VLA celebrated Forest Products Week yesterday with Governor Youngkin who joined the Virginia Department of Forestry, Franklin Lumber Company, and Virginia’s top forestry & logging trade associations to see some important operational phases of Virginia’s third largest industry.  The Virginia Department of Forestry gave Governor Youngkin a first-hand look at its superb forest tree nursery operations located at the Garland Gray Forestry Center in Sussex County. Following his nursery tour, Franklin Lumber Company owner gave Governor Youngkin and Delegate Emily Brewer a fantastic short tour of their excellent forest products mill where a variety of pine wood products are made from Virginia and North Carolina’s forests.

Virginia loggers won a big victory Tuesday night as Dinwiddie County unanimously voted to approve an ordinance change to exempt silvicultural (logging) equipment from their annual personal property taxes. Dinwiddie County leaders showed their brilliant vision and exercised their decision-making ability to recognize the importance of family-owned logging businesses who live and work in the Dinwiddie County and who give back to their community. Virginia loggers are the first to harvest forests and haul trees ready for the multitude of fiber and wood products needed by society. The decision by Dinwiddie County leaders is a recognition that forests are another agricultural product, and the logging industry is essential to their management.

We hope other Virginia counties who do not exempt logging equipment from these personal property taxes will follow leaders like Dinwiddie County and others who have supported their vision for a healthy, strong forest and agricultural economy.