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Minnesota has experienced unusually high temperatures recently, even breaking records in some areas. However, while many have seen this as a relief from the state’s harsh winter, the timber industry has viewed it as a dilemma.

Ray Higgins of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association put it simply, it’s just been too warm. “Any time you have an industry that’s based on natural resources and weather, you’re going to have ups and downs. I think the industry overall is good, but this winter is presenting a bunch of challenges,” Higgins said. “We harvest two-thirds of the lumber in Minnesota in frozen ground conditions. We do better work in that weather, it’s easier for us to get work done since you can get your equipment in the woods without doing more damage.”

The higher-than-average temperatures is the latest challenge for an industry that’s faced more than a decade of fluctuation, from changes in the number of mills to the amount of people working in the business.

As an example, Higgins said the price of timber, or stumpage prices, are too high at the moment, as there’s not enough wood in the market, creating more costs for those in the industry. At the same time, though, there’s more of a demand for wood with more homes under construction.

“We’re building more houses than we were some years ago. Before the housing crisis occurred, we were building about 2 million homes in the United States, then after that hit, it went to 500,000 or 600,000 homes. So, we had a big drop,” Higgins said. “Now we’ve recovered, as we’re building more homes. That part has certainly improved, because of the rebound things are better than they were a few years ago.”

From Inforum.com: http://www.inforum.com/news/4229256-milder-temperatures-minnesota-bring-new-challenge-timber-industry