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NB's Minister of Natural Resources puts stop order on harvesting pulp off Crown

Started by SwampDonkey, June 13, 2012, 05:27:14 AM

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SwampDonkey

"Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup says he has put a stop to that by issuing a halt order for cutting pulpwood and whole tree chipping on Crown land.

Northrup told the annual meeting of the woodlot owners federation that he was acting to resolve a "major crisis" in the abundance of softwood pulp on the market.

He said softwood pulpwood from Crown land must remain on the harvest site or roadside.

The Minister said he is setting up a Forest Sector Competitiveness Committee involving government, industry and woodlot owners to look at long term solutions. "


CBC News
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

snowstorm


Jamie_C

Seems his order is as clear as mud. The whole tree chipping being stopped is pretty easy but is he really going to make the companies that are harvesting sawlogs/studwood from crown land leave the pulpwood they generate as a by product at roadside ? If this is his plan then i can see some very ticked off contractors as it is a pretty safe bet that whichever mill they are harvesting for won't be paying them for the pulpwood until it crosses a set of scales somewhere.

I can see this backfiring bigtime, the mills will be crying they can't get enough private wood and that the government is forcing them to let crown wood go to waste. I suspect you will see crown land stumpage fees decrease before the fall ...

SwampDonkey

More has come to light since yesterday. What was not stated was that the Forest Products Assn of NB suggested that a reduction in pulp volume was needed to stabilize the market. They pretty much needed an order from the Minister to leave it roadside or on the harvest site or it would be considered a violation of the Crown Lands and Forest Act to do otherwise. I don't think the woodlot owner organizations got the full view until this morning. However, what everyone did understanding was that a committee has been struck with the Forest Products Commission in mind to come up with some fare pricing on purchase wood whether is be off Crown or Private. Now, to me and probably a whole host of others, we've already hit the dead horse a 100 times with this. So, basically what it boils down to is industry can waste wood so some saw mill can sell it's bi-products (saw dust and planer chips) to the existing pulp markets. According to the Forest Products Association they have a glut of 160,000 m3 of pulp piled down in the pulp mill yards. Closures and shutdowns of mills that buy pulp in Maine and NS has reduced forecast markets as the status quo harvesting continued. Last month the NB mills that buy pulp told woodlot groups that they were not buying any private pulp wood. I know of one sawmill that shutdown a month ago in Devon because it could not move chips for the added revenues it needs to operate. Woodlot owners cannot afford to high grade the woods for logs and leave the pulp to waste and rot.

So to answer Snowstorms question on wood moved to Maine, I would say a piece of that 160,000m3. What portion, who knows. I know at my crossing just down the road, wood always moved steady over the line from 6:00 am until they shut the trucks off, every day. The Association said that if harvesting continued then it would soon be 1M m3 surplus.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Jamie_C

It doesn't look good for any pulp markets here to open back up to importing wood anytime soon. If the former Stora mill opens up they have said they will use 100% NS sourced wood as bringing it in from outside NS is too expensive. The pulp mill in Abercrombie is facing a possible strike by it's employees due to the concessions being asked for by the new mill owners. If that does happen then the sawmills here will soon have massive piles of chips being stockpiled as well.

The industry here in the maritimes is still in a downward spiral and things are going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I expect in NB that Irving will use this oppurtunity to further their chokehold on the industry and so will whoever it is who owns the former fraser papers operations. Here in NS i expect that the Bowater mills will also benefit from this by the sudden glut of chips and pulpwood.

A lot of private woodlots run in the range of 30% or more pulpwood ... this could get very ugly.

SwampDonkey

At the beginning (1983) of the Crown Lands and Forests Act, no primary forest product off crown could be exported, it had to be value added. I'm all for keeping primary forest products home, but the trouble is the value added boils down to lumber, pulp and chips of any significant volumes then there might be a trickling of posts, poles, cants and pellets. The real problem is allowing harvesting to exceed capacity within our own borders. You would think this would have been worked out when mills were closing since 2001. We don't have the political people with the know how or gumption to steer us down the right path. What we have is puppets influenced greatly by industry.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Jamie_C

Quote from: SwampDonkey on June 13, 2012, 04:34:26 PM
At the beginning (1983) of the Crown Lands and Forests Act, no primary forest product off crown could be exported, it had to be value added. I'm all for keeping primary forest products home, but the trouble is the value added boils down to lumber, pulp and chips of any significant volumes then there might be a trickling of posts, poles, cants and pellets. The real problem is allowing harvesting to exceed capacity within our own borders. You would think this would have been worked out when mills were closing since 2001. We don't have the political people with the know how or gumption to steer us down the right path. What we have is puppets influenced greatly by industry.

How very true

SwampDonkey

Irving ignores Minister's halt order on transporting pulpwood off site.

CBC News
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Woodhauler

Quote from: SwampDonkey on June 26, 2012, 05:16:17 AM
Irving ignores Minister's halt order on transporting pulpwood off site.

CBC News
You should know that King Irving can and will do as he pleases!!!!!!!!!!
2013 westernstar tri-axle with 2015 rotobec elite 80 loader!Sold 2000 westernstar tractor with stairs air ride trailer and a 1985 huskybrute 175 T/L loader!

grassfed

Since I harvest with a chainsaw on my own land I have been leaving all softwood pulp in the woods for a while. It is not worth my labor to cut and stack so I top at 6-7 inches and leave the tops were they fall or put them in the skid trail. The way I see it the more biomass I leave in my woods the better. 
Mike

SwampDonkey

That depends on how much your loading the forest floor. Could mean a nice big forest fire if it ever gets dry. But it's the fines that usually spark the fire and the stem wood feeds it real good. Looking out the window now it's not looking too dry. Been raining over 1/10" an hour here since 4:00 am. ;D

Everyone is in a different situation to I suppose. For me, leaving the pulp is high grading the woodlot. If I have to waste wood like that it's best to let the whole tree stand.

Our government is pretty useless when it comes to policy and enforcement on any issue unless your a little guy they love to make examples of.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

snowstorm


SwampDonkey

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

snowstorm

i have heard that crown stumpage is cheaper. i dont know what the stumpage going rate is on your side of the boarder cut

SwampDonkey

With woodlots is varies because it's a negotiated price, with mills there's no negotiating. A survey is conducted on private stumpage and price based on the lowest rate. This could be several months or years between surveys. This 50 acres of crown wood pays the same per m3 by product type as the next. Here along the border with Maine, our prices are historically much higher than  say down by Moncton and Sussex. Simply because we have more markets and in the south they have Irving and it's their way or nothing. Irving is the largest user of wood, buys the least from private and pays the least.

My position as far as selling wood to these outfits is if the price doesn't suit me than they don't need wood bad enough.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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