Starting Time: 00:00
Hayes D. Brown, attorney and forest owner, will moderate this news conference. Hayes’ email address is hbrown@hayesbrown.com.
Starting Time: 00:52
Rosemary Elebash is the Alabama State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). She breaks down the recently introduced legislation (HB-170) from Senator Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook) that hopes to reduce Alabama’s corporate income tax rate and eliminate the federal income tax deduction for businesses. When the federal government reduced the corporate tax rate, it actually increased taxes for corporations in Alabama under our current law. Unless changed, the current status quo could make doing business in Alabama more expensive than other Southern states, resulting in fewer companies looking to Alabama to build sawmills.
Starting Time: 06:15
Danielle Atkins is the founder of Land & Ladies, a forestry consulting company focused on educating and empowering women in their land management needs. In her recent “4 Things to Consider When Deciding What to Replant” blog post, she focuses specifically on types of pine because, she says, “that is the predominantly focused replanted tree species in the Southeast.” She will walk through what can often be a difficult and even overwhelming process and share what should be considered before replanting.
Starting Time: 10:13
Karen Hardy, along with her husband, Jim, is owner of Overland Adventure Rentals, a company based on what they live and love on a daily basis: the outdoors. The company offers the best gear and vehicles for people to get out and enjoy nature, and they are always looking for new trails and campsites in Alabama for people to explore. Karen and Jim want to spread the word that you don’t have to travel far from home to find beauty and adventure. The business may offer opportunities for landowners who would like campers on their land.
Starting Time: 13:57
Lawrence “Chad” Hancock is regional manager at F&W Forestry Services, Inc., an international forestry consulting firm that was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Albany. Georgia. The firm’s latest market update reveals that timber activity and prices are picking up and increasing. In fact, the report states that the overall market is “an even mix between normal for this time of year to above normal.” In Alabama specifically, managers are reporting that prices are “above normal” for chip-n-saw across most of the region. It’s expected that this will continue through at least the first quarter of the year. Marshall Thomas, president of F&W, also notes, “housing starts hit 1.547 million units (annualized) in November, 12.8 percent above the same month in 2019. That is great news, but the better news is that 1.186 million of those starts were single-family units, the highest level since April 2007. Since single-family homes use more lumber than multi-family buildings, we are getting some leverage on demand through this important shift. It will be interesting to see if this is temporary due to COVID.”
