SPRING 2023 27 I f you look for a definition of sustainability, you will find that most reference three pillars that relate to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. All three of those elements are essential. A lot of the work that we have done in the past has focused on the environmental sustainability of harvesting operations. And this is for good reason, as harvesting operations can have negative impacts if not implemented correctly. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of effort and investment throughout the industry related to environmental protection, and that is absolutely necessary. However, for the whole system to be sustainable, it is necessary to have economic sustainability as well. Logging businesses are a crucial link in the forest supply chain where they are involved with buying and harvesting wood that is sold by landowners and then selling and delivering wood to mills that produce primary forest products. In order for Virginia’s forest supply chain to be sustainable, all segments, including logging businesses, must be economically sustainable. Logging can be a challenging business and is often caught in the middle with fluctuating markets for standing timber that they buy and for prices of their delivered products. Additionally, as with almost every other business, they have had to deal with inflation related to fuel and equipment costs along with trucking challenges and shortages of qualified labor. As a result, some have wondered about the current state of the logging industry and how economically sustainable it is. I currently have a graduate student who is working on a project that will try to answer questions related to the economic sustainability of Virginia’s logging industry. To do this we will survey logging business owners in Virginia to find out more on their outlook related to the sustainability of their logging operations. Nobody knows the job better than these business owners, and this will give them a chance to share their thoughts and opinions on a variety of aspects of economic sustainability of their operations as well as the most significant challenges that they face. Because loggers are in the middle of a supply chain that includes landowners and mills, we will also reach out to these other segments of the supply chain. We will connect with consulting foresters who sell timber for landowners in Virginia, and we will reach out to mills that buy wood from loggers to hear their perspectives on the economic sustainability of logging businesses in Virginia. The surveys are already in the mail, and we hope to have preliminary results to share later this year. I am hopeful that this survey will give us a good assessment of the current state of economic sustainability of the industry, as well as insight into the biggest challenges faced by logging businesses. Hopefully we can also identify some areas where improvements can be made. As we get results, I will share them widely, as possible. If you get one of the surveys in the mail, I hope that you will consider filling it out and sending it back so that your voice can be heard. Sustainability of Logging Businesses THE LOGROLL Notes & News for Loggers By Scott Barrett, Ph.D. Extension Specialist – Forest Operations Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
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