In The News

Originally Published in Grice Connect

In response to significant market instability driven by mill closures, storm damage, and declining timber prices, Congressman Rick Allen has put forth a bill designed to offer targeted financial support to Georgia's forestry sector. The Timber Harvesters, Haulers, and Landowners Market Disruptions Relief Act could provide a much-needed lifeline to businesses and individuals across the state, including in Bulloch County and Southeast Georgia.

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen has introduced legislation aimed at providing financial relief to timber harvesters, haulers, and landowners across Georgia, including Bulloch County and Southeast Georgia, as the forestry industry continues to face severe market disruptions tied to mill closures, storm damage, and declining timber prices.

Allen, who represents Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, introduced H.R. 7195, the Timber Harvesters, Haulers, and Landowners Market Disruptions Relief Act, which would create a targeted federal assistance program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program would be administered through the Farm Service Agency and is designed to offer temporary financial support to forestry-related businesses impacted by significant market instability.

Forestry plays a major role in Bulloch County and surrounding rural counties, where timberland ownership, logging operations, and hauling businesses contribute directly to local employment and tax bases. Georgia is the nation’s top forestry state, with more than 22 million acres of private timberland generating an estimated $40 billion annually and supporting more than 140,000 jobs statewide.

Local operators have felt the ripple effects of recent mill closures, including the International Paper mill in Savannah and the West Fraser mill in Augusta. Those closures have reduced processing capacity across Southeast Georgia, leaving many landowners with limited markets and forcing longer hauling distances, lower stumpage prices, and increased operating costs.

The situation was compounded by Hurricane Helene, which damaged nearly nine million acres of forestland statewide, including large swaths of Southeast Georgia. Many timber producers remain unable to harvest or sell storm-damaged timber before it deteriorates, further tightening already strained markets.

Under H.R. 7195, a governor or the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service could petition USDA to declare a forestry market disruption. Once triggered, the Secretary of Agriculture would be required to respond within 14 days.

The legislation would allow eligible timber harvesting and hauling businesses, along with qualifying landowners, to receive initial payments of up to $20,000 per applicant. A second payment could be issued based on documented revenue losses of up to 30 percent. If market conditions fail to improve, additional annual payments could be authorized for up to five years at 50 percent of prior assistance.

Allen said the program would be funded using revenues from anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports, avoiding new taxpayer spending.

Tim Lowrimore, president and CEO of the Georgia Forestry Association, said the bill is critical for communities where forestry remains a primary economic driver.

“Recent mill closures, trade disruptions, and sharp price declines have created real strain on working forestry businesses — particularly in rural communities where forestry is a cornerstone of the local economy,” Lowrimore said. “This legislation is critical to keeping forestry infrastructure intact during periods of severe market disruption.”

Allen said the goal of the bill is to provide a temporary lifeline for timber producers while preserving long-term forest management, land stewardship, and economic stability across rural Georgia, including Bulloch County.

H.R. 7195 has been formally introduced and will now move through the legislative process. Allen served on the House Committee on Agriculture for eight years and has made forestry and rural economic development a priority during his time in Congress.