Economic
Impact
Ash
wood is used for all traditional applications of hardwood
from flooring and cabinets to baseball bats. A viable
portion of the market for ash in Ohio is centered around
the tool handle market. Ohio has two major tool handle
plants: Ames/True Temper (Dexter City, Noble County) and
Crook Miller Co. (Hicksville, Defiance County). The Crook
Miller Co. gets approximately 25 percent of its ash from
Ohio.
The
nursery/horticulture and the wood/paper/furniture manufacturing
industries contribute a combined $15.5 billion to the
state's economy. The horticulture and nursery segment
employs 96,000 Ohioans, according to the Ohio Nursery
and Landscape Association (ONLA). According to Tom Sporleder
of the Ohio State University, 81,680 are employed in wood,
paper and furniture manufacturing.
Ohio's
nursery growers in 2003 estimated that ash trees contribute
$20 million (wholesale value) to Ohio's economy each year,
not to mention the dollars generated at retail garden
centers and landscape contractors. [Economic impact calculated
based on (Yearly lineouts) x (number of crops in production)
= (total number of ash trees currently in production)
x $ (Your average price).] (ONLA Survey, Spring 2003.)
According
to the 2003-04 Nursery Stock Survey, 17 different varieties
of ash trees are currently
in production in the state.
Ohio
has approximately 2.1 billion board feet (the usable lumber
within a log) of standing ash timber (between 11 and 29
inches in diameter) that is worth almost $1 billion at
the sawmill. (USDA Forest Service)
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