Green Gary T., PhD

The advanced age of logging business owners in the US South and their pending retirements has created uncertainty about the future stability of timber harvesting. Succession plans increase the likelihood of business longevity, but it is unknown how many logging business owners in the US South have one. In-person interviews of sixteen logging business owners aged 52 through 75 years were conducted in Georgia and Florida in 2022, focusing on business characteristics, employment, perceived challenges, profitability, and succession planning. Most owners had no written succession plan but did have contingency plans for short-term, unanticipated absences. Owners greatest challenges were trucking, insurance premiums, fuel costs, equipment pricing and availability, and labor. Loggers’ associations, forestry associations, and mill procurement staffs should be proactive in encouraging logging business owners to prepare succession plans.

The advanced age of logging business owners in the US South and their pending retirements has created uncertainty about the future stability of timber harvesting. Succession plans increase the likelihood of business longevity, but it is unknown how many logging business owners in the US South have one. In-person interviews of sixteen logging business owners aged 52 through 75 years were conducted in Georgia and Florida in 2022, focusing on business characteristics, employment, perceived challenges, profitability, and succession planning. Most owners had no written succession plan but did have contingency plans for short-term, unanticipated absences. Owners greatest challenges were trucking, insurance premiums, fuel costs, equipment pricing and availability, and labor. Loggers’ associations, forestry associations, and mill procurement staffs should be proactive in encouraging logging business owners to prepare succession plans.