Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

logging exports
wife had their first child
and wanted to live closer to
home.
“It was a good decision,”
he said, echoing his siblings’
sentiments that they
enjoy working together.
“Our roles all kind of intertwine.”
On an overcast day in
early May, the log yard
at Tracy Export’s East
Dubuque location is buzzing
with activity.
Yard men have already
cut, marked and sorted
thousands of logs into
different groups that each
make up a container lot, the
volume that will fit into an
ocean-going container.
As a fork truck loads logs
marked with yellow paint
into a container bound for
Japan, lifting them from
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo / Trevis Mayfield
Most of the logs in Tracy Export’s holding yards are destined for
overseas. Japan and Italy are two of the local firm’s major clients
for wood that will be used in high-end furniture.
one of the dozens of piles
dotting the sprawling outdoor
storage yard, Allysen
noted that logs are a heavy
load compared with other
cargo. And because of their
high-end use, they must be
handled carefully.
“We want to make sure
the product is getting to
the customer perfectly, the
way it should be, and the
way they want it, with no
damage to the container,
and no damage to the log,”
she said.
The company has 10
buyers who travel the Mid-
“Our Japanese customers
will slice a piece of wood
down to 0.2 millimeters
for veneer, so it takes a
very, very high quality
log without any defects,
without any holes, without
any rot in the middle of it,
to be able to manufacture
something so thin.”
— Matt Tracy
Welter Seed
& Honey Co.
Offering the
widest selectiOn
Of seed in the
tri-state area
• Alfalfa
• Pasture Mixes
• Corn
• Soybeans
• Small Grains
• Lawn Seed
• Cover Crops
• Custom Mixes
• Seed for CRP
• Pollinator Mixes
Celebrating
Over 65 Years
in Business!
17724 Hwy. 136 • Onslow, IA • (800) 470-3325
www.welterseed.com
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