A New Website is Promoting Mississippi Timber
In partnership with: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
Mississippi is proud of its timber roots. The state’s 19.2 million acres of land devoted to Mississippi timber, now displayed in the eye-catching Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce’s (MDAC) new website.
Visitors to the site will notice shades of green jumping off the page. Plus see stunning trees, forests and log photography pair with impressive statistics about Mississippi’s third-largest agriculture commodity. The website also says timber and forestry provide more than 64,000 jobs and earn more than $1.3 billion annually for the state.
On his Mississippi Farm Tour, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson received feedback that the state should increase its promotion of the timber industry, which spearheaded the site’s creation.
With this feedback, Gipson appointed Ginger Williamson as the deputy director of MDAC’s Timber Commerce Division. Over the past five years, Williamson has built relationships through collaboration with multiple state agencies and forestry associations, loggers, brokers and manufacturers, along with transportation industries, ocean and river ports, and rail and trucking entities.
Log on to Mississippi Timber
“Before now, data on the state’s timber wasn’t readily available for people to view,” Williamson says.
She made it her mission to provide useful tools that inform, educate and delight people about the valuable facets of the industry.
Mississippi’s fertile soil, long growing season and healthy rainfall offer an ideal growing condition. Mississippi timber is known for hardwood and pine trees, including the loblolly pine, which grows approximately 85 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
The state’s dedication to sustainable forests allows for a roughly 50-50 split between hardwood and softwood, providing for construction, flooring, cabinetry and utility poles, all marketed domestically and internationally.
Along with providing data on the state’s rich forestland, the site offers logistics information, a trade section featuring MDAC’s trade missions and allows timber buyers, sellers and producers to complete a profile for inquiries about buying and selling timber.
Williamson then quickly responds to every inquiry with a personal email.
Additionally, economic developers now have access to data and resources to further increase Mississippi’s use of timber for future business opportunities.
Gipson has also been using the site during trade missions, including a recent trip to the Netherlands, the gateway to Europe.
“Europe needs wood pellets for energy use,” Williamson says. “The trip was a good opportunity for us to let them know that Mississippi has many agriculture commodities they could benefit from and how we’d like to work with them.”
From sustainable energy to utility poles, timber is a valuable Mississippi commodity the world can now discover by visiting the state’s new timber website. To see for yourself, go to timber.mdac.ms.gov.