Forest Products News - July 2017
New format for forest products news
Thanks for your survey feedback!
DNR’s Forest Products Services Program published articles and information about forest product utilization and marketing, wood processing and drying, innovative wood technologies, and program news in the Wisconsin Wood Marketing Bulletin for more than 30 years. Recently, this newsletter content was merged into the DNR Division of Forestry’s news feed and rebranded as “Forest Products News.” Wisconsin Wood Marketing Bulletin subscribers will continue to receive similar news and information, but this new format will improve the delivery and consistency of content for the Department’s news subscribers.
In March 2017, the Forest Products Services team conducted a survey of newsletter subscribers to gather feedback on newsletter topics, comments, and suggestions to improve published forest products-related content included in the former WWMB and in the Forest Products News moving forward. A total of 363 surveys were completed, with a response rate of approximately 8%. Because of the very low response rate, the results cannot be interpreted as a statistical representation of the Forest Products subscriber population, but the results may indicate tendencies among perhaps the most avid readers of the newsletter.
Based on the feedback received, we found that readership is made up of individuals identified as loggers, primary wood users, secondary wood users, government employees, private business owners, land owners, individuals, and other (such as, researchers, foresters, nurses, and respondents who didn’t disclose their occupation). All the newsfeed topics and sections were equally popular among the survey respondents. Based on the response provided, 47% of the readers stated the news may be more effective if published four times a year instead of the current frequency of twice per year.
We also found that the forest products topics are useful for readers both personally and professionally. In addition to the topics previously covered, readers also requested topics such as stumpage pricing/trends, forest products research, regional product output, industry information market opportunities, and utilization options for species and products that are difficult to market. The FPS team will further analyze these suggestions and will aim to include some of these additional topics in our news feed posts. We will continue to gather feedback and suggestions from our audience as part of maintaining and improving the relevance and quality of the content to our reader base.
Local-Use Dimension Lumber Grading Workshops
The one-day short-course required to gain certification to grade under the Wisconsin Local Use Dimension Lumber Grading system will be offered for Wisconsin sawmill operators on Aug. 22, 2017 and Feb. 27, 2018.
- Aug. 22, 2017 DNR Service Center in Green Bay, WI
- Feb. 27, 2018 DNR Service Center in Rhinelander, WI
(Visit this page for directions to the DNR office locations.)
This course is designed to provide the required background knowledge that is necessary for a sawmill operator to be able to sell local-use dimension lumber for use in residential construction (local-use dimension lumber is lumber that is not grade-stamped under the authority of a grading association). Successful completion of one of these courses and passing the associated test is required for anyone that wishes to produce and sell local-use dimension lumber in Wisconsin that will be used in residential construction. In addition, recertification is necessary every five years which can be obtained by completing either course.
These short-courses are done on an intensive basis and are one day in length, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending around 4 p.m. (at the latest). There will be no fee for attending, but pre-registration is required - no walk in registration is allowed. Seats will be assigned on the basis of requests as received until the seat limit is reached; space is limited to 25 participants maximum for each course to allow for more interactive discussion.
Registration
Registration for the August course must be received before Aug. 11, 2017. Registration for the February course must be received before Feb. 9, 2018. These registration deadlines are to permit time to confirm registrations and to deliver information for attending and a copy of the manual to allow persons to read and study the manual in advance. To register you may email (preferred) or phone in your registration. When you register, simply indicate which WLUDLG course you wish to attend and be sure to include your full contact information including phone number, email address and full mailing address in addition to the names of people who will be attending and the business name if appropriate. Your registration will then be confirmed (by email, mail or phone). Along with the grading manual, directions to the DNR Service Center and other information will be forwarded to you by email or mail 1-2 weeks prior to the course.
To register: send an email to Tammy.Sykes@wisconsin.gov or call Tammy at 715-365-8913 (leave message on answering machine). Any questions, please call Collin Buntrock at 715-365-4704.
Biomass Combined Heat and Power project in Neopit
Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE) actively manages more than 219,000 acres of forested tribal lands, and operates a sawmill and lumber drying operation located in Neopit, Wisconsin. MTE installed a Biomass Combined Heat and Power District Energy project at the sawmill in the spring of 2016. The energy system provides heat for kilns, mill processing space (~150,000 sq ft,), and the office space. The project was implemented to replace aging boiler equipment, improve local air quality, reduce operating costs, and increase sales of mill residuals.
The system includes:
• a new advanced biomass combustion unit and steam boiler rated at 8.6 mmBTU/hr (Million British Thermal Unit per hour)
• a new combustion control system for an existing 25 mmBTU/hr boiler
• a 190 KW (Kilowatt) back pressure steam turbine
• a new steam infrastructure (deaerator, feedwater pumps, controls, steam metering, etc.)
• a new hot water district heating for a new sawmill building
• an interconnection to the existing steam district heating system
The project provides an annual savings of over $500,000 through increased residual sales of more than 11,000 tons a year, operating cost savings, and electric generated and used on site. The $3.8 million project was funded by a combination of the MTE capital fund, loans and grants including: US Forest Service Biomass Utilization grant, USDA Rural Development Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant, US Department of Energy Tribal Energy grant, Bureau of Indian Affairs Energy and Mineral Development grant, and Focus on Energy Renewable Energy Competitive Incentive program. $2.1 million of the project cost was covered by MTE capital fund and Indian Land Capital Company financing. Fuel used in the old system was 20,000 tons a year wood residue before project installation, which has been reduced to 8,500 tons a year after the project completion.
Similar projects could be beneficial to other wood manufacturing facilities throughout Wisconsin. If you are interested in exploring what’s possible or feasible for your facility, please ask Wisconsin’s Statewide Wood Energy Team (SWET) for assistance. SWET is a public and private partnership that aims to expand markets that convert woody biomass into energy, advance installation of commercially viable wood energy systems in public and private facilities, and support wildfire mitigation, forest restoration, urban wood utilization and other forest management goals that utilize Wisconsin woody biomass. The team has a goal to implement 20-30 small scale wood energy projects and four large scale and/or cluster projects in the near future. The feasibility analysis for your facility is free of charge. For more information please visit the SWET website athttp://www.wisconsinwoodenergy.org/ or contact Sabina Dhungana,sabina.dhungana@wisconsin.gov or (608) 261-0754.
References:
•Menominee Tribal Enterprises Biomass Combined Heat and Power Energy System, Last accessed on 04/20/2017 website: http://wilsonengineeringservices.com/MTE_Fact_Sheet.pdf
•Wisconsin Statewide Wood Energy program, Last accessed on 04/20/2017 website: http://www.wisconsinwoodenergy.org/
Grant funds hardwood CLT project
The following article is being reprinted by permission from the Forest Business Network.
IKD, a Boston-based architectural design firm, has been awarded $250,000.00 for a two-year United States Forest Service (USFS) Wood Innovations Grant to fund the development of Hardwood Cross Laminated Timber (Hardwood CLT) and the construction of the first Hardwood CLT project here in the United States. Read more here.
Upcoming Forest Products Events
See the article on the DNR News site (https://forestrynews.blogs.govdelivery.com/2017/07/17/forest-products-event-calendar/) for upcoming events through September.