October 14, 2008
Jasper County resident J. F. Weems, received Mississippi Forestry Association’s 2008 Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year award. Mr. Weems was presented with the award on October 16 at the MFA Annual Meeting in Choctaw during the President’s Banquet. The 400 banquet guests watched a video produced by Farmweek detailing Mr. Weems tree farm showing their 860 acres of immaculate forest land.
It can be found at http://msucares.com/news/farmweek/index.html. Along with a plaque and other gifts, Mr. Weems was given an all expense paid trip to the 2008 National Tree Farm Convention.
The Weems land has been in the family for over 150 years and has been in the Tree Farm program since 1954. Mr. Weems grandson Chris Weems takes an active part in managing the land. “We spend time as a family together in the woods trying to make it a better place,” said Chris.
Mr. Weems is a member of the Jasper County Forestry Association, a local chapter of Mississippi Forestry Association. As a member of the Jasper CFA, Mr. Weems has conducted several activities including field days on his property.
Members of the American Tree Farm System (ATFS/Tree Farm) are often identified by the white and green diamond shape signs they display on their property. Tree Farm is a program sponsored nationally by the American Forest Foundation promoting the sustainable management of forests through education and outreach to private forest landowners. Founded in 1941, ATFS is the oldest and largest forest conservation, certification and advocacy program in the United States. Since the inception of the program, Mississippi has ranked as the number one Tree Farm state in the country with over 3,000 registered tree farms.
In Mississippi, the Tree Farm program is administered by Mississippi Forestry Association, a non government organization that represents individual landowners and forestry businesses. The Association promotes conservation, sustainable forestry and public outreach programs. Mississippi Forestry Association’s vision is to serve as The Voice of Forestry in Mississippi. In 1938 MFA was formed to guard and grow Mississippi’s forests and that is still the mission today. MFA is the only organization that represents every group in the forestry community. MFA leads the efforts in protecting landowner rights, improving the forest products economy and educating the community about the ecological benefits of healthy, renewable forests and of the forest industry. MFA is a private (non government), nonprofit association. To learn more, visit www.msforestry.net.