Are there any coops involved with energy production with low value wood?
How are they dealing with this? A. Not that I know of. But, I wouldnt be surprised if we see more of this in the future. Biomass energy production is a popular topic these days. Forestry cooperatives may help to reduce challenges (e.g. negative economies of scale, and marketing to larger and larger groups of small landowners) associated with harvesting products from nonindustrial private forest land. So, Id keep an eye on this topic. (Respondent: Eli Sagor esagor@umn.edu) Q. Can loggers, foresters and wood processors be members of cooperatives with landowners? A. Yes, but with a caution. A co-op is designed to provide benefits to its members. If a co-op has a diverse group of members, their goals and objectives may vary. This can cause friction within the organization. Landowners purchase services from loggers and foresters and sell wood to processors. Members of all these groups may agree on the importance of sustainable forestry, but their economic interests regarding how to achieve
