Financial Relief Provided For Timber Losses

Jun 07, 2021

By Elishia Ballentine

Timber owners adversely affected by Hurricane Michael in 2018, in addition to the Lee County tornadoes of March 2019, can apply for financial relief. Applications open June 14.

Administered by the Alabama Forestry Commission, the Hurricane Michael Block Grant is made possible through an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

This program provides $10 million to qualifying non-industrial private forest landowners with a one-time payment. Eligible citizens must own timber in the following counties: Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Montgomery, Pike or Russell. Additional eligibility requirements must be met for compensation of hurricane or tornado-related crop loss.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.