Pennsylvania is working to advance its forest and wood products industry through a combination of government initiatives, industry partnerships, and education programs. To help facilitate this, the Pennsylvania House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee held a meeting April 15-16 to discuss ways to advance Pennsylvania’s forest and wood products industry. 

The meeting hosted by Stoltzfus Forest Products, Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania, included tours of the host company's manufacturing facilities as we well as Strasburg Pallet Company in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. In addition to supporting hardwoods as a whole, the meeting also discussed the need for a Southern Hardwood Utilization Group.

Lancaster County is home to more jobs in the forest products industry than any other county in Pennsylvania, but lacks a local organization to coordinate forest management, promote hardwood industries and attract workers, according to a report in LancasterOnline. Speakers called on the state's General Assembly to fund the formation of a Hardwood Utilization Group (HUG) for the 33 counties across southern Pennsylvania.

Among those attending and speaking were Russell C. Redding, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; Jon Guyer, executive director, Pennsylvania Hardwoods Development Council; Mariah Stuck Knouse, Pennsylvania Forest Products Association; Amy Shields, executive director, Alleghany Hardwood Utilization Group; Stephanie Phillips-Taggart, executive director, Keystone Wood Products Association; Shelby Chorba, executive director, Northern Tier Hardwoods Association; Phillip Smith, COO/Klin Dried Lumber Sales, Stoltzfus Hardwoods; Anthony Hahn, president and CEO, Conestoga Wood Specialties; Netta Dor Shalgi, founder and CEO, NDS Design Inc.; and Brant Forcey, president, Forcey Lumber Co.

In a Facebook post, Secretary Redding said, "Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking before the House Ag Committee about one of PA’s greatest natural assets: our forests. Our hardwood industry contributes $39 billion to our state’s economy and supports more than 60,000 jobs across every corner of the Commonwealth. From fine furniture to flooring, PA hardwoods are recognized worldwide for their strength, beauty, and sustainability."

According to Redding, the state has committed $2 million in innovation grants to advance technology and sustainability in hardwood operations, a continued $725K line item for the Hardwoods Development Council, and strategic support for expanding Hardwood Utilization Groups (HUGs) to better serve the southern region.

"We also face global trade challenges—from tariffs to shifting markets—and now more than ever, state-level investment is essential, he said. "This industry is a model for rural innovation, stewardship, and shared success. As we look to the future, let’s remember: supporting forestry means supporting PA’s environment, economy, and heritage. Let’s keep growing Penn’s Woods." 

Pennsylvania leads the nation in the production and export of hardwood lumber, according to the Hardwoods Development Council. With 16.62 million acres of forestland, Pennsylvania has the most abundant hardwood forest in the United States and accounts for $21.8 billion in direct and $36 billion in indirect impacts on the state's economy. More than 60,000 Pennsylvanians — ten percent of the state's manufacturing workforce — are employed in the forest products industry.

One of those speaking was Netta Dor Shalgi, an entrepreneur from New York who now lives in Pennsylvania, who is building a new hardwood processing factory to eventually produce cat furniture as well as human furniture by using advanced technology to address manufacturing hurdles faced overseas. The venture, he says, aims to process Pennsylvania's abundant hardwoods for furniture, interior design, and architectural uses, integrating AI for logistics and administration.

"The general idea," he says, "is to revive the American hardwood processing. We're integrating a lot of new technologies and concepts first to table, so we will ship everything directly to the customers, cutting the costs for them, working in proximity to the raw material source, to the mills and to the dry kills Island manufacturing, which is a new a new method of manufacturing board processing."