Unconventional Wisdom
The professional conventioneers and forestry “experts” are busy preparing for the annual Smallwood 2008 convention to be held in Madison this May. At Timbergreen Farm - we are busy at work making small-diameter logs into high-value manufactured products and selling them direct to our customers. We don’t waste time sitting around talking about it - we have been doing it as a successful business for many years.
Small-diameter timber is a hot-ticket item in forestry these days, for fuel reduction and restoration forestry.
Using low-value small-diameter logs for high-value products isn’t new - we gleaned the keys to success from operating wood businesses over a decade ago. A pallet mill owner in Minnesota, and another in Wisconsin had realized that they were putting some very high-quality wood into the pallet piece pile, and earning just a fraction of the wood’s real value. As usual, we took the best ideas from these businesses and applied them for our benefit. We took the process to a much higher level by direct-marketing of finished products - earning full retail prices for the wood from our small logs.
The government “experts” and professional conventioneers know we are here, but they keep their heads in the sand, to perpetuate their comfy business of cushy conventions and office based market research. They can’t afford to find a successful solution to the question of how to deal with small-diameter trees - they need mystery to sustain their jobs. We offered to share our methods and experience at the Smallwood 2008 convention, but the organizers rejected our proposal.
Instead we are offering information on the business of using locally grown and manufactured forest products for those that do want to learn that there is an alternative to the traditional timber markets.
Using Local Wood Demonstration Days at Timbergreen Farm - Spring Green, WI.
Full Vigor Forestry, Arthroscopic Logging, Sawmilling Logs into Boards, Solar Powered Lumber Dry Kilns, Manufacturing High-Value Wood Products on the Farm, Installing Flooring, and Direct-Marketing to Customers are among the topics to be covered April 26th-27th. www.TimbergreenFarm.com has info.
Logosol, Inc. a Swedish woodworking machinery company will be the featured demonstrator, showing their line of chain sawmills and workshop tools. Modern affordable tools are important to local manufacturing of wood products. The Logosol 4-head Molder is the machine that Timbergreen uses to make tongue and groove flooring from their annual timber harvest of one tree per acre.
Solar Heated Lumber Kilns use free energy and produce superior quality boards due to the natural daily heating-equalizing cycle. Timbergreen’s Solar Cycle Kiln design is reported to be the world’s most energy efficient lumber drying system and is in use around the world today.
Schreffler Flooring of Waunakee will demonstrate installation and finishing hardwood flooring.
The GreenSquared Building Association will show “state of the art” energy conservation and natural building materials for modern construction.
As the big traditional timber industry continues to crumble due to foreign imports of cheap manufactured wood products, small community-based businesses can promote the use of locally grown and manufactured forest products.
Natural, Solid, Local - Wood is the perfect FUEL for small business.
Doing It Here - Everyday!
Birky