The Virginia Forest Products Association, Missouri Forest Products Association, Michigan Association of Timbermen and now the Ohio Forestry Association (OFA) have all voiced opposition to the Hardwood Checkoff initiative now under consideration by the US Department of Agriculture.

The Checkoff proposal was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2013. A 90-day comment period ending on February 18, 2014, yielded more than 950 industry comments on the plan. A majority of the comments were opposed to the proposed Checkoff blueprint.

A check off was first proposed in 1993 within the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). The NHLA polled its membership and never garnered more than 41 percent support. In an internal vote in 1995, NHLA members voted down the Checkoff process and the industry never submitted the proposed order to the USDA for publication in the Federal Register. In November 2013, however, the proposal by the 14 member Blue Ribbon Committee was published in the Federal Register for industry comment.

Hardwood Checkoff Battle

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Hardwood Checkoff Proposal Moves Forward, with Controversy	Hardwood Checkoff Changes Proposed

The US Hardwood Industry Coalition, which also opposes the Hardwood Checkoff proposal, applauded OFA's recent decision.

“This process was supposed to be finished a year ago, and the industry has spoken clearly through the comment process that it does not want a Checkoff imposed on it against its will, but somehow the Checkoff idea has clung to life in the halls of USDA,” said Jeff Edwards, of Edwards Wood Products, and co-chairman on the US Hardwood Lumber Industry Coalition. “We hope the voice of OFA, which is chorus with the industry across the country, will reach Washington and be heard finally. It is time to formally terminate the Hardwood Checkoff,” Edwards concluded.

Despite the opposition, the Hardwood Checkoff Committee, an industry group in support of the proposal, noted in its April newsletter "it's expected that the industry could soon see a new Federal Register notice with a revised checkoff program. USDA has confirmed that the Hardwood Checkoff is in "step three" of the review process."

For more details about the proposal, visit HardwoodCheckoff.com.