Indiana Hardwoods Industry Is State’s Leading Ag Sector

In partnership with: Indiana State Department of Agriculture

In 1969, Pence Revington’s father purchased Mootscreek Farm, 69 acres near the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers in White County. His aim was to reforest the land with 10,000 black walnut trees to be harvested by future generations. It was no small task.

“The soils were worn out,” Revington says. “And junk was everywhere – seemed like there were more old cars than trees.”

Revington helped her father clean up the property and plant and care for the walnuts. Over the decades, she became a student and practitioner of whole forest management. Last year, she made the farm’s first sale of black walnut, including several veneer logs.

Leading Ag Sector

Forests stewarded by private landowners like Revington are the heart of Indiana’s hardwoods industry.

“I like to point out that we’re the world’s most patient farmers, since it takes about 50 years for our crop,” says Ray Moistner, Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association executive director.

That patience pays off, he says.

“Hardwoods is the No. 1 agricultural industry in the state in terms of jobs, wages and economic impact,” Moistner adds.

Indiana hardwood firms create more than $10 billion in annual revenues and support over 70,000 jobs, with a total annual economic impact of more than $15 billion.

“The impact is especially significant for rural communities, where many of our hardwood firms operate,” Moistner says.

Growing Economy

The economic impact is multiplied by the many ways Indiana firms add value to the state’s timber harvest.

“Our hardwood lumber is further manufactured into furniture, kitchen cabinets, flooring and architectural millwork,” says Jim Steen, president at Pike Lumber Company Inc., a 220-employee company operating three modern sawmills in Akron, Carbon and Milan.

Indiana is ranked first in the U.S. in wood office furniture and hardwood veneer production. Depending on the year, Indiana leads or is in the top five states for wood kitchen cabinets and countertops, engineered wood products, prefabricated wooden buildings and homes, upholstered wooden furniture, and wooden coffins and caskets, for which black walnut is highly prized.

Today’s consumer preferences point to a positive long-term outlook for hardwoods, Steen says.

“Solid hardwood furniture and flooring is seeing a resurgence because people see it as a healthy choice for home products,” he adds.

Sustainable Source

Hardwood production is also healthy for Indiana’s forests because landowners, loggers, sawmills and wood manufacturers focus on sustainability, Steen says.

“We harvest timber in a way that allows young trees to grow for future harvests,” he says. “We have a vested interest in making sure the Hoosier forest is healthy and being managed sustainably.”

Indiana’s statewide timber growth annually exceeds timber removals and mortality by an average factor of 2.3 times, according to Indiana State Department of Agriculture calculations.

Natural resource management continues through the hardwoods manufacturing operations. Sawmills, for example, waste no part of the logs.

“We scrape off the bark to sell to local mulch manufacturers,” Steen says. “And sawdust and wood chips generated during our manufacturing fuel our high-efficiency wood-fired boiler, creating steam used to run our dry kilns and heat some buildings.”

See more: Indiana Hardwood Companies Are Crafting a Solid Industry

Woodland for All

At Mootscreek Farm, Revington says well-managed woodlots bring value to Indiana far beyond economic impact. Her property includes a prairie restoration, and her forest’s tree species include walnut, a variety of oaks, black cherry, sycamore and cottonwood.

“The recreational and wildlife value is immeasurable,” she says.

Revington points out another immeasurable benefit: how family and community form in the woods.

“A neighbor who grew up here is now studying what it would take to keep bees at the edge of the restored prairie,” Revington says. “And my 12-year-old grandson just told me when he grows up, he wants to be an all-around woodsman.”