Page 7 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Third Quarter 2023

NORTH CAROLINA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION
1600 Glenwood Ave., Suite I Raleigh, NC 27608
(919) 834-3943 ncforestry.org
BOARD CHAIR
Nancy Thompson
PRESIDENT
Rob Elliot
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
John E. Hatcher, Jr., Ph.D., CF
BOARD MEMBERS
Todd Adams Mike Harris Tommy Adkins Daniel Hodge
The NCFA made a request for the upcoming Farm Bill to senators Thom Tillis (NC) and John Boozman (AK) during a Farm Bill Listening Session in Smithfield, NC.
Approximately every five years, the United States Congress passes an omnibus legislative package known as the “Farm Bill.” The Farm Bill includes agriculture, conservation, forestry, and nutrition policy, and many forestry programs are permanently authorized through the bill.
The most recent Farm Bill, The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, addressed several programs pertaining to forestry. This includes:
• Additional funding for the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) national program,
• The 2023 Wood Innovations Grant and 2023 Community Wood Grant programs, and
• The Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) competitive grant program.
The Farm Bill typically also covers other conservation programs that are of interest to NCFA members, such as the conservation reserve program, environmental quality incentives program, and conservation stewardship program. These programs contribute to healthy, productive, and sustainable forests across the landscape.
We will see direct impacts from the LSR grant program in North Carolina in
June 2023. I am proud to announce that NCFA’s Forest Education and Conservation Foundation was awarded a $200,000 LSR program grant for workforce development.
The funding from this grant will support development and implementation of a forestry course for North Carolina high school agricultural education, as well as a forestry worker- credentialing program across the state.
With the current Farm Bill set to expire at the end of this year, members of the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees and other members of Congress are hosting listening sessions across the country to hear directly from stakeholders about provisions they would like to see included in the next Farm Bill. The NCFA recently had a chance
to discuss forestry’s priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill during a listening session held by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (NC) and John Boozman (AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, on Monday May 8, 2023 in Smithfield, NC. In addition to advocating for modernization of the long-standing FIA program, the NCFA discussed:
• The need to continue funding for the forestry programs in the current Farm Bill, • Additional funding for a wood-design education program, the wood innovation
grant program, the forestry workforce development program, and
• The establishment of a pilot program for the use of wood products in affordable housing.
In Forestry,
John E. Hatcher, Jr., Ph.D., CF
NCFA Executive Director
Jadie Andrews Scott Askew Blair Bishop Scott Bissette Josh Bledsoe Jason Bowman Jay Boyette Jesse Burdett Ben Burger Doug Burleson Kenny Cain John Cecil Chris Charest Mike Cheston Clay Creed Chuck Daniels Rudy Daughtry Tara Dickson Bill Dine
Tony Doster Rob Elliot Ashley Faircloth David Gadd Nathan Gatlin Brett Goulding Lori Grady George Hahn
Jason Hoyle Perry Hunt Dylan Hurley David Johnson Alec Kearns
AJ Keating Lauren Killian Ken Lin
Jared Lucas Arturo Lumpkin Mike Marks Boyd McLaurin Jeff Meacham Justin Moretz Russ Newton Wib Owen
Jess Parton
Henry Randolph Greg Ricks Richard Sanders Phil Smith
Nancy Thompson Ciera Ward
Seth Ward
Allen Whitesell Jerry Williams Jocelyn Wilson
EXECUTIVE MESSAGE
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