LSU AgCenter forestry specialist Michael Blazier and AgCenter extension associate Luke Stamper discuss timber marketing issues with Cecil Brooking, who attended the 2015 Ag Expo Forestry Forum in West Monroe on Jan. 16 to learn about marketing his second thinning.(Photo by Johnny Morgan) News Release Distributed 01/22/15
WEST MONROE, La. – With the emerald ash borer yet to be detected in the state, experts speaking at the 2015 Ag Expo Forestry Forum at the West Monroe Convention Center on Jan. 16 said it’s time to prepare.
The emerald ash borer is an invasive species that gets its name from its metallic emerald green color and is believed to have entered this country from Asia about 10 years ago through shipping containers.
“We’re telling people to watch what’s happening on their land and to be mindful of learning the latest issues, like what’s going on with the emerald ash borer,” said LSU AgCenter forestry specialist Michael Blazier.
The emerald ash borer is found throughout the Midwest and is now in 21 states as far south as Arkansas and Georgia, said LSU AgCenter entomologist Tim Schowalter.
“At this point, there is no effective chemical control of the insect,” Schowalter said. “So the only way we have of slowing its movement is by asking those who have moved firewood in the past to stop the practice.”
Wood Johnson, biological science technician with the USDA Forest Service, said the beetle on its own will only move 15 to 20 miles per year.
“But it can move much further by log trucks and campers moving firewood,” Johnson said. “For all we know, it could show up in New Orleans tomorrow.”
The problem is it will take some time before anyone knows its location until damage becomes visible, he said.
Rick Williams, the state forester for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Alexandria, discussed adjustments in hardwood management in response to this pest.
“The adjustment we’re talking about is reducing the green ash tree,” Williams said. “Not eliminating, but reducing their numbers to decrease the loss in case the ash borer does show up.”
Ash trees are valuable for wildlife habitat, as well as for shading the lower limbs on oak trees, which helps them to produce better quality logs. “The ash itself is good for pulpwood, and if it grows big enough, it can be sawed into lumber,” Williams said.
Things seem to be looking up for the forestry industry and over 1 million new homes built in one year was an important threshold. “Some of the economic minds that I’ve visited with believe we may be up to 1.5 million new homes per year in the next five years or so,” Blazier said.
That number is still tied to the job market, he said, and if students are graduating and not finding good jobs or graduating with high student loan debt, this can affect the housing sector.
“We built 20 years’ worth of homes in 10 years,” Blazier said. “The further we get from the collapse of 2008, the more the surplus homes are being bought up.”
Blazier also discussed the benefits of using container seedlings to establish trees on rocky and well-drained land. He said this allows for more uniform stands.
“Another thing we want growers to remember is that there are different types of herbicides, and they affect trees differently,” Blazier said. “It’s vital to know which herbicide you are using and how it will affect your timber.”
Other speakers on the program included McDavid Hughes, a forestry and logging consultant, who discussed modeling growth of mixed pine-hardwood forests using five-year projections, and Terry Clason, retired forest researcher with the AgCenter, who discussed forest land use business planning.
Clason explained how landowners could do much better with their forestry operations if they would come together and work as a community to demand the best price.
“What you want to do is have enough mass to attract vendors on a regular basis so you can get a little better price,” Clason said. “You can cut cost considerably when you offer larger tracts, like 1,000 acres as a community, versus 50 acres as individuals.”
Johnny Morgan