Thursday, June 21, 2012

Farm Bill

The Farm Bill has now passed the Senate and looks good for forestry.

Points attached:

What's the good news? The Senate's Farm Bill includes:
  • Consolidated, streamlined working lands programs that make sense for forest owners
  • Improved access to important conservation programs, like the Conservation Stewardship Program
  • Continued support for programs that combat invasive species
  • Continued support for cooperative forestry and extension programs
  • Strengthened direction for the forest inventory and analysis program, which researches market and forest health trends
  • A Fix to the Biobased Markets Program that allows the inclusion of forest products, strengthening markets for home-grown, American products
Information taken from American Forest Foundation Email.
American Tree Farm System® are programs of the American Forest Foundation.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Week of June 11th

Last week I had a Forestry Association Meeting that Felicia and I attended in Alex City, Alabama.  The main talk was about what came out of the State Legislature this year.  One thing that was mentioned positive was a uniform permitting system for logging operations.  This will keep some of these counties that have county commissioners that forget they work for the people from destroy jobs of the working people in their communities.
Then on Thursday I worked on roads on the property.  I shaped up water bars and turnouts to help keep erosion under control.
On Saturday morning I was asked to speak to a loggers school held here in the county.  They asked me to speak on what we are trying to do to get a pellet manufacturing facility here.  After that they asked me to share any information I had on the new permitting law with the group.  This group of people are about work and doing what is right in the forestry business.  I respect these people, of whom many I know, because they are what American should be all about.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Wildlife Are Not Hungry Here

Our corn looks good and the rain this weekend is like icing on the cake.  This is going to be the most we have made in several years. 
Most stalks have two ears on them and the rain is hitting it just right.
There were a group of young gobblers enjoying the brown-top millet above the cabin corn patch. 
The acorns on the saw-toothed oaks are growing fast.  Since everything is so much earlier this year, I wonder if they will mature and drop early. 
This is the best we can do in the sunflower and grain sorghum field.  Every sunflower plant looks like this. 
The corn down at the kudzu patch is being eaten by the deer before it can mature.  Some of these deer are going to have to be removed this year. 
More damage. 
They ate the tassel out of some of these plants and are eating the plants.  The damage they are doing here is really amazing. 
The turkeys are glad we sprayed this field.  They have several wallows or dusting spots here.  

Friday, June 8, 2012

Hunting License

This makes the sixth Lifetime Hunting Licenses we have purchased.  This is an investment in the future for the license holder and the Alabama Game and Fish Division in the state.  Let me recommend to you to look into making a purchase like this for the future.