicer now, and a lot more headache, too. You have to have a computer to work on anything. The first thing they do now is plug up the laptop. It is so expensive to work on this stuff now. Just packing cylinders was so simple back then.”—More from Minnear men David and Michael, who, like SLT, marked their company’s 50th anniversary in 2022; page 10, February issue

“It’s a different ballgame for truck drivers who haul freight than those who haul wood. You tell your freight company you need to pay your drivers more, they can justify it and pass it down, whereas in the logging industry everyone has a cut-andhaul rate and if the mills don’t agree to adjust it you can’t pay your drivers more. We’re already paying more for fuel and truck parts. Where is the money going to come from if someone says we need to increase freight rates? We know we need to, but where will the money come from?”—Carroll Long, Long’s Logging & Timber, Girard, Ga., p.14, February issue

“That’s the fun part: learning new stuff and listening to what people want. It’s really not that hard if you just listen to what people tell you they want and build it. We don’t run the equipment, so why would we build what we want? If you’re not gonna operate it yourself you better do what other people want to do. I find that works pretty good over time: try to do what people are asking you to do.”—Pat Weiler, Weiler Forestry, p. 6, March issue

“People asked me if I was scared to get into

logging. I say a scared man can’t play poker. Logging is a gamble. I have made it so far, but to me, I haven’t been successful in logging until I get ready to retire. There’s a chance you can go broke any day. You haven’t made it until you get out.”—Greg Adams, Greg Adams Logging LLC, Lisman, Ala., p. 8, March issue

“When Shane was 12 years old, he went with us to the woods one Saturday. I was running a chain saw and he came down to where I was and asked if he could get on the loader and move some sticks around. I said be careful. Then he asked me if he could do a couple drags on the skidder. His mom, Mrs. Pat, came to the woods and asked where Shane was. I said, ‘He’s down on the skidder, he’ll be back in a minute.’ She started throwing a hissy fit saying he’s going to get hurt. I told her I’d try to keep him from getting hurt but if he wants to do something I’m going to let him; if you don’t’ like that, take him home and give him some pretty pink ribbons and an apron.”—David McClure, D&S Logging, Commerce, Ga., about his adopted son and now logging partner Shane Cape, p. 22, March issue

“We are the foundation to this $300 billion a year industry in the United States. In North Carolina, it is a $32 billion a year industry, with a little over 400 loggers holding it up. Until they recognize what an integral part of this industry we are, it’s not going to change.”—Bobby Goodson on his decision to retire, p. 6, June issue

“When my life is said and done, I have logged and loved the industry and enjoy working outside

through all the hurdles and hardships, but I don’t want to be known as a logger who did a good job tending to the earth. I want to be known for my love for the Lord and what he did in saving me to give me a chance to live for him and in the end, go to heaven.”—Josh England, England Logging, Clarkrange, Tenn., p. 10, June issue

“Looks like the mills would not try to put out of business the ones who know what they’re doing. Looks like it would be an opportune time to make some money if they would allow it, but they’re not. Logging is sick right now. It is an unhealthy industry.”—Stephen Singleton, Southern Pine Harvesting, Buena Vista, Ga., p.9, July issue

“A lot of the older guys in the game will try to push you away from it, especially right now with fuel price and insurance costs and trucking. But without young people like me, the industry would go down. So I always encourage everyone who asks me about it.”—Rick Bennett, Bennett and Sons Logging, Summerville, SC, p. 8, August issue

“I’m a laborer as well as a boss. I don’t ask nobody to do nothing that don’t do, and I do it all.”—Kenneth Hodges, H&M Logging, South Boston, Va., p. 17, September issue

“You’ve got to have logging in your blood or you ain’t going to wake up every morning and come out here. It’s a challenge but we love it.”

Will Coleman, Coleman Brothers Logging, Richburg, SC, p. 12, November issue

And Finally…

Although this is our December issue, I’m writing this a few days before Thanksgiving, and on page 32, the American Loggers Council’s “As We See It” column is Thanksgiving-themed. The entire holiday season is a great opportunity to reflect on and appreciate all the things we have to be thankful for.

Some people might think they don’t have anything to appreciate. Times can be hard, sometimes downright bleak. But as ALC’s Scott Dane points out in “As We See It,” if you shift your perspective, what you focus on, you might find that even in the middle of all the bad, there is still so much good that deserves our gratitude.

As we get older, we lose things, including people we love. But we can still be grateful for the good times we have had. We gain new things. And as long as we’re still breathing, there’s still more good times to come; each today is a new opportunity to seize, to get it right. Life keeps going on, for us now and later for our descendants. So that’s always something to be grateful for.

In the spirit of gratitude, I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for our sponsors at SLT. Without our advertisers, there is no SLT, so I am grateful for every ad we get. I especially want to recognize North Carolina’s John Woodie Enterprises; Mr. Woodie bought six pages of ads in October, and eight pages this issue. That’s awesome, and we appreciate it.

‘Nuff said: hope everyone has a great Christmas, a wonderful New Year and I look forward to seeing many of you in 2023. Excelsior!

—Dave

Long Time Coming

the call that his business, Dale Seals Logging Co., would be recognized years old. “He taught us everything,” Dale recalls. After finishing high (hopefully not anytime soon). “She has a great attitude, is very helpful

says, employees began to notice that Dale Seals Logging kept them working consistently in good equipment, focused on safety and paid well. With that reputation established, he says, it hasn’t been too hard to find and keep the best when they know they’ll be taken care of.

Foremen for the crews are Ryan Maness and Roy McVay; Mike Skellinger (Seals’ brother-in-law) looks after trucks. But Seals says, “My guys don’t need much guidance because every one of them are professionals. It helps me to have such a good group of men that if I’m not present, they don’t miss a beat; it hasn’t always been that way. If I have to be doing something else, I don’t have to stress and worry like a lot of people do.”

He reiterates how very blessed he deems himself to have this group, who don’t need a babysitter or constant direction and supervision. They are proactive; they know what to do and they do it, reliably. “If it came to it that I had to hire drug heads and drunks, I’d just quit,” he reflects.

Keeping everyone safe is priority number one, Seals says. “Safety comes first, then we get our production.” His two crews hold formal, documented safety meetings monthly. They also informally discuss any

2022 l Southern Loggin’

■ Tennessee’s Logger of the Year Dale Seals credits his crew and family.

Working mostly in hardwood hills,Dale Seals has tracked carriers,like this 859M with Quadco head,to cut and shovel on both c

mute from nearby Virginia or Kentucky, meet at a central spot and ride in together in service trucks). Forestry Mutual covers most insurance needs.

