Abstract
Logging businesses play an important role in implementing forest management plans and delivering the raw material needed by forest products mills. Understanding the characteristics of the logging workforce can help forest managers make better decisions related to harvesting operations. We surveyed logging business owners across Virginia’s three physiographic regions (Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain). Overall, logging businesses reported an average production rate of 761.37 t/business/week, but this varied substantially by region, with the highest production rates in the Coastal Plain (1403.55 t/business/week), followed by the Piedmont (824.69 t/business/week) and the Mountains (245.42 t/business/week). Many operations in the Mountains rely primarily on manual felling (66.6% of respondents) and these operations often have lower production rates. Across all regions, 81.7% of reported production came from operations that primarily utilized rubber-tired feller-bunchers for felling. Logging businesses were sorted based on reported production capacity and then divided into three groups (high, medium, and low production) based on total reported production. Across all regions, the majority of reported production was produced by the high production logging businesses. This was highest in the Piedmont, where the high production businesses accounted for 74.8% of total reported production.
Highlights
The forest industry is an important component of Virginia’s economy and contributes over$17 billion in total economic value annually [1]
Virginia’s logging businesses primarily consist of independent contractors who work with forest landowners and others in the wood supply chain to provide the raw material needed to supply mills
The characteristics of logging businesses are important for forest managers and those involved in the wood supply chain
Summary
The forest industry is an important component of Virginia’s economy and contributes over. Logging businesses that harvest these tracts serve as a link between forest landowners and the mills that utilize the products coming from their land. Additional logger surveys have been conducted related to specific topics such as harvesting on parcelized forestland in the Midwest [7] as well as in South Carolina [8]. The original survey established a baseline of Virginia logging business characteristics and highlighted some of the operational differences between physiographic regions in the state. This survey was performed approximately five years after the initial survey. Some additional questions were added but many relating to logging business characteristics remained the same, so comparisons can be made over time. While some comparisons can be made to the results of the previous survey, this manuscript focuses primarily on the current survey and much of the value of repeated surveys will come in the future as multiple surveys will enable analysis of long-term trends
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