UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Landowners, foresters, loggers and others involved in the forest-products industry can gain valuable knowledge and information by attending the Timber 2007 Forest Products Equipment and Technology Exposition, June 1-2.

Co-hosted by the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association and Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, the bi-annual event will be held at Penn State's Ag Progress Days site at Rock Springs, on Pa. Route 45, nine miles southwest of State College. The expo is sponsored by AgChoice Farm Credit and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Hardwoods Development Council.

A series of speakers and workshops will give attendees a chance to learn about a range of business and production issues, and some seminars will be offered for continuing education credit under the state's Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

The featured speaker will be Holly Womack, vice president of CoBank's International Division, whose talk, "Getting Paid in the Export World," will focus on the pitfalls and implications of international trade finance. Womack will explore such tools as letters of credit, collections and various types of credit insurance. Her presentation will take place at 11 a.m. on June 1.

Participants in the state's Sustainable Forestry Initiative can earn one year of SFI continuing education credit by attending a special training course, "Introduction to Forest Management," from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on June 1. Taught by Jim Finley, Penn State professor of forest resources, and David Jackson, forest resources extension educator, the course will cover forest ecology and best-management practices. The cost is $55, and the course will be limited to 30 people. To pre-register, call (814) 867-9299 or toll-free (888) 734-9366, or send e-mail to sfi@penn.com.

Loggers also can receive a year of SFI credit by attending any three of the following free workshops offered on June 2:

10 a.m. -- A Primer on Road Posting and Bonding (Dave Mader, PennDOT, and Harlow Flory, PFPA)

11:30 a.m. -- Obtaining PennDOT Permits Through the Internet (Harlow Flory, PFPA)

1 p.m. -- A Pending Forestry Crisis: An Update on the Emerald Ash Borer (Sven-Erik Spichiger, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture)

2:30 p.m. -- Managing Species of Special Concern: Using the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory Database (Harlow Flory, PFPA)

Other Timber 2007 workshops will include:

June 1:

9:30 a.m. -- Controlling Cracks in Manufactured Wood Products (Paul Blankenhorn, professor of wood technology, Penn State School of Forest Resources)

1 p.m. -- Improving Safety Performance in Your Forest Products Company (Judd Michael, associate professor of wood products, Penn State School of Forest Resources)

2:30 p.m. -- Alternative Energy: Are There Opportunities for Forest Landowners and Forest Product Companies? (Chuck Ray, assistant professor of wood products operations, Penn State School of Forest Resources)

4 p.m. -- Serving the Forest Products Sector: An Update from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (Cheryl Cook, deputy secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture)

June 2:

11 a.m. -- State Forest Resource Management Plan Update (Matt Keefer, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)

The leading hardwood-producing state in the nation, Pennsylvania is home to more than 2,700 forest product companies and 500,000 forest landowners. The forest products industry has $16 billion in annual sales and generates about $27 billion a year for the state's economy.

Timber 2007 also will feature new and emerging technology, machinery demonstrations, nearly 90 commercial and educational exhibitors and opportunities to visit with government and private-sector business-assistance specialists.

Parking and admission are free. For information on Timber 2007, call (814) 863-2873 or visit the Web at http://patimbershow.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact Paul Lyskava at (717) 312-1244 or by e-mail at plyskava@paforestproducts.org; or contact Bob Oberheim at 814-692-5262 or by e-mail at rlo1@psu.edu.

Chuck Gill 814-863-2713 cdg5@psu.edu