Newspaper Page Text
Timber Is Big Business In State
By
C. Nelson Bright well
Head, Extension
Forestry Department
University of Georgia
Forests have played an
important role in the
development of our nation.
Many of the basic necessities
of the early pioneers were
provided by our forests and
even today our present high
standard of living could not
be maintained without this
renewable natural resource.
It would be difficult, if not
impossible, to enumerate the
many ways in which wood is
used. Providing the average
American with the wood
products he is accustomed to
using, requires cutting about
65 cubic feet of timber for the
nation’s forests each year.
Fortunately, we have been
able to supply our needs in
the past, But, what about the
future’’ New uses for wood,
and most importer., our
expanding DopoLiuon, raise
questions as to whether or
not our forest resources can
adequately supply our future
requirements for wood.
Our forest resources, their
use and importance, now and
in the future, are discussed
in the following sections.
Present Use of Wood
About half of the timber
cut each year from our
nation's forests is
manufactured into lumber.
Three-fourths of this lumber
is used for construction,
mainly in residential
housing About 11 thousand
board feet of lumber is used
in the average home in the
United States The second
largest use for lumber is
furniture manufacturing.
The per capita use of lumber
for all purposes is about 200
board feet each year.
Ihilpwood is the second
largest use for timber in the
United States. About 28
percent of our timber goes
into pulpwood, from which
we manufacture thousands
Smokey Says:
Forest Fire Prevention depends
on little thinqs!!
County Agents Office
Offers Many Services
By
Emmet V. Whelchel, Jr.
Houston County Agent
Have you ever wondered
just what we do in the County
Agent’s office? 1 know some
of you have because you
have asked me.
It seems fitting, in this
salute to the farmer edition
of the Home Journal, that
you know some of the ser
vices your extension office
can provide.
The Houston County
Commissioners, University
of Georgia, and the United
States Department of
Agriculture combine forces
to bring to everyone in
Houston County information
on Agriculture, Home
Economics and related
subjects.
The Houston County
Extension Office has a staff
of five professional Ex>
tension workers Two men
agents and three women
agents. We men agents are
responsible for getting to you
the latest information on aU
phases of agriculture and
related subjects. We are also
responsible for the boys
phase of 4-H Club work.
Jimmy Wuatley, your
Assistant County Agent, has
of paper and paperboard
products. Over three-fourths
of all paper is made from
wood, and paper and
paperboard products in the
United States are used at the
rate of about 575 pounds per
person annually. Fifty years
ago the average American
used 93 pounds each year.
Currently the average
European uses 84 pounds
each year, the average Latin
American uses 18 pounds,
and in Asia, the per capita
use is 13 pounds.
Veneer and plywood logs
account for about 8 percent
of our total timber use. The
largest use for plywood is in
the construction field. More
than 3,000 square feet of
plywood is used in the
construction of one-and two
family housing units. Fur
niture and paneling are other
uses for veneer and plywood
The use of wood for fuel
has declined over the last
half century. Even so, about
8 percent of our total timber
is still used for this purpose.
The popularity of wood fires
in the fireplace and the use of
charcoal for backyard
cooking has increased
enough lately to hold con
sumption about even.
The remaining 6 percent of
the timber cut in the United
States goes into such
products as crossties, poles,
piling, fence posts, and other
miscellaneous products.
About 17 million crossties
are used annually by our
nation's railroads. Six
million telephone and power
poles are used each year,
and one million pieces of
piling are used annually. An
estimated 300 million fence
posts are installed each
year.
Ownership of Georgia
Forests
Georgia leads all states in
the amount of forest land in
private ownership. Ac
cording to the 1961 survey,
nearly 200,000 people owned
78 percent of the commercial
forest land in the stale. Over
170,000 of these were far
mers, with an average of
about 100 acres of woodland
each. The rest were
miscellaneous private
owners.
Forest industries, mostly
pulp and paper companies,
owned four million acres or
15 percent of the forest area.