Land, Markets

One Seals tract SLT visited in early August was unusually sandy in high elevation, such that it drained really well and dried out quickly, even after tremendous rainfall late this summer. “It came three inches of rain the other day and by the next day we just scraped it a little bit and it was dry,” he said at the time.

Species mix here is heavy to chestnut, white and red oak, poplar, a little maple and some hickory.

This job was on land Seals owns, a 460-acre tract he bought five years ago. “I buy a lot of property, log it and clean it up and sell it. I own personally about 800 acres.”

The other Seals crew was working on a 60-acre tract in the 25,000 acres of the Chuck Swan state forest. Seals estimated they’d haul about 10,000 board feet per acre.

The two crews both average 125,000 to 175,000 board feet per week, along with 800-1,200 tons of chip wood a week.

Along with managing his own timber, Seals bids on sealed bid jobs from timber management groups like F&W Forestry and American Forest Management. “They do jobs for private landowners and get 10% of the cut to manage and sell that

tract of timber,” he explains. “If I am interested I will go and cruise the timber and look at it myself.”

He also does a lot of contract logging for Everett Hannah and Daniel Stacy, the owners of Virginia Forest Products and Northeast Forest Products in Morristown, where the crews haul hardwood. Seals also leases a lot he owns to Northeast Forest Products; they use it as a satellite yard for gatewood logs.

Other markets include Mooresburg Forest Products, which chips for Evergreen, and Columbia Forest Products in North Carolina, which takes peeler logs. Seals works with forester Jr. Atkins there.

The hardwood log market has kept them off quota, mercifully. “There have been issues in the past on our

pulpwood market, but we have always been able to move logs, and for the last two years we have been pretty strong,” he says. “When Resolute shut down we thought it would tighten up, but Evergreen stepped up and they have taken care of us like they said they were going to do. If we had any kind of quota put on us right now, we’d be ruined. The only way I know to make anything up is by production.”

Priorities

Seals is a man of faith, an active Christian since childhood. He serves as a deacon of his church, Lone Hill Missionary Baptist, where he was ordained at age 19.

“I am big on family,” Seals adds.

“The most important thing to me is knowing my family is taken care of and leaving a legacy for them.”

Seals married his wife April 25 years ago. They have three children,

two girls and a boy. Gracie, 21, is studying to be a vet at Lincoln Memorial University. Carlee, 20, is majoring in event planning at the University of Tennessee. Finally there is Timber, 7. “He’s a character,” the proud dad says. “He’s into every sport, he loves the woods and cattle. I think he may be very interested in what we are doing.” If so, that will be an answered prayer for Seals; he’s long hoped for someone to carry the family legacy into its sixth generation.

April takes care of keeping everything going on the home front and also assists her husband in keeping up with the books. But unlike some of his peers, who often view paperwork as a burdensome necessary evil, Seals really enjoys the business

The Seals family (from left,Gracie,Dale, April,Carlee,andTimber out front) accept theTFA Master Logger of theYear award.

beds modified at a local shop.

John Deere cutter with Ryan’s dangle head is a versatile machine for felling and shoveling on steep terrain.

end of the logging business, and not just the logging part. “I love being in the woods and on the farm, but I am very interested in business,” he says. “I just have a high school education, but I have always done a lot of my own paperwork. I am a hands-on guy and I like crunching numbers to know where I am at all of the time. It makes me feel more comfortable, and I think that has really been a benefit to me. In today’s times, more than ever, you can work yourself out of business if you don’t stay on top of the numbers.”

Equipment

Equipment on one crew includes

2019 Cat 559D loader with 18 ft. CSI 4400 reversible buck saw and delimber, ’15 D6 Cat dozer, ’18 John Deere 948L skidder and ’18 Deere 2154G cutter/shovel machine. This crew does a lot of shovel logging on steep ground, so the 2154 has a Ryan dangle head on it instead of a grapple saw. “It’s versatile; we can fell with it

and shovel with it.”

On the other crew is a ’18 John Deere 859M leveling cab tracked feller-buncher with Quadco 2900 intermittent head. “We find out here in the hills, if you have a hot saw it can be hard to cut, especially in some big hardwood, without splintering it up bad on the terrain we are in,” Seals says. “We find it better to use the intermittent head because you can shovel with all fingers. If you have a hot saw you have to turn it to the side and you can end up breaking the top fingers.”

Along with the track cutter, this crew fields a 2016 Deere 700K dozer, ’16 John Deere 648L skidder, ’18 Barko 595B loader with CSI 264 delimber/bucksaw, and ’19 Komatsu PL210 excavator.

Seals actually has two and a half crews; besides the two under his own banner, he is also half-owner of S&S Logging, in partnership with his nephew, Hunter Skellinger. “He’s a young logger, 25 years old, and I had

some smaller jobs, so he and I branched off,” Seals says. “Eventually I think he will end up buying me out of that. He runs it hands-on day to day. He is a hard worker, smart guy, can run anything.”

The S&S crew runs about 4050,000 feet/250 tons a week, using a 2016 Barko 495B loader with a CSI 4400 reversible buck saw, ’16 John Deere 700K dozer, 2008 Prentice skidder, a 2500 Chevy service pickup, ’06 Kenworth quad axle

truck and ’01 International three axle with Serco self loading boom mounted on the back. It tackles small jobs of four or five loads of big timber. “A lot of times there is a lot of money to be made on smaller tracts—10 loads here, five loads there. You can just drop a dozer off, cut it in a day and be gone.”

Dealers for Seals include Meade Equipment in Kingsport or Knoxville for John Deere machines; Power Equipment in Knoxville for Barko and Komatsu and Patterson Chip Co. in London, Ky. for Barko; and, for Caterpillar, Stowers Machinery in Knoxville or Carter Cat in Norfolk, Va. When equipment goes out of warranty he usually tries to trade it in, but every now and then will try to get a grace period in between. Operators service machines every 500 hours, in keeping with manufacturer recommendations. “If we have any big welding jobs, I get two different guys to do it: Jimmy Shoemaker in Virginia, who does a lot of fabrication work, or Nate Bemis. They have service trucks and come right to the job.”

On the hauling side, Seals has six trucks (two quad axle, three tractors and a dump truck): Peterbilts and Kenworths, 2006-2021 models, pulling Pitts log trailers (2008-2020 models). He also has a Ridgeline three axle equipment trailer and 2010 Pitts detach lowboy. Suppliers are Kenworth of Knoxville and Martin’s Peterbilt in London, Ky.

