By James L. Cummins
Special to The Journal

It was 2006. I was in Kodiak, Alaska about to board a float plane. My cell phone rang and it was The White House. I was being asked to serve as one of six Americans on the Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC). I asked for a week to consider it. They said, “You have one hour.” I said, “Yes.”

Five years later, and still one of the original Americans on the Council, I join my fellow American, and Canadian, members to applaud the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recent announcement that a majority of the softwood lumber industry has voted to approve the creation of a check-off program to fund a unified softwood lumber promotion program. Over the last three years, the BSLC has provided leadership and funding to support the development of the check-off.

For example, some of the most common check-off programs have funded “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner,” “Got milk?” and “Pork, the other white meat.”

“The Canadian and U.S. governments formed the BSLC in 2006 to fund programs to stop the erosion of market share and to grow the demand for lumber,” said Jim Lopez, Canadian co-chair of the BSLC. “I am appreciative that our long-term investment in check-off development has been successful.”

“I have seen the benefits of an organized and sustained promotional funding model,” said Jon Gartman, U.S. co-chair of the BSLC. Current efforts by the BSLC to expand and regain market share in non-residential and residential multi-family markets as well as to recapture ground in the outdoor living market are paying off with tangible results in market growth.

“Unfortunately, the BSLC received a finite amount of funding which will run out before its work is complete,” said Cees de Jager, executive director of the BSLC. “The check-off program is designed to remedy the situation by putting in place a funding model to support the programs currently funded by the BSLC as well as other programs worthy of support.”

U.S. and Canadian lumber manufacturers, which included major companies and smaller ones, were involved in the design of the softwood lumber check-off. Efforts were made to inform and consult with other companies as the plan was developed, and extensive efforts were made to reach out to every company participating in the U.S. market.

The check-off program has the potential to rebuild lost markets in the U.S. and take advantage of overseas opportunities, in the same way that sustained investment and effort have resulted in significant growth in sales to China in recent years.

At the end of the day, we believe the check-off will be viewed as an investment that generates returns well in excess of the dollars spent. The BSLC is looking forward to continuing to support efforts to build a better future for the industry.

James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their website is www.wildlifemiss.org .

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