Various landownership categories contribute to the state’s timber supply. Where a logging business is located has a big impact on which lands they harvest from. However, other factors also figure into the decision, including the different expectations that landowners have for loggers (e.g., certified land can have more requirements, but fill an important market niche). […]

The harvesting of timber and the scheduling of logging operations are determined by surrounding environmental conditions. In Wisconsin, extreme cold events during winter can impact equipment or make it impossible to operate. Regulatory practices can also impact the scheduling of logging operations. Logging equipment can adversely impact soil conditions and adherence to Best Management Practices […]

One of the most common workforce issues in forestry is the aging workforce. The logging workforce story in Wisconsin has two novel and important components, the age of owners and employees and the use of subcontractors. A previous post discussed the demographics of the owners. The median age in 2016 was 56 years for logging […]

Transportation and how it is accomplished are important concerns for logging businesses. It is expensive to move logging equipment to the job site and to transport logs and other products to mills. Except for the smallest logging businesses, timber sale sites are typically located 31-60 miles away from the primary business location in Wisconsin. Interestingly, […]

As most people familiar with the logging sector know, capital investment is an essential component. Capital is needed for equipment and, for most businesses, the purchase of stumpage (i.e., the rights to cut standing trees). In the most recent questionnaire, we altered how we asked questions about capital investment, thus comparisons to prior studies isn’t […]

Wisconsin loggers are the backbone of the wood products industry, a primary contributor to the Wisconsin economy and the sustainable management of forests in the state.  In the prior two surveys, we asked respondents to provide the business owner’s age, assuming that there was only one owner. Recognizing that this might misrepresent business structure, in […]

Across all three surveys, loggers were asked to qualitatively assess their business’ profitability. Possible responses ranged from “very poor” to “excellent” with a mid-point indicating “average/broke even” (“good” and “excellent” are combined for analysis). In all three periods, approximately 10% of businesses reported “very poor” profits, while roughly one-third reported average (i.e., break-even) profitability. The […]

Between 2003 and 2016, there have been modest shifts in the ways Wisconsin logging businesses harvest and process trees. In Wisconsin, we find that logging businesses use one of three harvest systems. Chainsaw-based systems rely on hand felling and processing and typically use cable skidders to drag or forwarders to carry processed trees to the […]

Over the next 16 weeks we will share the findings from a survey of the Wisconsin logging sector conducted in 2017. Our data provide summary statistics on the 2016 production year. Each week will feature a different aspect of the survey findings. Where applicable, we will provide comparisons with previous surveys covering the 2003 and […]

The article below was recently published in the on-line journal, Journal of Extension. If you’d like to learn more, please let me know. Using Social Marketing to Engage Extension Audiences: Lessons from an Effort Targeting Woodland Owners https://www.joe.org/joe/2017june/a2.php Abstract Social marketing involves applying traditional commercial marketing techniques to public good outcomes. We share findings from […]