On the quad axle beds, Seals turns to a local shop in Sneedville owned by Carl Seal (distant kin). “He has a guy in the shop that really does excellent work that we use to build all our log beds,” the logger says. “I set them up to where we can haul as much as a tractor trailer on our quads.” The shorter bed length allows truck drivers to better make the winding bends of the uphill log roads and still average 30 tons per haul, and the quads can get in and out of

From left:Joel Middleton,Ryan Hill,Adam Hill,Dale Seals,BrentWalker,Joe Bolden,

some places better than some tractor trailer rigs, the logger asserts.

Fuel

Marcum Oil Co. owner Wayne Marcum in Lee County, Va., is the primary fuel supplier for Seals Logging. “No matter where we log, he always brings fuel and we never run out.” The crews keep 200-gallon tanks on each service truck plus 2,000-gallon tanks that are moved from site to site. “When we get close to finishing a job we try to get the tank as close to empty as possible so we can move it.”

Fuel cost has been very hard on everyone this year. “We have been trying to weather the storm, hoping things will change,” Seals says. “This administration has killed our industry. It is really hurting. I watch my numbers very closely and in my opinion, mechanized crews struggle to make a profit now, because of fuel prices. It has driven everything else up, all our supplies. It has crippled us and it will take us a long time, if ever, to recoup that loss because even with fuel prices coming down a little, the damage is done. We can’t maintain this for a long time; something is coming to a head.”

Seals understands why Swamp Logger Bobby Goodson chose to retire this year. “For his age and the way he was set up, he was smart to do what he did. He was a very smart businessman. He watched his numbers as well as I do and I promise you, the numbers do not work right now.”

He’s grateful that mills tried to help with fuel adjustments as best as they could, but it couldn’t keep pace with the rapid price increases. He also acknowledges mills can only do so much. “I ran my own mill for 10 years—S&R Lumber with my partner Mark Reece, a cousin. From my

point of view the mills around here don’t have as much meat on the bone as a lot of people think. I get a hardwood market report and I see minus signs across the board, especially on poplar and red oak. I think some of these mills are struggling somewhat also with inflation.” Even those that made record profits last year, he notes, reinvested much of it in needed upgrades to the mills, or in dividends to shareholders in the case of publicly traded corporations; either way, they don’t necessarily have it liquid as cash. “They have had four or five years of good times but it is fixing to change.”

The 2018 John Deere 948 came from dealer Meade Equipment.

Big Milestone

PRATTVILLE, Ala.

Loggers from around the state gathered in Prattville on Saturday, October 29th for the Alabama Loggers Council’s annual meeting. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the group’s formation in 1992.

★

“Although our industry has faced many challenges the past few years, we took time during the meeting to celebrate this milestone,” ALC Executive Director Joel Moon said.

All past Alabama Loggers Council Logger of the Year winners in attendance were asked to come forward and were recognized for their achievements. Moon said, “These are the best of the best, and seeing

ter and author of children’s book Lucy Meets a Logger, shared that, “(It) makes me a proud daughter to see Todd Fuller among a list of the greats.”

Ray Clifton of the Forest Workforce Training Institute (FWTI) and Jean Pierre Fontenot, Program Director for The North American Timber Program and Senior Vice President at Paragon Insurance Holdings, spoke to attendees, providing challenging information related to the state’s trucking operations. Wendy Farrand, a speaker and a writer from Maine who works to strengthen the people side of timber harvesting and a strong advocate for the logging community, highlighted the importance of a company’s culture, which is set by their

Another highlight of the meeting was the introduction of Alabama’s 2022 Logger of the Year, Smith

■ Alabama Loggers Council marked its 30th anniversary at this year’s annual meeting.

attendance at the meeting.

The Smith Brothers family,seen here with outgoingALC directorJoel Moon (far right), came out for the event.

When Old Man Winter gets bored in the Midwest and North, occasionally he will take a vacation and come

to the South. The old Christmas cartoon spins the song “It’s Gonna Snow Right Here in Dixie” (see The Year Without A Santa Claus). School kids here rejoice, as a dusting of snow usually closes the school doors. But there is not much rejoicing in the logging community. Snow, like rain, means mud. Cold temperatures mean misery. Every log deck has a burn barrel going, a feeble attempt to appease the Old Man.

A swamp logger, one might think, would appreciate a cold freeze, or even a blanket of snow across the harsh landscape of the swamp. And sure, for a change of pace, a white swamp has elements of beauty. But there is a danger in that freeze, and the southern logger learns this lesson the hard way. Many swamp loggers use equipment that moves across the swamp on metal tracks, instead of rubber tires, and this is where the hidden danger lies. The metal tracks will freeze to the earth. Plus, any mud left over from the previous day’s work will freeze. These two together have disabled many a machine, causing the bearings and tracks to strip, tear, and

generally cease to work. Now instead of moving wood, you are repairing equipment; and while the kids are cheering the snow and Santa coming, you see no income and no way to pay for Christmas. Maybe Junior will accept a set of bearings in his stocking?

Frozen to the ground, like the tongue of a child sticking to a metal flag pole, even heavy equipment, weighing tons and costing more, can be rendered useless when the temperature plunges. Our relationship with God can be in such peril also.

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”—Matthew 24:12

Jesus spoke these words of warning to his disciples. They wanted to know about the future, especially in light of the comments Jesus had just made concerning the Temple in Jerusalem being destroyed. Good thing to know if you were planning a trip there on a future Sabbath. But Jesus goes further, and warns of falling away from God—of pursu-

ing lawlessness. Imagine for a moment that you decided that civil laws were not binding on you. You begin to steal, assault, murder—and even remove the tags from mattresses. You would be called lawless, and hunted down like the criminal you had become. Jesus was referring here to those who had abandoned God’s law.

“Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside

you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”—Matthew 23:28

I mentioned the burn barrel appearing on the log deck of a cold southern logging job. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. The purpose of the barrel is for the crew to get warm. It is fueled by wood scraps from around the deck. Workers will come by to get warmed while waiting for a skidder to get fueled up, warmed up, or greased

up. Perhaps it is where the truck drivers will stand and watch their trailers being loaded. But on these same jobs, experience has taught them the value of warming up the machine. Getting the oil moving saves engine problems later. The vibration from the machine will begin to work on the ice that may have formed a bond between the earth and the tracks/tires. You and I need a burn barrel. We need to toss in it many of the things that have

replaced God as the center of our lives. We have created our own god to follow, and in doing so, our relationship with God has grown cold. Here is how the prophet Isaiah brought that message to the local folks of his day and ours:

“He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak; he secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. Then it shall be for a man to burn, for he will take some of it and warm himself; yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; indeed he makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.”—Isaiah 44:14,15

Ouch! The people were cutting down trees, carving portions of it for idols to worship, and other parts of the tree were used to make a fire. And so do we. We use the blessings that God has given us, and instead of worshiping God, we worship the money, or the body, or the notoriety that the blessings have given us. And our burn barrel is empty, and the cold has returned. We shiver in the hospital; we shake as we sign the divorce papers; and our cheeks are covered with ice as we leave the graveyard. We were not made for the cold. We are called to the warmth, to be a source of comfort to those shivering in the wasteland. We can’t do that if we ourselves have embraced the cold. Come up to the burn barrel, and let Jesus burn up the scraps of your life, and use you to bring others into his warmth and comfort.

