The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has announced up to $95 million in competitive grant funding through its Wood Innovations program for projects that advance innovative wood uses, expand wood-based construction, and grow U.S. wood energy markets and forest product processing capacity.

“A strong timber industry is essential for active forest management and the vitality of rural economies,” says Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “By supporting mills and markets that transform forest byproducts into valuable goods, we strengthen domestic manufacturing, reduce wildfire risks, and generate well-paying jobs across rural America.”

Funding is available through three Forest Service grant programs: the Wood Innovations Grant, Community Wood Grant, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant programs. Together, these programs support projects that develop innovative wood products; increase the use of wood in commercial and residential construction; expand wood energy systems, and modernize, retrofit, or increase the capacity of wood products manufacturing facilities.

Eligible applicants include private businesses, for-profit and non-profit organizations, tribes, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and public utility, fire, conservation, and school districts.

Businesses engaged in or supporting the forest products economy—which is vital to many rural and tribal communities—may apply for funding to expand manufacturing capacity. Final grant funding levels will be subject to the availability of funds. 

Visit www.fs.usda.gov.

Weyerhaeuser Co. hosted an Investor Day in December and outlined the company’s strategic growth plan and financial targets through 2030.

“Weyerhaeuser stands alone in the timberlands, wood products and land solutions space as the only large cap, integrated investment opportunity poised for accelerated growth,” says Devin Stockfish, President and CEO. “Over the next five years, we intend to catalyze growth initiatives across the entirety of our integrated portfolio to significantly grow the value and cash generation capabilities of our company and further strengthen our competitive position.”

Steve Swanson, CEO & Executive Chairman of the Swanson Group, and recently named the Timber Processing 2026 Person of the Year, has for the second time assumed the role of Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.

Under Swanson’s prior leadership of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, the organization implemented structural changes that yielded today’s organization. These changes sharpened the focus of the organization to better address Canada’s unfair trade practices using all available tools under U.S. law. As a result, the Coalition has been able to produce unprecedented results for its membership and the U.S. forestry industry following the organization’s most successful set of trade cases under the U.S. trade laws. Swanson was previously Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition from 2005 through 2012.

“I would like to thank Andrew Miller for his great leadership of the U.S. Lumber Coalition over the last four years through some challenging times, all the while pressing the organization unyieldingly forward in its mission to address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices,” Swanson states. “Much has changed since I last served as Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition. Canada’s unfair trade practices that are driven by its excess lumber capacity and unfair government subsidies unfortunately have not.”

Swanson adds, “I applaud President Trump’s stated policies of strictly and strongly enforcing our U.S. antidumping and countervailing trade laws and for taking additional steps under Section 232 to further boost Made in U.S.A. softwood lumber production and U.S. workers. This is critically important because the simple fact is that if we allow Canada’s massive softwood lumber overcapacity and associated unfair trade practices to destroy our U.S. softwood lumber production capacity and supply, then good luck building homes in America.”

Swanson’s longstanding commitment to lumber fair trade and to Oregon’s rural economy, and his leadership at Roseburg-based Swanson Group were major reasons why he was chosen for the TP POY honor. Swanson Group operates a sawmill at Roseburg, plywood plants at Glendale and Springfield and a pellet mill in Oakland, Ore., while employing more than 1,200.

Swanson will accept the TP POY award during a ceremony at 3 p.m. on September 23 during the Timber Processing & Energy Expo held September 23-25 at the Portland Expo Center, Portland, Ore.

In a strategic move driven by customer focus and long-term market optimization, Fagus-GreCon has acquired the Dynamic Microchamber (DMC) from Bakelite. This transition reflects Bakelite’s decision to sharpen its concentration on its core expertise in wood adhesives, while entrusting Fagus-GreCon to advance and expand the DMC business with renewed innovation and technical excellence.