By JAMES RONALD SKAINS

Our current economic problems in agriculture and forestry are plain and simple,'' Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom told about 125 people gathered at the Forestry building on the Winn Parish Fairgrounds on Tuesday night Feb. 20.

``We can not continue to get out-negotiated in our trade agreements as we have recent years. When the U.S.-Canada Softwood Agreement expires on March 31, Canada is going to hurt our forest industry in Louisiana with their cheap imported lumber.''

Representatives from about a dozen Federal and State Agencies were in attendance at the hastily arranged meeting in Winnfield.

Jimmy Williams, former Winnfield City Councilman and now Executive director of Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning and Development District, Inc. based in Alexandria was the prime organizer of the event and served as moderator.

Representatives of the various agencies presented several types of economic relief help available to U.S. business owners who are hurt financially under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Buck Vandersteen, executive Director of the Louisiana Forestry Association, said "There is nothing that can be done about the situation right at the moment. The U.S.-Canada Softwood Agreement will expire on March 31st and will not be renewed. It is beyond our control. Some people will get hurt economically but we think it will be cyclical and lumber prices for our products will come back."

Ag and Forestry Commissioner Bob Odom, responding to a question from the floor concerning the real status of the forest industry in North Louisiana said "The timber industry in North Louisiana is not dead. With Canada flooding the U.S Lumber market with cheap lumber, things aren't looking good for the forest industry for the next couple of years but the forest industry is not dead, it will come back. Exactly when, we don't know."

Odom also stated emphatically, "The people in Washington, D.C. who are negotiating our trade agreements must do a much better job in protecting both of forest industry and our agriculture interests. We also need to find ways to add value to our wood products here in Louisiana before the products are shipped out of state."

John Broussard of the Rural Business Development Agency in Louisiana said "Rural Business Development Agency is actually three agencies in one. We are a specialized lending Agency with revolving loans available and some grants to assist small businesses. Our loan portfolio has grown from $80 million to $250 in just the last few years."

033 "Under the terms of NAFTA, low interest loans are available to businesses adversely affected by NAFTA," Broussard explained. "At the present time, our Agency has $56 million in loans in the 12 Louisiana parishes that are qualified as hurt financially by NAFTA. Winn parish and surrounding parishes that are heavily dependent upon the forest industry will now be eligible for financial relief under the terms of the NAFTA Agreement."

``At the current time, only 3 parishes in North Louisiana have been designated economic disaster areas under the terms of NAFTA,'' Broussard also pointed out. ``When the Sunbeam plant closed in Coushatta a couple of years ago, Red River, Bienville, and DeSoto became eligible for relief.''

Nationwide, the Rural Development Agency has over $1 billion loans out to businesses affected by the NAFTA Agreement.

Danny Creel, whose office in Alexandria administers the Emergency Funding Bill program related to natural disasters such as droughts and fires, noted that North Central Louisiana residents who suffered from the drought or from the many fires that plagued the forest lands of Louisiana last summer are eligible for financial help.

Another interesting individual who attended the Forestry Forum in Winnfield was Ernesto Villalobos, a marketing specialist with Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (SWTAAC) based in San Antonio, Texas, on the University of Texas at San Antonio downtown campus.

SWTAAC organization covers the three states of Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Ernesto, in a passionate discussion of his Agency's programs for those adversely financially affected under the terms of NAFTA, pointed out ``The Trade Adjustment Center has grants available of up to $150,000 to individual business affected by NAFTA.''

Kiah Bevill, one of the three founding partners of PBS Lumber Company which employs nearly 140 people at their Thomas Road facility in Winnfield, in replying to Ernesto's grant program of $150,000 pointed out ``$150,000 won't even pay our log bill for a month, so that won't be much real help to us. Our problem is that once the Agreement with Canada expires, we can't survive once Canada begins dumping cheap subsidized lumber on the U.S. lumber market.''

Bevill also noted another immediate problem faced by PBS. ``Our energy cost to run the mill has jumped in the last two months from $35,000 per month to $58,000.''

Ernest Johnson, Manager of Winn Veneer Company, a fixture in the Winn parish economic structure since the 1960's, echoed Bevill's concern about rising cost of energy. ``Our energy bill at Winn Veneer has gone from $12,000 per month to $27,000 a month at the same level of production. To convert to using wood chips would cost us over a million and a half dollars which is not economically feasible.''

Commissioner Odom, noting PBS and Winn Veneer's rise in energy cost, pointed out ``Poultry growers have seen their energy cost increase 4-5 times in the last couple of months. Ag and forestry are being hit from all angles with problems that we can't solve right now.''

Bill Porter of the Manufacturers Economic Programs based in Lafayette at the University of Louisiana campus was also present. Porter works out of a Shreveport office.

Gordon Dyer with the Technology Transfer Division of Lockheed Marietta based at Michoud Space Center in New Orleans discussed available NASA-developed technology available to private industry.

Pamela Ellers with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce also attended the Forestry Forum in Winnfield. Dr. Ramsey Smith of the LSU Forest Products Lab was also present.

Dr. Smith's last visit to Winnfield was a couple months ago when he participated in unveiling of L.L. Brewton Lumber Company's borate treated lumber project. Borate treated lumber is an innovation in the fight against the dreaded Formosan termites.

State Senator Mike Smith, a graduate of Winnfield High School and Northwestern State University also addressed the Forestry Forum.

``The making of this economic disaster in forestry and agriculture didn't happen overnight. The people in Washington, D.C. are directly to blame for this economic disaster.''

``NAFTA has destroyed our wood and raw products industry in the United States,'' Senator Smith explained. ``Losing your livelihood is worse than a natural disaster.''

``The effects of NAFTA plus the jump in energy cost really has this part of the country in an economic bind,'' Senator Smith added. ``Four years ago, I tried to get the Louisiana Legislature to pass a resolution urging Congressional delegation to push for a National Energy Policy so that we wouldn't be hit by these big jumps in energy cost.''

Noticeably absent from the Winnfield Forestry Forum were the two Louisiana Congressmen whose Districts encompass most of the timber belt in Louisiana -- Congressman John Cooksey of Monroe who represents the 5th District, and Congressman James Otis McCrery III of Shreveport who represents the heavily wooded 4th District of western Louisiana.

However, Donna Kay Matteson on the staff of U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas attended the forum and addressed the meeting.

Matteson, in charge of Special Projects and Economic Development for the Arkansas Senator told the Forum ``Senator Lincoln is very concerned about what is happening to forest and lumber industry in the United States. What affects Northern Louisiana in the Forest industry affects the Southern Arkansas. Senator Lincoln would welcome any input as to how to make the situation in the forest industry better.''

State Representative Rodney Alexander of Jonesboro who represents part of Winn parish alsospoke.

``I'm very confused by everything that is happening in the forest industry. NAFTA is taking away our markets and rising energy cost are putting other people out of business,'' Alexander said. ``I've been helping my brother on the weekends on his contract at the Willamette expansion at their Dodson mill. I noticed that his men were nailing up Georgia-Pacific plywood on the Willamette mill. Tell me how that makes sense?''

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