By Brad Antill, forester and author. Excerpted from Woods, Worship, and Wasteland. Find this book and others at www.onatreeforestry

My Favorite Animal

I am seven years old and in the second grade. One day my teacher asked what my favorite animal is, and I said, “fried chicken.” She said I was not funny, but she couldn’t have been right because all my classmates laughed.

My parents taught me to always tell the truth. I did. Fried chicken is my favorite animal. I told my dad what happened and he said my teacher was probably a member of an organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He said they love animals very much.

I do, too, especially chicken, pork and beef.

Anyway, my teacher sent me to the principal’s office. I told him what happened, and he laughed, telling me not to do it again.

The next day my teacher asked me what my favorite live animal is. I told her it was chicken. She asked me why, so I told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken.

She again sent me to the principal’s office. He laughed and told me not to do it again.

I don’t understand. My parents taught me to be honest, but my teacher doesn’t like it when I am.

The next day my teacher asked me what famous military figure I most admired. I replied, “Col. Sanders.” In a huff, she quickly ushered me to the principal’s office.

I guess some people just can’t handle the truth!

Understanding Engineers

ting UV rays of high intensity, which eliminate the bacteria that produce acne without generating additional complications.

5. The Given Imaging Laboratory has developed a tiny camera in the form of pills that are swallowed and that transmit thousands of photos of the digestive tract. These high-quality photos (2 per second for 8 hours) can detect polyps, cancers and sources of bleeding. The photos are sent to a chip that stores them and sends them to a computer. At the end of the process, the camera is eliminated by the rectum.

6. The Hebrew University (Jerusalem) has developed an electrical neurostimulator (batteries) that is implanted in the chest of patients with Parkinson’s. It is similar to a pacemaker. Emissions from this device block nervous signals that produce tremors.

7. The simple odor of a patient’s breath can detect whether a patient has lung cancer. The Russel Berrie Institute for Nanotechnology has created sensors capable of perceiving and registering 42 biological markers that indicate the presence of lung cancer without the need for biopsy.

8. It is possible to dispense with catheterization in many cases. Endopat is a device placed between the index fingers, which can measure the state of the arteries and predict the possibility of a heart attack for the next seven years.

Line Dancing Was Started By Women Lined Up To Use The Bathroom

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

The engineer fumed, “What’s with those guys? We’ve been waiting for 15 minutes.”

The priest said, “Here comes the greens keeper. Let’s have a word with him.” He said, “What’s wrong with that group ahead of us? They’re rather slow.”

The greens keeper replied, “That’s a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight while saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime!”

All fell silent for a moment.

The priest said, “That’s so sad. I’ll say a special prayer for them tonight.”

And the doctor, “Good idea. I’ll contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there’s anything she can do for them.”

The engineer said, “Why can’t they play at night?”

Good Things To Know

The following appeared earlier this year in Heritage Florida Jewish News. Good things are taking place in the world. Israelis do not make islands in the shape of palm trees, nor towering skyscrapers, nor expensive hotels, nor do their leaders use cars with solid silver bodies (a clear allusion to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates). The pride of the State of Israel is that its technologies will soon be able to be used by all humanity:

1. The University of Tel Aviv is developing a nasal vaccine that will protect people from Alzheimer’s and stroke.

2. Technion, Institute of Technology (Haifa), developed a simple blood test capable of detecting different types of cancer.

3. The Ichlov Center (Tel Aviv) has isolated a protein that makes colonoscopy unnecessary to detect colon cancer with a simple blood test. Colon cancer kills about 500,000 people annually.

4. Acne does not kill anyone, but it causes anxiety and dissatisfaction in teenagers. The Curlight Laboratory created a cure by emit-

9. Bar Ilan University is studying a new drug that fights viruses by blood. It is called the Vecoy Trap because it tricks a virus into self-destruction. It is very useful in fighting Hepatitis, and in the future AIDS and Ebola.

10. It is possible that Israeli scientists at Hadassah Medical Center (Jerusalem) discovered the first cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehring’s Disease, in an orthodox rabbi. Stephen Hawking, a famous British scientist, suffered from this disease and to communicate he used methods invented by Israeli scientists.

11. Israel’s Mekorot National Water Co. has finalized a deal to provide Bahrain with desalination technology for brackish water.

Israel is a society that for many years faced hostility from its neighbors and had no oil. Over the years, Israel learned to go from isolation and scarcity to abundance and global influence by developing its own explosive innovation economy in areas such as water, solar, cyber, military, medical, finance and agriculture.

An Italian Mother

The son excitedly tells his mother he’s fallen in love and that he is going to get married. He says, “Just for fun, mama, I’m going to bring over three women and you try and guess which one I’m going to marry.”

The mother agrees. The next day, he brings three beautiful women into the house, sits them on the couch, and they chat for a while. He then says, “Okay, mama, guess which one am I going to marry?”

Mama says immediately, “The one on the right.”

“That’s amazing, mama. You’re right. How did you know?”

Mama replies: “I don’t like her.”

‘OLD’ Is When…

—Your sweetie says, “Let’s hurry upstairs and make passionate love,” and you answer, “Hon, I can’t do both!”

—Your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you are barefoot.

—You go braless in hopes it helps pull wrinkles from your face.

—You are cautioned to slow down by a doctor instead of a police officer.

—“Getting lucky” means you find your car in the parking lot.

—An “all nighter” means not getting up to go to the bathroom.

By Scott Dane

It is a matter of perspective, we can either look at the glass as half full or half empty. Either way it is the same glass, it just depends upon how we choose to look at it. If you are

thirsty, you can be grateful for half a glass of water, or you can be resentful that it wasn’t a full glass of water. That is how life, particularly in the woods, can be. Loggers and truckers tend to be “glass half full” optimists.

There are few “easy” days in the woods or hauling timber. The challenges are daily, sometimes hourly. But if you have been in the timber industry, it is a way of life. Honestly, that may be what drives loggers and truckers to do what they do. It is a life most others cannot or will not live. As such you have overcome insurmountable challenges and threats; you have replenished your glass and

never let it be empty.

