WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service will offer $41 million through the 2023 Wood Innovations Grant and 2023 Community Wood Grant programs to spark innovation and create new markets for wood products and renewable wood energy. Made possible in part by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, these grants expand wood product use and strengthen emerging wood energy markets, supporting sustainable forest management – particularly in areas of high wildfire risk.

Great Southern Wood Preserving, the lumber processing company best known for its YellaWood brand pressure-treated pine, announced a $5.9 million expansion of its Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana facility’s remanufacturing division with the installation of four new production lines. The additional equipment will increase the facility’s production capacity and allow for the manufacturing of components used in the oil field and for storm relief and mitigation.