The FBS Podcast

Steve Bick

This podcast features discussions of topics from the Forest Business School's programs and publications. Each episode brings you practical and actionable ideas that other working lands small business owners and professionals have already implemented. We help you grow your minds to you can improve your business.

  1. Jul 26

    FBS 55 Responses to Low-Grade Market Losses

    Welcome to episode two of this special two-part series of the FBS Podcast, brought to you as part of The Forest Business School’s ongoing commitment to helping mid-career professionals in forestry and wood products navigate complex industry challenges. Prompted by the recent decision by Finch Paper to stop purchasing roundwood for its pulp operations, this episode explores how other practical, working forest businesses and regions have successfully adapted to similar devastating low-grade wood market losses. Drawing directly from the latest Business and Market Responses report, we bypass the generic advice to look at real operational pivots—from company-level product diversification like integrated firewood expansions to multi-supplier logging cooperatives and regional industrial mill conversions. We unpack the hard truths of survival: why securing repeat customers and solid distribution channels must happen before investing in new processing equipment, the critical importance of matching your specific feedstock to the right process, and the harsh realities of cash flow and operational bottlenecks. If you are a contractor, sawmill manager, or forester figuring out what to do with your low-grade wood, listen in for grounded, actionable takeaways, and be sure to visit pivot.vtfbs.com for a copy of the full paper and related resources.

  2. Jul 26

    FBS 54 The Vanishing Pulpwood Market

    Welcome to episode one of a special two-part series of the FBS Podcast, where we break down Finch Paper's recent decision to halt local roundwood pulpwood purchases and what it signals about the continuing national loss of low-grade wood markets. Designed specifically for mid-career forestry and wood products professionals, this episode explores the real-world squeeze this market contraction puts on logging businesses, trucking routes, and silvicultural options for foresters and landowners. We cut through the noise to discuss the practical implications for your margins, equipment utilization, and long-term operating resilience, focusing on actionable insights rather than generic business advice. Be sure to visit pivot.vtfbs.com to download your own copy of the Primer on Low Grade Wood Market Losses and access similar resources to follow along with the data driving today's conversation.

  3. Jun 26

    FBS 53 New Forest Carbon Apps

    This podcast episode explores how two free independent web applications, FCO (https://fco.forestenterprise.org/) and CARBINE (https://carbine.forestenterprise.org/), are lowering the steep technical learning curve for foresters, landowners, and forest businesses seeking to answer practical forest carbon questions. The discussion details how FCO provides a clean, user-friendly doorway into broad-area carbon estimates from the USDA Forest Service's FIA and EVALIDator databases, preserving official uncertainty data without inventing substitute numbers. The conversation then shifts to CARBINE, which tackles the notoriously difficult and finicky Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) by translating its complex input requirements into an accessible, browser-based workflow for stand-level carbon scenario exploration. Ultimately, the episode highlights how these complementary tools—FCO for regional context and CARBINE for stand-level management projections—work together to make powerful public data and modeling systems accessible for real-world decision-making and communication.

  4. Jun 22

    FBS 52 Vermont Disaster Grants for Working Lands Businesses

    In this episode, we break down the latest details onVermont's $31.7 million Agriculture and Timber Disaster Assistance Block Grant, designed to help working-lands businesses recover from the severe 2023 and 2024storms and flooding. With the application portal expected to open later in 2026, we discuss exactly who may be eligible—from timber owners to logging contractors—and how you can start gathering your records and documentation right now to prepare your application. For additional guidance, we point listeners to disaster.vtfbs.com for grant help.

  5. Jun 1

    FBS 51 Have Fun Learning with the SumBuck App

    In this episode, we dive into SumBuck, a free and robust virtual training app that provides hands-on practice for hardwood log bucking and grading. Developed by Steve Bick of the Forest Business School, this innovative tool allows forestry professionals and students to practice cutting tree-length stems without the risk of wasting real wood or production time. We discuss how the app acts as a risk-free simulator where users can compare their cuts against an optimizer to see how factors like length, diameter, and changing market prices impact the overall value of a log. Whether you are a small business owner looking to yield higher value from your hardwood or an educator running a workshop, this episode will show you how to build your field judgment faster—just be warned, virtual bucking can be highly addictive. “You’d be a woreout sumbuck. I’ll tell you that. Think how good you’d sleep.” - Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

  6. Apr 30

    FBS 50 Build and Host a Free Website for your Business

    In this episode of the FBS podcast, we walk listenersthrough a revolutionary, step-by-step method to build a clean, professional one-page website with absolutely no coding required, no web developer, and zero monthly hosting fees. Tune in to discover how to effortlessly use Claude AI asyour digital architect to shape your raw business details into a functioning site, and learn how to securely host your files for free using GitHub Pages. Bythe end of this episode, you will understand the exact blueprint for claiming your digital plot and maintaining complete ownership over your business'swebsite.  There is even a free guide to how to build your and upload your website at www.build.vtfbs.com.    TheForest Business School has a one-session online course on how to build yourwebsite – reach out if you want to host one of these classes or offer it through your organization.

  7. Apr 6

    FBS 49 Systems and Technology Needs of Small Businesses

    In this episode, we explore the critical transition fromfragmented, paper-based operations to integrated digital systems for forest-based small businesses like sawmills, logging crews, and firewood producers. We discuss how reliance on manual data entry and intuitive decision-making creates an "invisible system failure," leading to acumulative value leakage of up to 20-35% across procurement, conversion, and distribution. By examining the "technician trap" that keeps owners bogged down in daily tasks, the episode highlights why heavy, expensiveenterprise software fails these smaller operations and why lightweight, mobile-first technologies—such as ruggedized tablets, scaling apps, and cloud-based inventory tools—are essential. Ultimately, listeners will learn howadopting these incremental, fit-for-purpose digital tools provides the real-time operational visibility needed to maximize yield, improve throughput, and transform a functioning business into a highly optimized asset

  8. Feb 16

    FBS 48 Delegate the Standard (not the style)

    In this episode of The FBS Podcast, we tackle the singlebiggest hurdle for owner-operators in forestry, sawmilling, and field services: how to scale your business without sacrificing the craftsmanship your reputation is built on. We explore the critical transition from being the "primary engine" of production to becoming the navigator, breakingdown why the belief that "no one does it like I do" inevitably leads to burnout and business bottlenecks. Listeners will discover actionable strategies for delegating judgment rather than just tasks—such as defining"acceptable ranges" and utilizing "reverse-shadowing"—allowing you to maintain high standards and quality control through visual benchmarks rather than corporate bureaucracy. Join us as we discuss the necessary identity shift from being the best operatoron the crew to the leader who ensures the work gets done right, even when youaren't holding the tool.

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About

This podcast features discussions of topics from the Forest Business School's programs and publications. Each episode brings you practical and actionable ideas that other working lands small business owners and professionals have already implemented. We help you grow your minds to you can improve your business.

Information

  • Creator
    Steve Bick
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    70
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Steve Bick
  • Show Website
    The FBS Podcast

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