As we move through the Thanksgiving celebration, remember that it dates back to colonial times and the harvest feast, when settlers and Native Americans came together and shared a meal. The New England colonists regularly celebrated “days of prayer thanking God for blessings.” Later, a national Thanksgiving Day was officially designated by President Lincoln to promote unity during the Civil War.

If there has been a time since the Civil War that the United States needed unity, it is today. Despite all of the division, vitriol and conflict today’s United States can take a lesson from 400 years ago, when two vastly different cultures, who were at times warring factions, sat together, ate together and gave thanks together. This historic demonstration of unity is an example of what America needs today, and a reminder that we still have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day.

The timber industry is composed of competing factions, including loggers vying for the same timber tract, mill volume, laborers, and trucking capacity. Yet most come together to work toward a common mutual benefit of a sustainable timber industry through their membership in state and national organizations. They recognize that through unity a greater good can be achieved. Perhaps there should be more loggers and truckers running the country: men and women who face the daily challenges of harvesting timber and transporting it, who can solve problems, who are focused on the common good, who build instead of destroy, who focus on the good not the bad, who are thankful for the blessings they have received.

Whether we choose to look at all of the blessings we enjoy today, or if we choose to look at the challenges, differences, threats and disagreements that divide us, is up to each of us.

Gratitude and Attitude are not Challenges; they are Choices.

Thanksgiving is about unity, unity of country, but more importantly, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to the source of our blessings—God.

Ephesians 6:12—For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.”

During the Thanksgiving holiday, be sure to have the right perspec-

tive, count your blessings—your health, your family, your business— and give thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow. Even in the challenges, be thankful.

Be Thankful for Every New Challenge. It will Build Strength, Wisdom, and Character.

With that perspective, in times of blessings and in times of challenges, we can be thankful and give thanks.

“The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.”

–William Penn (American Colonialist)

Scott Dane is Executive Director of the American Loggers Council. ALC is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests of timber harvesting and timber hauling businesses across the United States. For more information visit www.amloggers.com.

Forest Service Allies

With Strategic Biofuels

U.S. Forest Service has awarded Strategic Biofuels, which seeks to develop negative carbon footprint renewable fuels production facilities, a cooperative agreement under the Wood Innovations Program for the first phase of a multiphase project to develop a robust, auditable cloud-

based system for demonstrating compliance of forestry feedstock with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“Innovative biofuels technologies are emerging at a time when our forests, especially those with high wildfire risk conditions, need them the most. Passengers in the U.S. will soon be flying on airplanes powered by forest residuals from forest restoration projects and forest products facilities,” comments Julie Tucker, National Wood Innovations Program Manager of Bioenergy, Biofuels, and Bioproducts, U.S. Forest Service. “Historically, forest residuals have been a disposal challenge. The Renewable Fuel Standard helps change that by giving the renewable energy sector a financial incentive to convert these unwanted forest residuals to high value biofuels and renewable electricity. EPA must ensure that forest residuals receiving credit under the Renewable Fuel Standard are qualifying feedstock. We also want them to be sustainably sourced.”

The project is aimed at funding the development of a user-friendly, cost effective, and fraud-resistant gold standard tracking system that enables the forestry feedstock sector to supply the raw data that can accurately and conveniently be transmitted to

the biofuel producer and validated by a third-party auditor for EPA compliance. Strategic Biofuels was selected to lead this initiative, as the company’s Louisiana Green Fuels project in Columbia, La. could be the first carbon negative commercial renewable fuels plant in the world using forestry feedstock.

The company will lead a core team of senior leaders to execute and deliver the project including: U.S. Forest Service will provide general oversight and forestry experience for the initiative, facilitate information sharing, and identify and coordinate opportunities for project input from stakeholders; Weaver, one of the country’s largest providers of EPA attestation and consulting services, will bring their deep expertise in RFS compliance assurance to propose and develop reporting content and formatting, auditing protocols, and documentation methodologies.

“Creating an auditable system that fully meets EPA requirements for documenting and validating feedstock qualification, source or origin, and chain of custody currently represents a significant challenge for using woody biomass as a feedstock for renewable fuels,” comments Dr. Paul Schubert, CEO of Strategic Biofuels. “We appreciate the opportunity to play a lead role in establishing the

tracking criteria for our industry and to use our Louisiana Green Fuels project as the model.”

The core team will be supported by an advisory team that will provide input including stakeholder identification and engagement; review and recommendations; and other work identified as needed for the success of the project. While advisory team members have not been named, it will include representatives from the National Assn. of State Foresters, American Loggers Council, and organizations representing private non-industrial, industrialized, and tribal forest landowners.

Strategic Biofuels is focused on developing a series of negative carbon footprint facilities in northern Louisiana that convert waste materials from managed forests into renewable diesel fuel and renewable naphtha. The fuel qualifies for substantial Carbon Credits under the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard Program and the California Low Carbon Fuels Standard.

Rayonier Expands Southern Timber Base

Rayonier Inc. entered into two agreements to acquire 172,400 acres of high-quality commercial timber-

lands in Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana for $474 million from Manulife Investment Management, a timberland investment manager. The acquisitions comprise well-stocked and highly productive timberlands located in some of the strongest timber markets in the U.S. South.

Approximately 80% of the acquisitions consist of fee ownership, and the remaining 20% consist of a longterm lease.

Rayonier believe portions of the

acquisitions are well-positioned to capitalize on emerging ecosystem services, natural climate solutions opportunities, including bioenergy, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage.

Of the acquired fee lands, 72% are plantable with an average expressed site index of 73 feet. This translates to an expected sustainable yield of 670,000 tons per year, or 4.8 tons per acre per year.

The acquired fee lands contain 7.5 million tons of merchantable timber

inventory, or 54 tons per acre, 66% of which consists of higher-value grade products. Average plantation age of the acquired fee lands is 18 years.

The acquisitions are expected to generate an average annual harvest volume of approximately 860,000 tons over the next 10 years. No wood supply agreements encumber the properties, thus enhancing operational flexibility.

As of September 30, Rayonier owned or leased under long-term

agreements 2.7 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S. South (1.79 million acres), U.S. Pacific Northwest (486,000 acres) and New Zealand (417,000 acres).

Auburn Unv. Team Looks At Needle Blight

A research team in Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) is working to find solutions to an increasing threat to pine forests needle blight. Through a $2.1 million U.S. Forest Service grant, Lori Eckhardt, a professor of forest health, and her team members in the college—Joseph Fan, associate professor of forest ecology and statistics; Lana Narine, assistant professor of remote sensing and modeling; and Janna Willoughby, assistant professor of population and conservation genetics— are aiming to determine the impacts on productivity and biological causes of needle blight.

