Hardwood Federation Fly-In 2026: Making Our Voices Heard
The Hardwood Federation (HF) recently wrapped up another successful Fly-In to D.C. Sixty-five representatives of the industry and our associations conducted nearly 100 meetings with Members of Congress, Hill staff and key members of the Trump Administration.
Members of the Hardwood Federation and HFPAC Boards participated in meetings with Administration officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
Noted HF Executive Director Dana Cole, “These were excellent opportunities to focus on specific hardwood priorities, including the pending economic relief package in the Senate. We also made sure to ask that hardwood lumber be included in upcoming negotiations between the U.S. and China, specifically encouraging that Chinese lumber purchase commitments be secured. The U.S. and China will be conducting these negotiations through a bilateral “Board of Trade” which is still being developed. The importance of the U.S. government’s continued engagement on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was also noted during conversations.
USDA Farm Production and Conservation Undersecretary Richard Fordyce, a long time supporter of the hardwood community with extensive experience and ties in Missouri, expressed strong support for HF’s relief package proposal and noted the importance of the industry coming together as a united front to advocate for a successful package. He and his team committed to swift (by government standards) implementation should Congress allocate the funds.
Josh Jamison, the Chief of Staff to Natural Resources and Environment Undersecretary Michael Boren (who has oversight over the U.S. Forest Service), echoed this support and also encouraged the Federation Board to raise lumber purchases with USTR and to submit formal comments noting the importance of including lumber on the list of agricultural products to be discussed by the Board of Trade.
USTR officials spent a significant amount of time with the Federation Board members, expanding their understanding of hardwood issues and the impact of Chinese, Vietnamese and European Markets. They also strongly encouraged HF to officially comment on the Board of Trade, noting the list of included products is still very much in the development stage. Prior to the Fly-In the Federation was already developing Board of Trade Comments and securing commitments from House and Senate leaders to solicit signatures from their colleagues on a letter from Congress to USTR encouraging the inclusion of lumber.
Hill Day during the Fly-In consisted of 15 teams of hardwood leaders descending on a busy Capitol Hill.
The key messages to Congressional offices were simple:
• Support the $200 million in economic relief for the hardwood industry currently included in the Senate agriculture relief package language;
• Include hardwood industry-friendly initiatives allowing for greater truck weights in the Transportation bill;
• Pass the Farm Bill and include funding for Wood Innovation and Energy grant programs, funds for forest products related job training, including woody biomass in the Renewable Fuels Standard, and approve binding language recognizing the carbon neutrality of biomass;
• Sign the letter asking that hardwood lumber be added to the Board of Trade discussion topics; and
• Encourage the Trump Administration to continue efforts to reduce the burdens of the EUDR.
The Federation followed up with each office its teams met with, thanking them for their time and interest.
The third and final component of the annual Fly-In is HFPAC events that recognize key Congressional leaders.
This year HF focused on smaller groups than in the past in response to the high number of Congressional departures and retirements, as well as to prudently spend the PAC dollars generously contributed by those in the lumber industry. This year the Federation was pleased to welcome, among others, House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA), House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-OH), who is poised for Agriculture Committee leadership in the next Congress, and rising star Pat Ryan (D-NY). The PAC events gave the Members of Congress time to interact with industry leaders and to see firsthand the strength of industry engagement in the political process.
Learn more at hardwoodfederation.com.
