THE PERFECT STORM

In early September, the Louisiana Loggers Association partnered with the Mississippi Loggers Association, the South Carolina Timber Producers and the American Loggers Council to build an online, grassroots campaign EDUCATING the public, BUILDING a coalition, and PUSHING the administrations to no longer IGNORE the issues our industry is facing!!

The LLA began with "The Perfect Storm" on our Facebook page and got over 300k impressions across all social media networks.

LLA - Sec/Treasurer, Jeffrey Lasiter has now created a Tik Tok page in hopes to continue educating, building and pushing. LaLoggers

We believe, these Campaigns have helped with our state recognizing the impacts that we, as loggers are facing every day! The Coalition has grown to many of the state associations and other social media heads.

So, if you haven't, please follow the Louisiana Loggers Association on Facebook, La Loggers on Tik Tok, or you can check out my personal pages on all platforms. We know we cannot move the needle, alone, and we have to come together to save our industry, because the future depends on us!

Below is our first Campaign, "The Perfect Storm"

THE LOGGING INDUSTRY HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN.

For generations, the logging and timber industry has been an economic engine for rural communities across this country.

We are an industry of PRODUCERS.

We work.

We harvest.

We haul.

We manufacture.

We employ.

We keep rural America working.

But today, our industry is facing a PERFECT STORM.

LOSS OF MARKETS — Mills are closing, production is shrinking, and demand for our DOMESTIC timber is disappearing.

HIGH FUEL COSTS — Every mile from the woods to the mill costs more, cutting deeper into an already-thin margin.

HIGH COMMERCIAL INSURANCE — Insurance costs have become an enormous burden for logging contractors and log truckers, making it harder and harder to stay in business.

LOW WORKFORCE — Our workforce is aging, qualified drivers and logging professionals are increasingly difficult to find, and there aren’t enough people entering the industry to replace those leaving it.

One of these problems alone would be difficult.

All four at once?

That’s a crisis.

And when logging operations shut down, the impact doesn’t stop at the woods.

It reaches the truck driver.

The mechanic.

The equipment dealer.

The fuel supplier.

The mill worker.

The landowner.

The local business.

And the rural community that depends on the support.

Yet our country continues to add roadblocks and regulations while American production is pushed aside.

When will we incentivize DOMESTIC PRODUCTION?

When will we remove unnecessary barriers that make it harder to produce the resources our country needs?

When will we stop making it easier to buy from somewhere else than to produce it here at home?

WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR A HANDOUT.

We are asking for the opportunity to work, produce and compete.

America cannot afford to lose the people who produce the raw materials that keep this country moving.

Our industry is hurting.

Our rural communities are hurting.

And the clock is ticking.

ARE YOU LISTENING YET?

Because by the time everyone realizes what we’ve lost, it may be too late to rebuild it.

State Representative Gabe Firment, Candidate for Congressional District 5, comments:

LOUISIANA’S LOGGERS DESERVE A STRONG VOICE.

The challenges facing our logging industry are real. Shrinking markets, rising fuel and insurance costs, and workforce shortages are putting tremendous pressure on the hardworking men and women who help keep rural Louisiana’s economy moving.

On August 25, I attended a meeting of the Louisiana Loggers Association in Winnfield and heard directly from industry leaders about these challenges. I have worked closely with the LLA since I was first elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 2019, and I have tremendous respect for the people who make their living in the woods.

I also recently met with Jeffrey and Justin Lasiter of T&T Logging in Tullos and Chris Masengill with Louisiana Central to discuss practical ideas for creating new opportunities. The Lasiters are fifth-generation loggers who take great pride in their work and their industry. Their story represents the generations of Louisiana families who have built their livelihoods around our forests.

Timber is Louisiana’s most valuable agricultural commodity and an essential part of the 5th Congressional District. Our logging contractors, truck drivers, landowners, sawmills, wood-products manufacturers, and forestry professionals support jobs and communities throughout rural Louisiana.

One of the most important priorities is developing new markets for Louisiana wood. When mills close and demand declines, loggers lose customers, landowners lose competition for their timber, truckers must haul farther, and rural communities lose economic opportunity.

That is why I was proud to coauthor HB670 by Rep. Chuck Owen, now Act 664, during the 2026 Legislative Session. The law establishes a framework for Louisiana Economic Development to support the recruitment and expansion of wood pellet and wood-derived fuel manufacturing, including workforce development, site readiness, regulatory pathways, and port infrastructure.

At the federal level, I will support the Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act of 2026, bipartisan legislation introduced in both the House and Senate. The bill would expand the Renewable Fuel Standard’s definition of eligible biomass to include additional low-value wood, forest-management byproducts, and mill residuals. It is intended to create new market opportunities for these materials while supporting responsible forest management and wildfire-risk reduction.

As Chairman of the House Insurance Committee, I have also worked to address the insurance challenges facing Louisiana businesses through reforms focused on competition, fraud prevention, litigation, and market stability. Commercial insurance is a significant operating expense for logging contractors and log truckers, and it must remain part of the conversation.

As I seek to represent Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, one of my top priorities will be working closely with the Louisiana Loggers Association, Louisiana Forestry Association, and all related stakeholders to ensure that our logging industry and wood-products industry as a whole have every opportunity to prosper.

That means working to expand domestic markets, encourage investment in wood-processing facilities, support responsible forest management, strengthen workforce development, protect private property rights, and remove unnecessary barriers to production.

Our loggers are not asking for a handout. They are asking for the opportunity to work, produce, and compete.

I am grateful for the relationships I have built with Louisiana’s forestry community over the past several years, and I look forward to continuing that work. The future of our logging and timber industry is directly connected to the future of rural Louisiana.

Strong forests. Strong markets. Strong rural communities."