Insect pests and fungal diseases are a great concern to the forest industry, as costs associated with damage caused by non-native pests and pathogens within forests throughout the U.S. were estimated to be valued at approximately $4.2 billion annually.

Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) has been receiving phone calls since early spring from landowners and the public regarding pine needles suddenly turning brown. Many of these calls have come from counties in the northwest and northeast regions of Alabama. The disease has been confirmed in 36 of 67 Alabama counties.

Historically, the disease has only infected longleaf pines, or Pinus palustris, but in the last few years, the disease also has begun to infect loblolly pines, or Pinus taeda, in young and mature stands.

AFC notes the first sign of infection is discoloration of the needles. Infected needles will contain circular lesions with a brown spot surrounded by a yellow halo. Over time, the infected area will turn brown with a dark red or dark green border. The discoloration begins in the lower portion of the crown and moves up as the disease spreads by rain and wind events. An easy way to identify the disease is if the pine needles look as if they have been scorched by fire, even though there has been no burn.

The cause for this change in behavior of the disease has yet to be determined, but it can be speculated that it may be a new sub-species that has evolved from the original fungal pest, according to AFC.

“An investment in mitigating forest pests, such as those associated

with needle blight, requires adaptive management geared to prevention and remediation that provide economically sound solutions,” says Eckhardt, team leader, CFWE professor of integrated forest pathology and entomology and director of the Forest Health Cooperative.

Through their research, landowners and forest managers may be able to predict future timber revenues more precisely from affected stands and adjust management activities accordingly.

“We hope to determine the distribution and movement of the needle pathogens, determine if their appearance is due to more aggressive strains and understand the disease cycle and the environmental factors that drive their emergence and distribution,” adds Eckhardt. “Non-native pests and pathogens may not only occur on a large regional scale, but also on isolated acreages. This is vital, as the majority of the 7 million acres of pines in Alabama are privately owned.”

CFWE held a workshop June 2627 at Auburn University to share current assessments of the brown spot needle blight. Professionals from the Southeast spoke on ways to possibly manage the disease and how it may

vary from state to state. Expert presentations included identification, mitigation, genetic diversity and environmental factors.

Landowners are encouraged to contact their local AFC office if their pines are infected with brown spot needle blight. Symptomatic needles can be collected and brought to the Forest Health Dynamics Laboratory at Auburn University for confirmation.

Ponsse NA Expands

To Southern U.S.

Ponsse North America, Inc has expanded its operations to Midway, Fla., right outside of Tallahassee. The main factors that influenced this development are the growing demand for cut-to-length wood and an increase in machine sales in the South, according to Ponsse.

“Forestry is our focus and all we do. It is time for cut-to-length to be more dominant in the South like it is currently in the northern part of the USA. We want to provide all of our customers with the best machines in the world, exceptional service and the best parts availability in the industry,” states Pekka Ruuskanen,

President and CEO of Ponsse North America, Inc.

Ponsse North America, Inc is a subsidiary of Ponsse Plc and was established in 1995. The headquarters is located in the heart of the cut-tolength region in Rhinelander, Wis. Ponsse has branches in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and now the latest addition in Florida. Ponsse also has full-line dealers and service dealers in various locations around the nation.

The company is still based in Vieremä, Finland in the same location in which it was founded in 1970.

Sawmill Will Feed Pallet Block Facility

BID Group announced a partnership with ArbaBlox Inc. to build a state-of-the-art turnkey composite pallet block plant in Winona, Miss. BID will manage, design, build, install and provide startup services for the $53 million project, the largest of its kind in the country.

The new operation will incorporate BID’s OPER8 platform, the purposebuilt, out-of-the-box industrial IoT solution. Wood panel expert, IMALPAL Group, will provide the equip-

ment and technology for the project.

“ArbaBlox is pleased to have BID Group as its turnkey partner for its new state-of-the-art composite pallet block manufacturing facility. We chose BID because of their excellent track record in delivering integrated projects within the wood processing industry and we are delighted to have them on the Winona project with us,” comments Ed Milburn, CEO at ArbaBlox.

Work on site will begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 and commissioning of the facility is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. Fiber supply for the plant will come from Biewer Lumber’s Winona, Miss. facility, which commenced operations in January 2022.

ArbaBlox and the BID Biomass Team will begin the development phase of a second project late in 2022.

“We would like to thank ArbaBlox for their trust in our people and integrated solutions,” says Travis McDonald, Executive Vice President, Integrated Solutions at BID. “The ArbaBlox projects will be the first of many for the BID Biomass Division which intends to deliver value-added solutions for sawmill residual products.”

Komatsu Delimb/Cut/Stack Processor

Control downtime and drive productivity with the robust, dependable and fuel-efficient Komatsu PC230F11 processor. Delimb, cut and stack timber with this powerful and maneuverable processor designed specifically to meet the demands of forestry work.

Large trees can be moved more easily thanks to a powerful swing system and a large swing circle. With exceptional reach of up to 29' (8,951 mm), the excellent maneuverability of the PC230F-11 helps drive productivity.

Designed with a high and wide undercarriage, powerful swing motor and ability to withstand high-debris conditions, the PC230F-11 is backed by excellent service, easy access to parts and an industry-leading warranty. Built to tackle demanding forestry processing environments, the PC230F-11 has exceptional reach, a high and wide rugged undercarriage and a powerful swing system.

When operators are working in high-debris conditions, the robust widefin radiator is protected by heavy-duty forestry screens and a variable pitch reversing fan helps improve airflow.

Offering excellent ground clearance, the PC230F-11 provides reliable maneuverability in tough forestry environments thanks to a high and wide undercarriage designed with larger class-size components.

Operators can adjust quickly to a sudden change in load weight without losing productivity with the Auto Power Max feature. It automatically senses the difference and reacts with a seven-second burst of additional horsepower to help pull the trees through during the delimbing process.

To reduce operator fatigue, the PC230F-11 provides a quiet, comfortable work environment. Cabs are climate-controlled and equipped with Bluetooth technology. The cushioned air-suspension seat can be heated or cooled.

An extra-rugged exterior protects against falling limbs with a 1.26" thick (32 mm) polycarbonate front window and metal designed to withstand demanding environments. The PC230F-11 features heavy-duty service undercover guards and rear compartment doors, and a right corner guard with a standard tree deflector. Visit komatsu.com.

Vermeer Max Grinder Tip Line

Vermeer is enhancing its grinder tip line with the long-lasting max grinder tips. They contain the maximum amount of carbide to provide durability grinder operators can count on, which translates into more time on the job and less time spent changing tips. These durable grinder tips are designed for a precise fit, eliminating the time required for modifying tips to fit your Vermeer grinder.

