Besides the afore mentioned products, the compa-ny makes crates, bread boards, and furniture.Un-usable wood gets ground into pulp for papermills or biomass, shavings and even the rocks thatcome up with the floating excavator barge getspicked up and sold to landscapers.

With likely millions of cords of sunken logs andpulp at the bottom of the lake, Maine HeritageTimber company executives expect to be salvag-ing sunken wood for a couple decades withannual winter slow downs. The reuse of thissunken wood is well recognized by builders andarchitects/interior decorators more and more.Recently, with

published data about the Millinock-et company that has helped getting increasedorders for more products sawn from logs cutdecades ago and lost to the bottom of the lake.BilBilling their sawn lumber as highend-rec-laimed wood, lacking any modern exposure toharmful paints, asbestos and industrialized build-ing materials, clean wood examples used for cut-ting and bread boards speaks directly to thepristine nature of preserved old growth Mainetimber left sunken under water for decades. Be-cause such wood is unavailable anywhere, it of-fers a marketing niche that it cannot be replicatedand thereby is a unique, one-of-a-kind look forinterior finish work of a house or office, or busi-ness as flooring, furniture or wall paneling. Formore information about the products of MaineHeritage Timber call: 207-732-9200/207-4471772 tom@maineheritagetimber.com.

same. Maine Heritage Timber company owned andmanaged by Steve Sanders and Tom Shafer employworkers who operate barges, transport dumpsters andtrucks. The wood is kiln dried, sent to saw mills andprocessed into various products used in applicationslike flooring, wainscoting, bar tops, kitchens etc.

The result of this salvage is often far more beautifulthan nature would otherwise create. The underwaterlack of oxygen, rot, sunlight, insect or other pest dam-age laying at the bottom of a lake for more than 100years manifests a preserved wood unequalled in thebuilding trades for a consummate and unique beauty.

Compost Feed, Hdwe TractorsTILTONS AUCTIONDaily Buying & SellingTrucking AvailableAuctions, all typesSHIPPING DAY TUES.207 285-3467 991-4435 cAuctioneer Jeffrey Tilton

Lic.# AR 1163

Waldo Area

MACsHardware& Feed Store - Unity

72 Reynolds Rd., UnityPh 207 948-3071Fx 207 948-5139

COR. JCT. RTS. 137 & 2203 KNOX RIDGE SOUTH KNOX

2015 S P R I N G ISSUE Mainely Agriculture || Equi Ag & Livestock || Aqua Agriculture 5

The Canadian Food InspectionAgency's confirmation of Mad Cow Disease in abeef cow in Alberta, Canada Feb. 13, points outwhy USDA may continue to hold strong on theCountry-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) rule accord-

ing to some pro-ducers. "Thisincident makesFarmers Unionmembers believeeven more in ourcause to protectCountryof-Orig-in Labeling,"said Wisconsin

Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden, a dairyfarmer. "It is a vital tool in ensuring that farmers canprovide a secure product and that consumers can beconfident about where their food originates."COOL is a labeling law that requires retailers notifytheir customers of the source of certain foods, in-cluding muscle cut and ground meats, fish, fruitsand vegetables and certain nuts. Since its passagein 2002, COOL has taken fire from meat processorsboth domestically and internationally. Not all pro-

ducers are opposed to the labeling law nor are alluniversally for the same. However, in papers filedFeb. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the District ofColumbia, recent COOL opponents dropped a lawsuitfiled by the multinational meat packing industry andtheir allies to try and stop the U.S. Department ofAgriculture from implementing the labeling law. Theresulting dismissal saw National Farmers Union Pres-ident Roger Johnson praise the decision to drop thelawsuit, noting, "This is a clear and indisputable winfor American consumers and producers, and it's ahuge relief to know that common-sense labeling laws,like COOL, can prevail in court despite the deeppockets of the multinationals." A recent report re-leased by Auburn University indicates that fed cattleprices declined after COOL went into effect, whileimports of slaughter cattle and feeder cattle wereunchanged or not affected by the notion of COOL.An appraisal of the same report would indicate pro-ducers prices were initially artificially lowered rebel-ling against the labeling rule and that buying betterlivestock was investment planning for improved herdgenetics and higher valued, more secure holdings toeventually meet labeling rules when finally pressed todo so as a means to balance labeling expenditures.