The remaining seven per
cent was owned by govern
ment agencies and classed
as "public land." Public land
includes national forests and
national parks, military
reservations and state
owned lands
the major responsibility for
boys 4-H Club work.
The women agents work
primarily with homemakers.
Their major responsibility is
to help homemakers utilize
the latest information on
homemaking. Miss Dee
Weems, County Extension
Home Economist, has the
primary responsibility for
girls 4-H Club work, plus the
entire Home Economics
Program.
In the past the services of
the County Agent were
almost used exclusively by
farmers. This is no longer
ture In Houston County
home owners use almost half
your county agent's time.
The change occityred
because people moved from
farms to cities and towns and
needed assistance with new
problems.
We in the Houston County
Extension office are
available to help farmers
with any phase of
agriculture. At the same
time our services are
available to any home owner
with problems that you
might have with lawns,
ornamental shurbs, gardens
or trees
Our Future Needs
Demand projections have
estimated for wood use in the
year 2000, not too far off
when we consider the long
term nature of timber crops.
These estimates are based
on population projections of
305 million people by the
year 2000.
Projections for individual
products show wide
variations in prospective
consumption rates. Pulp
wood, plywood, and veneer
requirements are estimated
to rise about two and one
half times the present level.
Lumber demands should be
up by about 40 percent.
Fuelwood should decline by
50 percent.
To meet these demands,
the nation must rely heavily
upon Georgia and the other
southern states. The South
has produced more timber
products than any other
section of the country in the
past century. It is currently
the nation’s chief supplier of
pulpwood, poles and piling.
The southern states have 39
percent of the nation’s
commercial forest land and
nearly half of the timber
growth.
Over the past decade,
Georgia’s forests have
supplied the timber needs of
almost 15 million people,
over three times the state’s
own population. In the
future, we will have to
supply even more.
Forest Types in Georgia
There are five major
forest types in the state.
Within each of these major
types is a wide vaiety of
minor types. The major
types, their location and
approximate acreage are:
l,ongleaf - Slash - Found
primarily in the middle and
lower coastal plains of
Georgia. Type occupies
approximately 6.0 million
acres of land.
Ixiblolly-Shortleaf -This
type occupies most of the
upper coastal plain and
Piedmont area, and com
prises about 7.1 million acres
of land.
Oak-Fine - Found
primarily in North Georgia
excluding the higher
mountain areas. About 3.6
million acres.
Oak - Hickory - About 4.0
million acres found in the
mountain areas of the state.
Ouk-Gum-t'ypress - A
bottomland forest type found
primarily along the larger
rivers in South Georgia and
in similar areas, such as the
Okefenokee Swamp. This
type occupies about 5.0
million acres.
Timber in Georgia's
Forests
Along with the increase in
forest area since 1936, there
was also an increase in
stocking, or the amount of
wood per acre. Over the
quarter century, the per acre
increase in wood amounted
to over 25 percent. Timber
volumes also increased
during this period. Softwood
growing stock increased 19
percent and hardwood
growing stock 26 percent.
The average size of both
softwood and hardwood
timber decreased, resulting
in a reduced volume of high
quality timber available for
lumber and veneer.
However. young and
vigorous stands building up
in response to improved
management practices and
fire protection were
potentially of high quality.
Even though the state as a
whole is currently growing
more timber than is being
harvested, there is a need for
more timber in the larger
sizes and better quality in all
sizes. The excess of growth
over drain is not consistent
in all counties. In almost one
third of Georgia's counties
the drain exceeded the
growth in 1961. In many
other counties drain and
growth were about equal.
Forests in Georgia's
Economy
Georgia's timberland
owners now have more than
$2.1 billion worth of timber
growing on our commercial
forest land. This timber
contributes to the economy
of each of us, the city dweller
as well as the rural timber
owner, for trees provide
jobs for over 61,000
Georgians, These people are
engaged in timber har
vesting and in the
manufacture of hundreds of
products from the forests.