The premium grinder tips feature additional welds on the ends and a single weld on the sides for an extended life span. Pro grinder tips have both ends and sides welded to provide a standard life span. The difference is the amount of carbide that is put on during the welding process. The max has a higher carbide content, which results in longer wear life.

The three grit options can be paired with different grinder tip styles to match job site requirements. Six tip styles are available—wide block grinder tips; abrasion-resistant grinder tips; wing grinder tips; impact-resistant grinder tips; narrow block grinder tips; sharp grinder tips. Visit Vermeer.com.

Shell Rotella Synthetic Engine Oil

Shell Lubricants offers Shell Rotella T6 10W-30 full synthetic heavy duty engine oil, which provides the benefits of a full synthetic engine oil in the fastest growing viscosity grade for diesel-powered vehicles. The versatile oil offers fuel economy benefits and excellent engine protection for hard working trucks.

Shell Rotella T6 10W-30’s unique formulation is designed to provide better wear performance compared to conventional and synthetic blend Shell Rotella 15W-40 and 10W30 products while also delivering improved fuel economy capability of 2% compared to SAE 15W-40 heavy duty engine oils. This can save money in fuel consumption, without compromising engine protection or durability. The oil also helps ensure enhanced engine protection and can help to reduce maintenance costs.

Triple Protection is the unique combination of Triple Protection advanced additive technology and synthetic base oils. Triple Protection represents protection against wear, deposits, and oil breakdown plus better fuel economy performance. This unique combination helps to deliver excellent equipment protection, long engine life and maintain viscosity control under high temperatures.

Shell Rotella T6 10W-30 offers extreme temperature protection in hot conditions and improved cold start performance in cold weather so that the oil reaches critical engine parts in cold temperatures. Shell Rotella T6 10W-30 has a pour point of -49 °F and -45 °C. It’s an excellent choice for operators in locations with large ambient temperature range. Visit rotella.com.

HAIX Airpower Work Boot

HAIX offers a new boot to its workwear line—the Airpower XR23 built for anyone who is rough on their boots. It’s perfectly engineered for landscapers, construction workers, machine operators, or anyone that’s out in the elements all day long.

This sturdy boot features a composite safety toe with puncture protection, built in arch support and sturdy rough out European bull hide leather. “Our bull hide leather is made from some of the strongest hides in the world, which translates into a boot that has unparalleled durability,” says Marketing Manager Sandy Longarzo. “European sourced leathers offer some of the highest quality leathers in the world, and since leather makes up over 70% of the boot, it’s the most important component to consider.”

In addition to its long wearing durability, the Airpower XR23 features a completely waterproof, yet breathable, GORE-TEX inner liner that also offers an additional 500 grams of insulation for the colder weather months.

The Airpower XR23 is available in both medium and wide widths from size 4.5-15. Visit haixusa.com.

2022 Editorial Index

JANUARY

Southern Stumpin’: Riding High— a look at the personal passions of cover profile subject Eddie Harrison: race horses, Alabama football and his cowgirl wife. Page 6

Plain Spoken

Eddie, Inc., Forest, Mississippi

The logging business is not always so simple for a simple man like Eddie Harrison. By David Abbott Page 8

Built To Last Bearden Logging, Summerville, Georgia

Northwest Georgia’s Bearden Logging knows a thing or two about overcoming obstacles. By Patrick Dunning Page 18

Spotlight On: Tires, Tracks, Etc. Page 26

FEBRUARY

No Stopping

David Minnear Logging, Sparta, Tennessee

Minnear men David and Michael continue a family tradition that goes back half a century. By David Abbott Page 8

Long Story Short

Long’s Logging & Timber, LLC, Girard, Georgia Long’s Logging & Timber, LLC has the recipe for longevity in the forest products industry. By Patrick Dunning Page 12

MARCH

Southern Stumpin’: Meet Pat Weil-

er—a look at…meeting Pat Weiler of Weiler Forestry. Page 6

Rapid Growth

Greg Adams Logging, LLC, Lisman, Alabama

Young Greg Adams gambles big on logging. So far, he’s playing his cards right. By David Abbott Page 8

Pass It Down

D&S Logging, Commerce, Georgia

At D&S Logging, Dave McClure and Shane Cape are a couple of chips off the old block. By Patrick Dunning Page 20

Spotlight On: Chippers, Grinders, Etc. Page 26

APRIL

Southern Stumpin’: Global Connections—a look at Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and the effect on worldwide timber markets. Page 6

Rolling Along

Manuel Henderson Trucking, Inc., Piave, Mississippi

Young logger Manuel Henderson is grounded but optimistic for the future of logging. By David Abbott Page 8

Highs And Lows

Lowe Brothers Logging, Inc., Carrollton, Alabama

Lowe Brothers Logging was Alabama’s Outstanding Logger of the Year for 2021. By Patrick Dunning Page 14

Surging Fuel Prices!

Who is it hurting? Why is it hurting? Where is it going? By Todd Martin, Southern Loggers Cooperative President & CEO Page 18

MAY

Southern Stumpin’: Fighting Windmills—a look at the politics of climate change and opportunities for the logging industry to help shape the narrative. Page 6

Change Of Pace

Outlaw Timber Harvesting LLC, Gray, Georgia

Former mechanic Brad Comer finds ways to alleviate logging pressures while commodities markets soar. By Patrick Dunning Page 8

Always Something

PSP Logging/PSP Hauling, Spotsylvania, Virginia

Contract trucker Phillip Brooks expanded his PSP Hauling into PSP Logging four years ago. By Tim Cox Page 14

Bright Side

R&B Logging, Provencal, Louisiana

Randy Broadway was the Outstanding Louisiana Logger for 2021. By Jeff Zeringue, Louisiana Forestry Assn. Page 18

Tomorrow’s Timber Mizell Development, Inc., Callahan, Florida

Adam Mizell looks to the future, with a focus on reforestation. By Steve Werblow Page 20

JUNE

Southern Stumpin’: Closing Time— a look at the retirement of “Swamp Logger” Bobby Goodson. Page 6

Come Together

England Logging, Clarkrange, Tennessee

Rural Tennessee pastor finds success in logging after humble beginnings. By Patrick Dunning Page 8

Full Circle

Virginia Forest Resources LLC, Barhamsville, Virginia

Dan Hockenberger’s path to logging began in forestry as a technician and then in procurement. By Tim Cox Page 12

JULY

Southern Stumpin’: Pumpin’ Pain— a look at skyrocketing fuel prices. Page 6

Both Sides

Southern Pine Harvesting/Singleton Forestry Service LLC, Buena Vista, Georgia

Stephen Singleton cuts trees under Southern Pine Harvesting and replants under Singleton Forestry Service. By David Abbott Page 8

