Timber Talk 4/21/2026

Jenna Reese
Apr 20
6 min read

OFA Update

Lumber Grading and Kiln Drying Courses

Registration is open on the OFA events page for Summer short courses available at discounted rates for OFA members. We hope to see you in Millersburg, Ohio at Yoder Lumber for our Lumber Grading or Kiln Drying courses. All classes are multi-day events that run until 4pm each day. View the calendar to see full details and to get registered while space is still available. Email OFA's Director of Forestry Programs, William Ray, at william@ohioforest.org if you have additional questions.

OFA EVENTS

Camp Canopy price increases May 4th

Early bird pricing ends in just a couple of weeks for the OFA Foundation's annual summer camp for high school students. This year, Camp Canopy will happen from June 7-12th at the beautiful FFA Camp Muskingum in Carrollton, Ohio. Students completing 8th-12th grade this year can register for this week long experience that focuses on everything from forest products and tree identification to wildlife management and geology. Each year staff and committee members comprised of forestry experts from ODNR and OFA, as well as previous campers who have now started careers in forestry come up with a fun curriculum, field trips, and fun activities to make this a week to remember for all campers who attend. Register campers before May 4th to save $50 on camp costs. Inquire with OFA at info@ohioforest.org to get recommendations for any campers who need a sponsorship.

Camp Registration

Save the Date for the 2026 Legislative Reception

The OFA is excited to kick off the inaugural Forestry Day at the Statehouse. The event provides an opportunity for OFA members to come to Columbus and meet with their elected officials in their own environment.

Forestry Day will include an evening reception from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, in the Museum Gallery of the Ohio Statehouse, located at 1 Capitol Square Columbus, Ohio. OFA members are encouraged to meet with their elected officials throughout the day and will receive materials in advance.

Forestry Day at the Statehouse is a unique opportunity to tell your story to the members of the Ohio General Assembly and their staff. OFA encourages all of its members to make attending Forestry Day a priority.

Have you registered for the NHLA convention

this September?

OFA will be partnering with the NHLA to help support their 2026 convention. The conference will take place in mid-September and will cater to all types of industry professionals. OFA members can use code OFAMEMBER2 for a discounted registration price or code OFAMEMBER for those that are both OFA and NHLA members.

MORE INFO

Market Update

HardwoodReview Forecasting

Hardwood lumber shipments to Vietnam surged unexpectedly in Jan, especially with log exports to Vietnam remaining strong, as well. On a combined cubic-meter basis, Vietnam is now the largest market for U.S. hardwood logs and lumber, importing 20% more than China and 21% more than Canada in Jan. While China accounted for 59% of the combined Jan increase in hardwood log shipments to Vietnam and China, Vietnam still accounted for two-thirds of the pie, and China volumes were only back to 61% of typical Jan shipments of the last five years.

Flooring sales and profitability struggled late in 2025, with lumber prices up more than strip flooring prices and increased competition from both imported wood flooring and non-wood substitutes; challenges made worse by the housing affordability crisis. A slight year-over-year increase in winter receipts of engineered flooring suggests the pressure will remain, with Vietnam again the largest supplier and on a Jan pace to surpass last year’s record volume, fueled increasingly by U.S. hardwood logs. Even with log volumes converted to a conservative board-foot yield estimate, 3% more hardwood logs than lumber shipped to Vietnam in Jan. And, Vietnam’s heavy favoritism for logs over lumber holds for every major species except White Oak and Poplar.

Legislative Update

The following is brought to us by our national partner, the Forest Resources Association (FRA)

Farm Bill

Next week, the full House is scheduled to consider the House Agriculture Committee-passed Farm Bill reauthorization legislation. As we have mentioned, there are a number of positive policy provisions for the forestry and forest products value chain in the measure, including:

Jobs in the Woods Act language

Biomass carbon neutrality directive

Language renewing the Community Wood and Wood Innovation Grant Programs

We expect the measure will pass and attention will turn to moving a Farm Bill reauthorization measure through the Senate.

H.R. 1011 Passes the House, Strengthening Disaster Recovery for Working Forests

H.R. 1011, the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025, passed the House this week with strong bipartisan support (395-10), advancing reforms to the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to speed disaster relief for agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest landowners. The bill - introduced by Rep. Julia Letlow in response to the 2023 Louisiana wildfires - modernizes both programs under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 by addressing slow response times, improving access to up‑front financial assistance, and strengthening recovery pathways for working forests that support rural economies and sustainable wood supply. The measure now heads to the President for signature following the Senate’s unanimous passage of its companion bill (S. 629) on March 2026.

Tariff Refunds

Last month, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) signaled that it was readying an electronic system to process refunds of duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). They made good on their commitment on April 13 by issuing instructions for importers to submit IEEPA tariff refund requests using the new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal. The instructions may be found HERE.

Importers of Record (IORs) and brokers may submit eligible declarations beginning April 20. CAPE declarations will be validated, and refunds and interest payments will be consolidated and paid out in one lump sum.

To keep up to date on the latest, CBP will maintain all information on IEEPA Refunds and CAPE on a new IEEPA Duty Refunds page on cbp.gov.

Safety Update

Sedgwick Safety Services

Controlling costs with the Disability Relief Program

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) offers the Disability Relief Program (formerly known as Handicap Reimbursement) to potentially offset claim costs and encourage employers to hire and retain employees with disabling conditions. Ohio Revised Code 4123.343 recognizes 26 conditions / disabilities in which, under some circumstances, the employer may be eligible for reimbursement of partial claim costs. The disability percentage awarded by BWC will reduce claim costs without reducing the benefits to the injured worker. The reduced claim costs can result in sizable premium reductions.

Eligibility Requirements

If an employee suffers a lost-time industrial injury/ occupational injury or death, the claim may be eligible for disability relief if it can be shown that the disability pre-existed the industrial injury or occupational disease and either caused the claim or contributed to increased costs or delay in recovery. Additionally, one of the following benefit types must have been paid in the claim:

• Temporary total compensation

• Permanent total disability

• Permanent partial-scheduled loss

• Survivor benefits

• Wages in lieu of temporary total disability

Application Filing Deadlines

Private Employers:

• If the date of injury is between Jan. 1 and June 30, the application must be filed by June 30 of the year no more than six years from the year of the date of injury or occupational disease.

• If the date of injury is between July 1 and Dec. 31, the application must be filed by June 30 of the year no more than seven years from the year of the date of the injury or occupational disease.

Public Employers:

• A public employer must file the application by Dec. 31 of the year no more than six years from the year of the date of the injury or occupational disease.

The Sedgwick cost containment team conducts reviews on claims which meet the eligibility requirements for disability relief, files the application and attends the disability hearing on behalf of our Ohio TPA clients.

If you have any questions, contact our Paul Feck with Sedgwick at paul.feck@sedgwick.com.

Additional News and Links

Holden Arboretum Field Day

The Holden Arboretum is inviting OFA members to join them for their Working Woods Field Day on June 6th from 9am-4pm. Expect a different format from their traditional field day involving shorter tour loops throughout the day, and opportunities to network with landowners and forestry business professionals. Feel encouraged to bring your business cards or brochures to display.

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