Ron Blaxton Jr.

@keithgatorman @DwStatham Between the quota, mill locations, and price of fuel, it just don’t work.

@RonBlaxton @DwStatham No place to send logs?

I have watched the logging industry in my part of the country go from the largest employers in many counties to bust in a span of 18 months. In a state that produces more wood than any in the country, it’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.

@keithgatorman @DwStatham I just watched a family that has sent 500 loads a week to IP for 40 years start shuttering their outfit.

@RonBlaxton @DwStatham Yep! Up in Fitzgerald, West Frazier (Canada) purchased Gilman. But there is still a plywood plant and mulch plant.

@viaskateboard It can be grazed after the timber is thinned to plantation cut.

@RonBlaxton can the land be grazed by cattle or is there very little actual forage to be had?

@Hugdog18 That’s a good question. 😂

@RonBlaxton That’s awful. How are state officials helping here?

@DwStatham Yes

@RonBlaxton Does Canada own a lot of the mills?

@LSS_VLD It would be nice if there was a plan in place to leave our forests in place and continue to grow wood.

@RonBlaxton This is depressing. Hopefully there’s some local investors in place ready to fill the void with new industry. 🙏🏼

@tripsdadand1 Because the Canadians also largely own our mills.

@RonBlaxton Hard to believe it's cheaper to log it, cut it up and ship it from Canada.

@ongradeOG We’ve got to do something with it.

@RonBlaxton Apparently we import $30b in paper products mainly from China, Canada and Mexico. Sc & ga will be one big tinder box in 10 years if this continues. I’m in the camp of using pulp wood for biomass plants to produce power if paper ind isn’t revived.

@ClydeBandit Yep

@RonBlaxton Georgia?

@ongradeOG It’s a shame.

@RonBlaxton Paul Dans for US Senate is running in South Carolina and this is one of his core issues as we have experienced the same in SC

@turtlex1112 Yep. That’s my guess too.

@RonBlaxton Or data centers...

@turtlex1112 IP owns hundreds of thousands of acres in our part of the country. They’re probably planning on selling parts of it off for development since the price of land has skyrocketed.

@RonBlaxton The same thing happened to the textile industry in the southeast in the 90s. That was caused by imports. My dad's company went from being one of the biggest in the nation to selling costume jewelry before bankruptcy.

@turtlex1112 I just don’t understand leaving SE GA when the heart of your industry was there.

@RonBlaxton What is the root cause, Ron?

@turtlex1112 International Paper shut down 2 SE Georgia mills this year. Georgia Ports ended up with one of em. They said the cost to recondition the mills would be excessive. As they say that, they’re building a new mill in Mississippi at around 300,000,000.

With the loss of a significant portion of our pulpwood markets, Landowners will have some tough decisions to make going forward. Taxes don’t stop coming.

Don’t let em in our backyard. @GaRepublicans

You mean to tell me that replacing people’s jobs with computers will make people poorer? I didn’t see that coming.

@5127GATA I watched the West Laurens softball coach make his players switch hit their at-bats after going up 20-0 on Hancock Central yesterday in the 1st inning. There are ways.

There are easy ways to avoid a score like this. 15 after 3 is there for a reason.