Mad Cow example revives argument for COOL

Up north, a maker of cedar shingles has moved from southernstates to Ashland to produce a product it calls Smart Shin-gles. EcoShel has since created about 80 jobs.

Fraser Timbers lumber mill in Marsidis is now owned by aCanadian Company, Maibec and employs 135 people and willproduce 100 million board feet of softwood lumber annually.

ReEnergy has opened a biomass facility in Ashland to produceenough electricity to supply 37,000 homes from local woodwastes.

In central Maine, Corinth Wood Pellets will spend $7 millionupgrading its pellet plant and will add 18 additional jobs thisand next year when complete.

Pleasant River Lumber of Dover-Foxcroft purchased the for-mer Lavalley sawmill in Sanford two years ago and is investingmillions in software and mechanical upgrades to that facility.

Pride Manufacturing in Burnham is the new manufacturer ofthe Lincoln Logs kids building toys, formerly produced in re-cent years in China. Already a well known golf tee manufac-turer, Pride shows a marked growth pattern ahead.

Louisiana Pacific invested more than $140 million in its NewLimerick mill to expand into laminated strand lumber.

Cate Street Capital and Thermogen still plans to develop a pel-let mill on former Great Northern Paper Company ground inMillinocket. A recent additional payment of back taxes in Jan-uary to the town has signaled patience from the city council toassist the project as Finance Authority of Maine indicates Ther-mogen can now re-apply to reopen its former bond financingaward of $16 million it previously did not use for financialshortfall while undergoing financing. If the project breaksground this spring, the mill would create 55 annual jobs, 281indirectly and produce 300,000 tons of biofuel pellets for salesoverseas. It has yet to clear the hurdle of environmental per-mitting with the state but when soon clear of this, financing forthe same will have a clearer path to arrange some $140 millionnecessary to establish the same and succeed.

Forestry in Maine has seen a fewchanges in recent months outside the latest paper industry mill shutdowns and sales. The pellet industry has had some stumbles due toretail store failures to preorder enough pellets for customer demandsand the retooling by pellet manufacturers to meet goals for greater

production through expansion, is also ongoing and affects sup-ply and demand. The lumber manufacturing segment is grow-ing steadily and new use of chips and biomass for exportmarkets is also growing. The following run down offers anoverview:

Wood harvests value-addedLake salvage photo from company website

An innovative logging company has been quiet-ly salvaging tons of sunken pulp and full length trees from the bottomof Quakish Lake since 2009. The sunken wood was part of thehistory of the Penobscot river drives that formerly sent logs to marketby river starting in the early 1900s when millions of wood had noother way to get to mills before I 95 and rail could help transport the

Salvaged flooring samples, photo from company website

Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack announced that the Department of Agriculture (USDA)will be awarding over $30 million in grants to help schools prepare healthy meals for children, purchaseneeded equipment and provide additional training for food service professionals. Since 2009, USDA has provided $185 million in kitchen equipment funding to states participating in theNational School Lunch (NSLP) and School Breakfast (SBP) Programs. USDA provides the funding tostates, which then competitively award grants to school districts in order to purchase necessary equipment,giving priority to high-need schools where 50 percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for freeor reduced price meals. America's nutrition assistance programs include the National School Lunch andSchool Breakfast programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, Supple-mental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,and Children (WIC).

School lunch programs to get more cash in Maine

PIONEER MACHINE, INC.General Machining, Consulting

Welding & FabricationHydraulic Cylinder & Repair

31 Harding RoadAlbion 04910

Tel: 207 437-9281 Fax: 207 437-2731Email: pmi@uninets.net

www.pioneermachineincorporated.comSteven Grenier, President

mailto:tom@maineheritagetimber.com.