Government Emission Mandates Threaten Small Business
This blogging journey has been interesting and has led to some self discovery and curiosity into why we share what we share. We have been very slow to write, share, and create recently and I’ve noticed that it’s likely because I have nothing good to say, nothing positive to share and why would we want the world to know the down and dirty. No one wants the world to know when they are struggling, but it’s important. Social media skews our perception of the world so I’m here to be real with you. This SUCKS! When our optimism was high we could write write write. Now we are feeling like what’s the point? This summer has had no rebound for us and for many other loggers in our area. We have seen a couple well established multi generational logging companies throw in the towel. There is a lot of talk and optimism about the wood product industry in Maine and no doubt there are a lot of efforts to improve the scene but is it going to come too little too late? Is it all just talk? Of course there are good years and bad years in any business, but we are on the 4th year of pure crap. Prices of equipment, insurance, tires, fuel, payroll, and everything in between continue to rise and the price we are paid from mills is LESS than we were making 10 years ago. Break downs are now almost a crisis. They can practically take you out because it is harder and harder to keep a cushion to pay for the big ones.
Today, I wanted to talk a little about the government and environment. Sensitive subject, I know. But I wanted to point out the real cost of government control of emissions. These are things most people wouldn’t think of on a day to day basis and to be honest, I don’t either. Until the damn thing breaks. Now, I’m thinking a lot about it! It may sound opposite of what you think, but woodsmen are real environmentalist. Our entire livelihood depends on a healthy, sustainable forest, and with 3 children who may potentially want to carry on this business, it is of the utmost importance to us to have a healthy environment. We also know that wood products are central to the lives of every single person in America. Look around your world for one minute and count the things in your life that would not exist if not for the man or woman who cut the tree. When the cost of wood products go up the cost of EVERYTHING must go up. Your groceries, your building products, your drive through coffee, your Amazon Prime, dog food, labels, pencils. The list could run on forever. It all is packaged some how from a tree. It’s incredible. The miraculous thing about it, is that it can grow back again and again if we treat it right. So, I want to treat the Earth right more than anyone. But our equipment is big and it burns fuel and it emits pollutants into the air. So the EPA has come up with this lovely idea to mandate that all of our equipment have better emissions controls. Ok… sounds like a great idea! If the technology is there to make this cleaner then absolutely, we are just as happy about it. After all, my family lives and breathes the air around these machines 60+ hours a week. The problem comes down to cost, to the tune of about $20,000 more per machine. Plus the DEF fluid that each machine needs in order to operate the system which probably costs our small company close to $12,000 per year. (Not to mention this DEF fluid comes in a plastic jug boxed in a cardboard box…. wonder how much that is helping the environment?) And then they tell you the system will last the life of the machine, until……. it doesn’t. And because it is supposed to last the life of the machine, the parts department certainly doesn’t have them lining their shelves and as a matter of fact they don’t even know where to find one or how long it will take to get one. So now what? Are we talking days, weeks, or months??? No one knows. So now we have not only a business, but 4 families who are going to be out a paycheck for some unknown amount of time because if one machine is down, we’re all down. Several years ago this type of breakdown would have sucked but we would have been ok, but breakdowns like these now threaten our ability to stay above water. And the most frustrating part about this particular breakdown is that it involves a government mandated part. Do you think they will send some welfare our way so our employees can eat this week? Hardly doubt it. Thankfully, there are good people in this world. The service department worked very hard to find this part for us, had it trucked in from out west and their mechanic took time away from his family to help us on Saturday so we can get back going this week. BIG TIME THANK YOU!
I don’t tell you all of this for sympathy. I tell you this so you know the truth about the real cost of all small scale agricultural businesses who are true stewards of the land. We all know, from what we see from large scale farming and companies responsible for deforestation, that we do not want just the billion dollar agricultural companies to survive. Their practices are the ultimate blow to our environment and our health. Every new regulation the government makes increases costs some where and that hurts your neighbor’s business and small rural communities the most. So when you think about the environment and the governments attempts at regulations, perhaps the best thing for our environment would be to ensure smaller scale agricultural businesses can not only survive, but thrive. Remember the true cost to individuals with families to feed. We feel like this business is worth fighting for, so we’re not giving up yet.