The forest industry in…

The forest industry in Ontario is in a crisis, with markets steadily decreasing for our traditional products. Pulp mills are nearly extinct and those hanging on are very well supplied with sawmill residuals. SPF sawmills are also closing around the province with the 8' or Stud mills experiencing it the worst. Forest operations are avoiding the balsam fir species due to its adversity to efficiency the sawmilling & drying process, and many forests are topping their SPF at 12cm and leaving the small ends behind in the bush. These practices waste fiber and impede silviculture.
Revising the scaling manual to separate the desirable "SPF" from the undesirable species (Bf) or parts of the tree and pricing them accordingly with crown dues would encourage better utilization, improve silvicultural efficiency and even attract new technology in existing mills to better use this new affordable piece of roundwood, as opposed to it being a loss to the mill.
My proposal is that like Pw/Pr, the scaling manual introduce a grade #2 to SPF logs. Just like the current period in the stumpage matrix, the minimum price and residual value could be reduced to $0.00/m³. I would propose that all SPF in the nominal 8' length or 12cm size class and smaller or any size balsam fir, scotts pine or larch automatically all become grade #2. like Pw/Pr gr 2, there could still be FRI and FFT charges collected, providing some benefit and if markets rebound, the minimum price and residual could react appropriately.
A change like this would really show that the province is aware of what is happening to the industry and is willing to help