Timber Harvesting magazine Executive Editor D.K. Knight discusses the latest attempt by the Dogwood Alliance (DA) to attack logging operations in the southeastern U.S. Knight writes, “According to the propaganda gushing from the Dogwood Alliance (DA) these days, the South’s forests are once again being systematically destroyed, this time to feed the upstart and expanding wood bioenergy industry. The idea of converting harvested trees and chips to pellets and shipping them to Europe, where utilities blend and burn them with coal to generate electricity, is destructive, dirty and shameful, the Asheville, NC-based organization declares.”

Judge Orders BLM To Sell More Timber; KapStone Purchases Longview Fibre; 2013 BC Forestry Deaths Approaching 2012 Number; ReEnergy’s Fort Drum Facility Starts Up; Green Circle To Build Second Pellet Plant; Georgia Power Adds Biomass Capacity; Enviva Begins Production At Northampton Plant; Former IP Employees Buy Franklin Sawmill; Weyerhaeuser Purchases Longview Timber; St. Joe Working With Enova, Green Circle; Canada’s Canfor Buying Scotch Gulf Lumber

Caterpillar Forest Products/SATCO; Hakmet Forestry/AFM; Iggesund Forest; Kesla; Quadco Equipment/KETO; Komatsu Forest; Log Max; Logset; Pierce Pacific; Ponsse; Risley Equipment; SP Maskiner; Southstar Equipment; Tigercat; Waratah * This article is an adaptation of the “Harvesting/Processing Head Guide” that appeared in the March/April issue of Canadian Forest Industries.

Timber Harvesting magazine Associate Editor David Abbott visits Leo Lambert Logging based in Georgetown, South Carolina. With any family business, it’s important to have a viable succession plan in place. For the sons of Leo Lambert, this proved especially critical. When lung cancer claimed Lambert’s life back in 1993, his three sons took over the business, but they weren’t prepared. “He took care of everything,” recalls Donnie, the oldest son. “All we did was work on the job. We didn’t know anything about the business end of it. I knew how to cut, skid and load trucks and that was all I knew about logging. I just had to learn through trial and error.” Now 52, Donnie and his brothers Rodney and Marty, as equal partners, run the company that retains their father’s name: Leo Lambert Logging (LLL). Based in Georgetown, SC, just down the highway from Mrytle Beach, the company today fields four crews and has 36 employees, moving up to 8,000 tons weekly.

Neil Ward, Vice President of Public Affairs for the Forest Resources Association, discusses several WSRI-funded projects and the need for additional participants to develop the best data. Logging contractors’ participation in research funded by the Wood Supply Research Institute (WSRI) continues to be a critical part of making these projects successful and useful for the logging community. Two projects now in progress show how. The University of Georgia recently started reporting a quarterly Logging Cost Index through Timber-Mart South. This index, based on data aggregated from actual operating cost information submitted by logging contractors from across the South, tracks cut-and-load costs over time, using such cost information from contractors, as well as publicly reported prices on items such as diesel fuel and wages. This quarterly Logging Cost Index can give anyone in the wood supply chain timely access to information that can be used when negotiating logging rates as market prices of inputs change.

In the never-ending quest to improve fuel efficiency and increase truck productivity, fleet owners are in some cases taking a fresh look at some old technologies. Take, for example, 6x2 drive axles, in which one of the two axles is a free-rolling “dead” axle. This spec has the potential to reduce weight by 400 pounds, resulting in that much more payload or fuel economy improvements to the tune of 2-4%. For a variety of reasons, 6x2 axle configurations never gained much traction in the North American truck market because of a number of factors, the most commonly cited being a lack of traction in slippery conditions and poor resale value. When fuel was cheap, a 2% fuel economy improvement was not worth reaching for. But across the pond in Europe, where diesel is much more costly, the 6x2 axle configuration is a mainstream specification, even for off-highway logging applications. *This article, written by James Menzies, appeared earlier in Canadian Forest Industries and is re-printed with permission.

Timber Harvesting magazine Associate Editor David Abbott recently traveled to Sweden to attend Elmia Wood 2013. Abbott writes, “Elmia Wood 2013, held June 5-8 in Jönköping, Sweden, enjoyed perfect weather and record crowds. Widely regarded as the largest and perhaps most important forestry show in the world, Elmia registered record attendance figures—more than 54,000 total, with 18,400 on Friday alone. A truly diverse international crowd, visitors came from all over Scandinavia, Russia and elsewhere in Europe, as well as North and South America, Australia, South Africa and China. Not counting exhibitors and press, the largest groups from outside Sweden included 5,400 from Germany, 2,200 each from Finland and Norway and 1,100 each from Holland and Denmark. Of the 533 exhibitors, more than 35% were from outside Sweden, with 26 countries represented. The event took place on a 185,579 sq.m. stand with 109,650 sq.m. of live demo areas.”

Timber Harvesting magazine’s July/August 2013 Questions & Answers column is titled “The U.S. Endowment’s Carlton Owen: Our Work Begins and Ends With Forests.” Carlton N. Owen is President and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Inc., a unique and relatively new entity based in Greenville, SC. Owen has guided the Endowment since it was founded and for more than 35 years been at the forefront of conservation innovation. For six years he led his consultancy, The Environmental Edge, LLC, in “bringing business and the environment together” to benefit both. He is a former Executive Director of the Sustainable Forestry Board, Inc. and a former Vice President–Forest Policy, for Champion International Corp. Among his achievements is “Acres for America,” a first-of-its-kind program to offset development acre-for-acre with conservation.

Timber Harvesting magazine’s July/August 2013 Building Blocks column features Brian Schmidt, who is affiliated with John Deere Power Systems, discussing tips for diesel fuel cleanliness and quality. Schmidt writes, “With fuel prices holding high, running a more fuel-efficient operation is now more important than ever. One of the best ways to keep your equipment running well is to pay attention to the fuel you put in them. Maintaining diesel fuel cleanliness and quality is a fundamental but critical way to en­sure your equipment maintains peak efficiency and productivity. Small particles of debris, excess water and the assorted byproducts formed as fuel ages can sabotage the efficient and productive operation of your machines. Quality and cleanliness must be addressed even before placing the nozzle in a machine’s tank.”

Timber Harvesting magazine’s July/August 2013 Risk Watch column features Cameron C. Taylor, President of the American Society For Asset Protection, as he asks the question: Do you have an effective estate plan? Taylor writes, “If you were to die this week, do you know what would happen to your assets? Creating an effective estate plan ensures you can answer yes to this question. Without an effective estate plan, up to 50% of your estate could be lost to probate costs, federal estate taxes and state inheritance taxes. Probate is the legal process by which a court distributes the assets of a deceased person according to their last will and/or state law. The court first determines the validity of the will and then resolves all claims from creditors and competing claims from heirs. If you have not named an executor to oversee the distribution of your assets, an executor will be appointed by the court.”

Kenworth Truck Company Marks 90-Year History; Forest Pro Becomes Tigercat Dealer; Caterpillar, SATCO Ink Distribution Pact; Forestry Machines Ltd. Opens Russian Warehouse; Pape Kenworth Expands In Oregon, Washington; Mid-Atlantic Exposition Continues To Shape Up

F-B Operator’s Idea Leads To Cancer Find-Raiser In Maine; As We See It: The Congressional Roller Coaster; Biography Published On Norval Morey; Russia Earmarks Funds For Forest Industry; SWPA Honors Loggers, Passes FC Resolution; Idaho Billboard Campaign Featured Loggers; Another Lending Source For Logging Contractors; Plum Creek Adds Timberland In South