With seedling harvest coming next month, there’s still a little time to get your seedlings reserved for this year’s planting. Get in touch with your ArborGen Nursery or Reforestation Advisor to place your order before we’re sold out.
News
Congratulations to the team at the ArborGen Bluff City Nursery in Arkansas!
Since the first crop planted in 1980, the nursery has produced 2 billion seedlings. Pictured left to right: Gene Bickerstaff, western regional nursery manager, BJ Hampton, business specialist, Chase Weatherly, production specialist, CEO Justin Birch, and Robert Nimmo, nursery manager.
FLA Awards ArborGen “Corporate Partner of the Year”
ArborGen receives an unprecedented second partnership award from FLA. Since 2006, the Forest Landowners Association (FLA) has recognized one of its Corporate Members with a Corporate Partner of the Year award.
Welcome Justin Birch
Please join us in welcoming Justin Birch to ArborGen as our new president and CEO! Justin succeeds Andrew Baum, who will retire on June 19th but will continue in a consulting capacity to facilitate a seamless leadership transition.
NC State University Tree Improvement Co-Op Survey
According to the NC State University Tree Improvement Cooperative annual surveys, almost 1.5 billion full-sib (control pollinated) seedlings have been produced in the southeastern United States. Most recent numbers indicated more than 191 million were produced in the 2021-2022 planting season.
The Language Has Changed
Seedling suppliers have moved away from “generation” vocabulary for over a decade. Tree improvement foresters have known for years it is not how old the tree is. Instead, it is crucial to understand the genetic performance of an individual family. On average, second-generation loblolly pine families were better than first-generation selections. In theory, third-generation families would represent an improvement over second and first-generation material. But this is not always the case. Some first-generation families still outperform second and even third-generation selections. New categorical designations such as Advanced, Select, and Elite have replaced “generation” and are a part of our modern reforestation language.
Place Your Orders Early for Next Year’s Planting
While it may seem too early to start thinking about the seedlings you will need for next year’s planting, we already see many orders for the 2023/2024 season, and a substantial portion of our crop is committed. Along with increased demand for seedlings, the past few years have seen a south-wide shortage of Longleaf and Loblolly pine seedlings for most regions, and inventories of Hardwood seedlings were depleted well before Fall.
Policy Alert from the Forest Landowners Association
FLA is excited to announce on February 1, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced S. 217, the Disaster Reforestation Act. This bill would amend the tax code to give private forest landowners the tools they need to recover from natural disaster and has now been introduced in the House and the Senate.
Mike Arnette Promoted to Nursery Manager
Congratulations to new ArborGen Blenheim Nursery Manager Mike Arnette! He takes over the position as manager Gary Nelson retires.
ArborGen Blenheim Nursery Manager Gary Nelson Retires
After nearly 45 years in the forestry industry, with the last 26 years as the Blenheim nursery manager, Gary Nelson is retiring. Gary started his career after graduating from Colorado State with a degree in forest biology with the USFS at the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.