Blinn, Charles R.O'Hara, Timothy J.Chura, Dave T.Russell, Matthew B.2015-03-202015-03-202014-02https://hdl.handle.net/11299/1706711 electronic resource (PDF; 119 pages)With the closure of several mills within the state, industrial procurement managers became concerned about the status of Minnesota’s logging sector. A mail survey and follow-up focus groups were conducted to assess that status and to consider future scenarios. While there are many logging businesses producing up to 5,000 cords annually, those businesses produce a small percent of the total annual volume harvested and they tend to have the oldest equipment, to work during the winter, and are operating at the lowest level of their reported capacity. Over time, there has been a trend toward larger producers who harvest an increasing percentage of the total annual volume harvested. Business owners are keeping their equipment longer than in the past which has both positive and negative aspects. While small logging businesses will continue to have a niche with private landowners in the future, it is likely that their number will continue to decline in the future and that there will be continued growth of producers harvesting more than 15,000 cords annually. To be successful in the future, the logging sector will need to help itself and will need assistance from public forest management agencies, procurement mills and lending institutions.enReport