White's Logging
By Melanie Torbett
A motto inscribed on the 2010 calendars Henry (Hank) White hands out to friends and business associates sums up the philosophy that guides his logging operation – “Small Enough to Care, Big Enough to Please.”
Based in the north Louisiana community of Choudrant, White’s Logging tries to live out that motto every day. White has a small crew – just five guys including himself — and they focus on quality and efficient production.(Four work the woods crew and one driver pulls saltwater.) That pays off for the client as well as the business, he believes, where reputation counts for a lot.
“We try to do a good job, and word gets around,” he says. “Probably 80 percent of our work comes from the recommendations of past clients.”
On this cold, early December day, White and his men are cutting a 20-acre tract in a residential neighborhood of West Monroe. In this thinning operation which is making space for new home construction, they will be hauling oak and pine logs as well as pine and hardwood pulpwood.
White’s Logging buys all private timber, working within the north Louisiana parishes of Ouachita, Lincoln, Union, Caldwell and Jackson. “About a 100-mile radius is as far as we go,” he says. “I’ve never worked outside this area.”
The company hauls its harvests to area buyers such as Graphic Packaging in West Monroe, Smurfit-Stone in Jonesboro and West Monroe (chips), Georgia Pacific in Crossett, Ark. and Barnes Hardwood in Simsboro. He says he and his crew stay busy year round.
For this, he is appreciative for the support these timber buyers give to area loggers. “They are the backbone of local loggers,” he says, offering thanks to the likes of Tony Diaz and Dean Smith of Graphic Packaging and Byron Judd of Smurfit-Stone.
“We’re all local and we try to take care of one another.”
He is equally appreciative of the dedication and dependability of his crew which includes (along with their employment tenures) Winford Roberson, 18 years; Randy Samuel, three months; Henry White, owner, 26 years; Reginald Harris, 18 years and Lester Jordan, two years .
“Good employees help you make it. They’ve been with me through thick and thin. They are with me every morning, till we get the job done…till we’ve done a good day’s work.”
Safety is paramount on the White Logging worksite, with regularly scheduled safety meetings for the crew. In 26 years of logging, the only accident White can remember was several years ago when one guy stuck a nail in his foot. White and his team also attend Logging Council classes and other training as necessary.
White, who has been logging for 26 years, was born and reared in Calhoun, La., but has lived in Choudrant for the last 17 years. He and his wife Justina, who handles the business’s bookkeeping and administrative work, have a family of four girls and one boy--Latasha, Quadetra, Martina, Jamilia, and Kendrick.
He comes from a family of loggers – his dad was in the shortwood business in the 1970s, and various other family members were also influential in leading him into the timber industry.
But White’s enjoyment of the day-to-day labor involved in logging and managing his own company trumps all other reasons for his staying in the business.
“This has got to be something you love,” he claims. “I’m dedicated to it, and I love to be outside.” Surveying the acreage he and his men are cutting this day, he declares, “This is my house.”
“I like to work with people, too,” he adds, and enjoys the independence that being his own boss allows. White does his own surveying and buying his timber; in addition, he performs most of the mechanical/maintenance work needed on his equipment at his home shop.
“I try to service my equipment when it needs it, and not wait till things break.” Most of his machines are purchased used, he says, which helps make his dollars stretch further.
His equipment includes:
- 2003 Prentice skidder
- Timberjack 450C
- 611 EX Cutter
- 511E Cutter
- 2001 280 Prentice Loader
- 20” Mobark Chipper
- 2006 John Deere 650 Dozier
- Three Tractor Trucks - Two Sterlings and a Freightliner.
He says he’s bought most of his equipment over the years from Scott Truck & Tractor in Monroe.
White says he has “seen hard times before” in the logging business, but today’s challenging environment in the industry seems to be “holding on longer.” In this business, “we depend on other people to buy the products – lumber to build houses, paper – for us to be able to sell the wood.” He also has a leased 2005 Freightliner to Fitzgerald Trucking that pulls a vacuum tank in the gas and pipeline industry.
For the industry’s future, White doesn’t expect a lot of change anytime soon. “I don’t see it getting much better or worse for the next four or five years.” But it is “going to be hard,” he said.
