Hunt Forest Products in Ruston and Tolko Industries Ltd. today announced they will build a new state-of-the-art sawmill in Bienville Parish near Taylor. Construction on the $240 million facility is expected to start in early 2022 and begin operations in the first half of 2023, according to the companies. The new sawmill will employ about 60 people when operations begin and 130 when it gets up to full capacity of 320 million board feet of lumber annually. “We are excited to be

UPDATE: The Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers (PATHH) webinar that was scheduled for Wednesday, July 21 has been postponed due to technical difficulties. The webinar will now be scheduled for 11 a.m. (local time) Thursday, July 22. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will email the people who pre-registered for Wednesday's webinar instructions on how to access the webinar on Thursday. FSA also plans to update the PATHH website with access information for the res

Indian Creek Recreation Area has opened up 34 new camping sites and a new fishing pier, according to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry. LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain announced the opening in a press release July 16. “Indian Creek has become extremely popular with campers and/or visitors who just come to enjoy the day and want to spend time with nature. We’re always looking for ways to improve the area and keep our visitors coming back,” Strain said in the rel

The Box Tree Moth (BTM), an invasive species native to the sub-tropical regions of Asia, has been confirmed present in the United States, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain announced in a press release. At least one plant that BTM feeds primarily on boxwoods (Buxux app.), burning bush (Euonymus alatus) and purple holly (Ilex chinesis), according to the press release. Its larvae can defoliate adult boxwoods and feed on its bark once leaves are gone,

Many memorable things happened in 2020: Australian bushfires, COVID-19 pandemic, teleworking, wearing masks, the race to create a vaccine, a presidential election, and … murder hornets. Already fearful of catching an unseen virus, people began to fear for their lives from possibly being stung by a 2-inch hornet! Every large insect with wings was fearfully looked upon and the question was asked, “Is this a murder hornet?” “Murder hornets” are also known as Asian giant hornets

Southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber prices are at record highs — by huge margins. Forest2Market’s composite SYP lumber price for the week ending Jan. 15 was $976/MBF, which represents an almost 180 percent increase over the same week in 2020. While this trend is benefiting southern sawmills, many timberland owners in the U.S. South are asking the obvious question: Why are log prices in local markets not reflecting those of a record lumber market? The answer to this question is