For each dollar’s worth of
standing timber cut, an
estimated $15.00 is added to
the economy through har
vesting, manufacturing and
marketing, Over half of
the timber harvested in the
state in 1970 was processed
in nine Georgia counties.
Some of our larger cities -
Savannah, Macon, Augusta,
Rome, Valdosta and
Brunswick- are located in
these counties. Although
over half of our limber is
processed in these urban
counties, only about seven
percent of the commercial
forest area is found in these
counties. In other words,
timber grown in rural
counties is providing jobs for
people in urban counties.
Approximately two of
every five manufacturing
establishments in Georgia
are forest-based industries.
One in every eight industrial
wage earners in Georgia
works in a mill that is
dependent on the forest for
its raw material. These mills
have an annual payroll in
excess of $338 million.
Georgia leads the nation in
pulpwood production -almost
7.3 million cords in 1970.
About 14 percent of this
pulpwood is in the form of
chips, mainly from sawmill
residues. Os the total con
tribution to the economy
from forest-based industries,
pulp and paper manufac
turing contributes almost
two-thirds. Georgia’s 15
pulpmills consume about 57
percent of the total round
wood output in the state.
The second largest con
sumer of wood in Georgia is
the sawmill industry, with
about 300 sawmills. These
mills use about 33 percent of
the total roundwood output.
Georgia is one of the top
ranking states in the nation
in lumber production, with
over one billion board feet
per year.
The southern pine plywood
industry is an important new
industry to Georgia. These
plants are permanent and
will consume a large amount
of southern pine from our
forests.
Gum naval stores is
another important forest
based industry. About 45
counties in the longleaf-slash
pine belt of South Georgia
produce 83 percent of the
nation's total supply of gum
turpentine and rosin.
These and many other
types of wood-using in
dustries are important
contributors to the economy
of the state and nation.
In addition there are other
benefits derived from our
forests. Although these
benefits are real, it is dif
ficult to put dollar values on
such things as watershed
protection, homes for
wildlife, and recreational
aspects, such as hunting,
fishing, camping and pic
nicing.
The Job Ahead
The accomplishments of
the past and present have
been adequate. However, if
our future needs are to be
met, we still have a job to do.
This job can best be done
by educating our people to
the values obtained from our
forests and to our future
needs for wood and wood
products.
One area where additional
emphasis should be placed is
in reforestation. Georgia
landowners lead the nation
in tree planting, with well
over three million acres
planted over the past 35
years. In spite of this record,
we still have 2.3 million
acres of idle land that could
be planted without site
preparation and another four
million acres that could be
planted following site
preparation.
“The Forgotten Crop”
| A Lot Os Attention These Days Is Being Given To
| The" New Crops” And Rightly So, But Not Much Is Being
I Said About One Os Houston County's Leading Crops - TIMBER!
I At A Time When Ecology Was An Unknown Word, Southern
| Timber Harvesters Were Already Practicing Sound Land And
a Isl—p
i jF * BiHKw
Thank You, Middle Ga. Timber Owner
At Tolleson Lumber We
Have Been Serving The Middle Ga. Area
Timber Growers For A Long Time. Our
Hardwood Band Mill Is Capable Os Turning
Out 50,000 Board Feet Per Eight-Hour Shift.
Pressure - Treated Lumber
I STOPS WOT AMD TERMITES |
I CLEAN • ODORLESS • PAINTABLE • GLUEABLE • NON-CORROSIVE I
TOLLESON LUMBER
COMPANY, INC. |
| 903 Jernigan 987-2105 Perry, Ga. I
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, 31069, THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1972
Timber stand im
provement is needed on six
million acres. Thinning,
poisoning, girdling, and
other practices will help to
make these areas more
productive.
Our fire control record is
excellent. Yet, we still have
from 5,000 to 10,000 forest
fires each year. Since nine
out of ten of these are man
caused, our task lies in
education.
The management of
hardwood stands, the need
for larger trees, better
harvesting techniques and
other practices need im
proving.
The job ahead is one that
should be of concern to every
Georgian and to every
citizen of this great ?ountry.