Page 9 - Georgia Forestry - Winter 2019

taking advantage of the state’s deep vein of wood, which is harvested and followed by the replanting of trees with even better genetics. Grading got under- way for the mill in Albany-Dougherty County in late summer. It will be the 19th GP wood facility in the state when it is online.
“That mill is good for my business, it is good for landowners, but it is really, really good for Albany and Dougherty County,” said forester Chad Hancock, who works for F&W Forestry, a 56-year old company. “This is a new industry coming into our area and it’s a big thing for our community.”
It seems odd to consider a mill “new industry” in an area of the state where there is so much timber to harvest. But local loggers have to haul trees to mills in Thomasville and Moultrie, 62 miles and
57 miles away, respectively. The timber in Dougherty County — most of it prob- ably — can stay local to Albany with a new mill. That means loggers, with less distance to drive, can make more money off the stump and the odometer becomes less intrusive. F&W’s Hancock said the optimal distance to haul wood is no more than 50 miles.
Homeowners, naturally, are delighted their wood can stay close to home. There is more money off the stump because they are not paying for gas and time to Moultrie, or Thomasville, or Preston, which is toward Columbus. Hancock said some Albany-Dougherty wood may still go to the Canfor mills in Thomasville and Moultrie as competition for the raw material heats up.
“No question this mill is going to be good for our family,” said Tom Stonecypher,
84, who owns 650 acres just west of downtown Albany. “We look at it and know it is going to be a positive development for us. No doubt, the closeness of this new mill will affect the quotation that the logger gives to F&W for the price he pays per ton for timber.
“You don’t have to haul it so doggone far. Life is going to become a lot simpler, no question about it.”
Stonecypher’s property is off Flowing Well Road. His sister, Wilma Muse, owns 500 acres. They made the decision not to grow row crops, like cotton or pecans, but to cultivate timber and join the wood economy. The new saw mill means less insecurity and apprehension for landowners.
Stonecypher said the mill bottlenecks should ease. A harvest can be interrupted by a mill declaring it cannot accept more
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