What's good for the farmers ought to be good for the loggers.
That's the sentiment expressed by members of the U.S. forestry industry when it comes to federal aid to deal with high diesel prices.
A national coalition of 43 forestry associations, coordinated by the Forest Resources Association (FRA), delivered a letter to Agriculture Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently urging immediate diesel fuel relief for logging and log-hauling businesses excluded from the recently announced $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program.
The coalition highlighted that rising fuel expenditures and per-mile hauling costs are straining logging and hauling businesses and forcing contractors to idle equipment across rural communities.
AAA today reported the national average price for on-highway diesel is $6.28 per gallon, down 24 cents from the record high of $6.52 set os Sept. 22.
The letter pointed to the Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers (PATHH) program as a precedent for targeted assistance. The associations urged USDA to recognize timber harvesters and haulers as essential, diesel-dependent supply chain partners and establish a relief initiative to protect the nation’s wood supply chain.
“Logging and timber-hauling businesses are the backbone of the forest products supply chain, yet they are currently absorbing unsustainable, multi-thousand-dollar weekly spikes in diesel costs with zero federal support,” said Tim O’Hara, president and CEO of the Forest Resources Association. “While we fully support assistance for agricultural producers, we urge the USDA to recognize that forestry contractors face the exact same fuel volatility and operational pressures, and we ask the Secretary to establish a targeted relief program before surging costs cripple our rural logging and hauling capacity."
The request comes as the U.S. and other countries wrestle with a shortages of diesel caused by the U.S. war with Iran and Russia's continued war on Ukraine. Of late, Ukraine has launched numerous drone attacks on Russian refineries, eliminating an estimated 30% of diesel production.
President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to curtail its attacks on Russian refineries, and has ordered the purchase of Russian diesel. Ukraine has ignored Trump's request.