Back To Back

Expo Richmond returns to Virginia second consecutive year, making up for missing 2020. Page 12

Spotlight On: Felling, Processing, Etc. Page 14

AUGUST

Southern Stumpin’: What’s Next?— a look at the future of logging from Jessica Johnson. Page 6

Young Gun

Bennett and Sons Logging LLC, Summerville, South Carolina

Optimistic young logger Rick Bennett is glad to get his shot and eager to prove himself. By David Abbott Page 8

Up To Bat

Comer Logging, Crossville, Tennessee

New blood Zachary Comer keeps his nose to the grindstone in the Tennessee Valley. By Patrick Dunning Page 12

At Cutting Edge, Thomas Johnson embraces technology and keeps going when others might cut out. By Jessica Johnson Page 14

SEPTEMBER

Southern Stumpin’: Big Numbers— a look at SLT’s 600th issue, at Virginia logger Buck Morris’s country music album, at the life of late North Carolina logger Dewayne Woodard and at the family who helped Louisiana logger Tommy Johnson get through cancer treatment. Page 6

High Rise

Secondhand Tradition Ltd., Birch River, West Virginia WV’s 2022 Logger of the Year, Lindsey Collins, tries tethered logging in steep Appalachian slopes. By David Abbott

Page 10

Multitasker

H&M Logging, South Boston, Virginia Ken Hodges has his hands full with his multi-crew operation—and that’s just the way he likes it. By Tim Cox

Page 16

Making The Cut Oregon Tool Marks 75th Anniversary. By Jason Landmark, Oregon Tool Page 26

OCTOBER

Southern Stumpin’: SLT & Me—a look at how the history of Southern Loggin’ Times ties in with the personal family history of editor David Abbott. Page 6

50-Year Timeline

A review of events and changes that helped define and shape the Southern forest industry. By DK Knight Page 12

SLT & You

Readers share their stories in letters to the editor.

Page 28

SLT Scrapbook

Looking back over the years. Page 52

NOVEMBER

Southern Stumpin’: Forester, Insurance Man, Vet—a look at the life of forester and logging insurance agent Chad Houze, in honor of Veterans Day. Page 6

Total Commitment

Coleman Brothers Logging, Richburg, South Carolina South Carolina operation continues to gain steam as it comes of age. By May Donnell Page 8

Back To The Start

American Loggers Council’s 2022 Annual Meeting returned to its roots in Branson, Missouri. Page 14

Well Deserved

Virginia Loggers Assn. honors C.K. Greene at its 2022 Annual Meeting. By Ron Jenkins and Frank Myers, Virginia Loggers Assn. Page 16

Spotlight On: Transportation Page 18

DECEMBER

Southern Stumpin’: Odds And Ends—a look at the best SLT quotes from 2022. Page 6

Long Time Coming

Dale Seals Logging Co., Tazewell, Tennessee

Tennessee’s Logger of the Year Dale Seals credits his crew and family. By David Abbott Page 10

Big Milestone

Alabama Loggers Council marked its 30th anniversary at this year’s annual meeting. Page 16

American Loggers Council 36 202.627.6961

American Truck Parts 20 888.383.8884

Around The World Salvage 44 936.634.7210

Bandit Industries 47 800.952.0178

Big John Trailers 5 800.771.4140

BITCO Insurance 12 800.475.4477

Bright Star Realty and Auctions 15 574.825.0704

Caterpillar Dealer Promotion 13 919.550.1201

Eastern Surplus 18 855.332.0500

FMI Trailers 38 601.508.3333

Forest Chain 20 800.288.0887

Forestry First 42 803.708.0624

Forestry Mutual Insurance 2 800.849.7788

G & W Equipment 34 800.284.9032

Hawkins & Rawlinson 32 888.822.1173

Interstate Tire Service 44 864.947.9208

John Woodie Enterprises 22-29 704.878.2941

Kaufman Trailers NC 3 336.790.6807

Komatsu Forestry Division 19 888.285.7478

Mike Ledkins Insurance Agency 31 800.766.8349

LMI-Tennessee 17 800.467.0944

Loadrite Southern Star 20 256.270.8775

Logger Associations 35

Magnolia Trailers 37 800.738.2123

Maxi-Load Scale Systems 39 877.265.1486

Midsouth Forestry Equipment 33 870.226.0000

Moore Logging Supply 18 888.754.5613

Morbark 1,9 800.831.0042

Pinnacle Trailer Sales 14 910.629.2824

Pitts Trailers 48 800.321.8073

Ponsse North America 21 715.369.4833

Prolenc Manufacturing 34 877.563.8899

Quadco Equipment 8 800.668.3340

Quality Equipment & Parts 42 386.487.3896

Southern Loggers Cooperative 35 318.445.0750

Stribling Equipment 43 855.781.9408

Tidewater Equipment 41,43 912.638.7726

Tigercat Industries 7 519.753.2000

TraxPlus 31 601.635.5543

W & W Truck & Tractor 40 843.761.8220

Waters International Trucks 44 601.693.4807

Yancey Brothers 18 800.282.1562

COMING EVENTS

January 2023

10-11—Missouri Forest Products Assn. winter meeting, Courtyard Marriott, Jefferson City, Mo. Call 573-634-3252; visit moforest.org.

February 2023

22-26—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers annual meeting, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra, Fla. Call 336-885-8315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.

24-26—South Carolina Timber Producers Assn. annual meeting, DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, Myrtle Beach, SC. Call 800-371-2240; visit scloggers.com.

March 2023

8-10—2023 SLMA & SFPA Spring Meeting & Expo, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, Ga. Call 504443-4464; visit slma.org.

28-30— Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

30-April 1—Southeastern Wood Producers Assn. annual meeting, The Okefenokee Fairgrounds, Waycross, Ga. Call 904-845-7133; visit swpa.ag.

southernloggintimes.com

April 2023

26-28—Virginia Forestry Summit, Williamsburg Lodge, Williamsburg, Va. Call 804-278-8733; visit vaforestry.org.

August 2023

11-12—Southwest Forest Products Expo, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Call 501-2242232; visit arkloggers.com.

17-20—Virginia Loggers Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Call 804-677-4290; visit valoggers.org.

23-25—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Music City Center, Nashville, Tenn. Call 504443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.com.

September 2023

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

22-23—Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show, Starkville, Miss. Call 800-669-5613; visit midsouth forestry.org.

May 2024

12-13—Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit bioenergyshow.com.

17-18—Expo Richmond 2024, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.

August 2024

20-23—IWF 2024, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 404-693-8333; visit iwfatlanta.com.

Listings are submitted months in advance.