Now more than ever, White maintains a conservative approach in his business, watching the bottom line every day. “I try to maximize every penny. We have to stretch our money as far as it will go.”
To help boost profits and production on his jobsites, White recently added an in-woods chipper to his equipment inventory. “Chipping comes in and picks up the slack,” he says. “We’re learning to like that.” Many of his clients who want a clean site after harvesting like the innovation, too.
White says he has a goal of cutting an average of 17-22 loads per week, and that works well for his business’ size.
“That keeps us not too big and not too little. I can keep up with the fuel and maintenance, and know what to expect at this level. I hustle to comfortably reach my goal each week.”
Papermills certified as biomass conversion facilities
Several papermills in Louisiana along with rice and sugar cane facilities have been certified as biomass conversion facilities which will allow haulers to receive some federal payments under a new program.
The Farm Services Agency (FSA) will make cost share payments to qualified producers (loggers or landowners) who bring biomass to these certified facilities when it is used for bioenergy.
Already certified as receiving mills are Smurfit-Stone in Hodge, Temple in Bogalusa, IP in Campti and Mansfield and Georgia-Pacific in Port Hudson. Boise and Graphic Packaging are in the process of applying.
The program was authorized under the Farm Bill to encourage the collection, harvest, transportation and storage of material used for heat, power or biofuels.
Landowners and loggers interested in the program should consult their local Farm Services Agency or visit ww.fsa.usda.gov for more information.
Funding for the program is not available at this time but is expected as soon as rules are completed.
Once an agreement is signed between FSA and a facility and funding through the program is provided, the facilities can begin accepting materials.
Producers who sell these materials can apply for matching payments under the collection, harvest, storage and transportation (CHST) component of BCAP.
The matching CHST payments are paid at a rate of $1 for $1 per dry-ton equivalent received from a qualified biomass conversion facility, not to exceed $45 per dry-ton equivalent. A biomass owner is eligible to receive payments for two years. The purpose of the matching payments is to assist biomass producers with the cost of delivering biomass to a qualified biomass conversion facility.
For example, if a qualified biomass conversion facility pays a producer $30 per dry ton for biomass, the material owner or producer would be eligible for a matching payment of $30 per dry ton from FSA. This payment will help offset the costs of collection, harvesting, storage, and transportation.(CHST)
Eligible material owners or producers, who market eligible material to a qualified biomass conversion facility, may apply for the matching CHST payment at their FSA county office.
An application must be submitted before the eligible material is sold and delivered to a qualified biomass conversion facility. After the product is delivered, a producer must provide FSA with documentation of product quantity, quality and payment rate. Parish offices will validate payment requests with information provided under the terms of MOUs .
To qualify for the program, the materials must be under an accepted plan. The state forester has said that for a logger he must be Master Logger trained.
“We are monitoring this program to see when funds will become available and will communicate that word to our loggers and mills,” said C.A. “Buck” Vandersteen. The money has been authorized but not appropriated by Congress for the program that will expire in two years.
Tony Lavespere Column
One of the fears of accepting the position as president of the Louisiana Logging Council is the fear of staying in the loop enough to know what pressures are being put on the loggers of today.
- With the closure of the Pineville Kraft Mill in Pineville, what happens to the logging force?
- Is there room for all of the loggers at the mills we have left?
- Is it going to be a banking ground on wheels and at what price?
- Is it going to be a take it or leave it attitude?
The number of loggers has never dictated the building of a receiving mill, but when one of the big corporate mills closes, it controls the number of loggers that can stay in business.
Maybe the above statement answers the first question with the closure of Pineville mill.
At this time, the rains have been somewhat of a blessing and answers the question, is there room at the mills? Yes, some are open seven days for delivery, if you can get the material out of the woods.
The last two questions from above have been with loggers for many years. Some loggers are really afraid to answer them.
On a brighter note, this is the time of year when we give thanks for the many blessings of the past year. Also let's never forget for one second what Christmas is about, the birth of Christ, the Savior of this world.
So keep your eye on the Grand Prize and all else is really meaningless.
Have a great New Year,
Tony Lavespere
LLC President
(Tony Lavespere is the president for the Louisiana Logging Council. He is a retired logging contractor in Grant Parish.)