December 2022
TAZEWELL, Tennessee – In early September, Dale Seals, 43, got the call that his business, Dale Seals Logging Co., would be recognized as the Tennessee Forestry Association’s 2022 Master Logger of the Year. It was convenient timing: Southern Loggin’ Times had just been to visit Seals barely a month earlier.
Inside This Issue
COVER: Dale Seals: Tennessee Logger Of The Year
TAZEWELL, Tennessee – In early September, Dale Seals, 43, got the call that his business, Dale Seals Logging Co., would be recognized as the Tennessee Forestry Association’s 2022 Master Logger of the Year. It was convenient timing: Southern Loggin’ Times had just been to visit Seals barely a month earlier.
Article by David Abbott, Managing Editor, Southern Loggin’ Times
SOUTHERN STUMPIN': Odds And Ends
If you’re reading this, then you made it to the end of another year. Congratulations; you deserve a pat on the back. There are always good times and bad times, ups and downs in this business, but rarely more so than in the last three years. The more time I spend around the logging industry, the more often I am genuinely amazed at how loggers manage to keep weathering it all, year in and year out.
Article by David Abbott, Managing Editor, Southern Loggin’ Times
Big Milestone
PRATTVILLE, Alabama – Loggers from around the state gathered in Prattville on Saturday, October 29th for the Alabama Loggers Council’s annual meeting. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the group’s formation in 1992.
FROM THE BACKWOODS PEW: Burn Barrel
When Old Man Winter gets bored in the Midwest and North, occasionally he will take a vacation and come to the South. The old Christmas cartoon spins the song “It’s Gonna Snow Right Here in Dixie” (see The Year Without A Santa Claus). School kids here rejoice, as a dusting of snow usually closes the school doors. But there is not much rejoicing in the logging community.
Article By Brad Antill, forester and author. Excerpted from Woods, Worship, and Wasteland.
BULLETIN BOARD
Our Best Leisure Selections From Our Not-So-Sharp Minds
INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP
- As We See It: Thanksgiving Perspective
- Forest Service Allies With Strategic Biofuels
- Rayonier Expands Southern Timber Base
- Auburn University Team Looks At Needle Blight
- Ponsse NA Expands To Southern U.S.
- Sawmill Will Feed Pallet Block Facility
MACHINES-SUPPLIES-TECHNOLOGY
- Komatsu Delimb/Cut/Stack Processor
- Vermeer Max Grinder Tip Line
- Shell Rotella Synthetic Engine Oil
- HAIX Airpower Work Boot
Dale Seals: Tennessee Logger Of The Year
Article by David Abbott, Managing Editor, Southern Loggin’ Times
TAZEWELL, Tennessee – In early September, Dale Seals, 43, got the call that his business, Dale Seals Logging Co., would be recognized as the Tennessee Forestry Association’s 2022 Master Logger of the Year. It was convenient timing: Southern Loggin’ Times had just been to visit Seals barely a month earlier.
They say logging is in the blood, and this logger is no exception. Seals comes from a long line of loggers and sawmillers; he’s fifth generation. He and his older brother Jimmy worked on the family farm and in the woods for their dad, Jim Seals, since they were 10 or so years old. “He taught us everything,” Dale recalls. After finishing high school, Seals wasn’t sure what direction he might take. “I prayed about it, and the Lord led me in this direction,” he says. “I like the outdoors; I love (logging) and I love to farm, so I am blessed to do both.”
As both a logger and farmer (he splits his time between his woods and cattle businesses), Seals is a supporter of his local FFA and the Tennessee Forestry Association. He says TFA’s Candace Dinwiddie will be irreplaceable when she retires (hopefully not anytime soon). “She has a great attitude, is very helpful and is a great advocate for loggers. She fights for us when no one else will and I appreciate all she does.”
Seals isn’t the type to sing his own praises or hog glory for himself; he’s quick to share credit where it’s due, especially with his crew. “I have a good group of guys, the cream of the crop,” he says. “That’s been a long time coming. I’ve been doing this since 1999, and when I first started, it was a struggle to get good guys.” Over time, he says, employees began to notice that Dale Seals Logging kept them working consistently in good equipment, focused on safety and paid well. With that reputation established, he says, it hasn’t been too hard to find and keep the best when they know they’ll be taken care of.
The Barko loader is a 2018 model.
Working mostly in hardwood hills, Dale Seals has tracked carriers, like this 859M with Quadco head, to cut and shovel on both crews.
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