Telephone Poles Make Good Farm Lumber

Telephone Poles Make Good Farm Lumber WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 26-1-7 Old utility poles often end up in landfills. Sawmill owner Sharon Whitehurst hated to see all that wood go to waste so she developed a specialty business, turning the treated posts into lumber. Whitehurst runs a Wood-Mizer portable sawmill on her farm-based operation near Taylorville, Ill. Most poles are hauled to her place but she also takes her mill to the poles, when necessary. She's been turning utility poles into lumber for eight years. Discarded poles are sometimes as old as 80 years but because of the heavy creosote treatment, the wood is usually perfectly preserved. Poles are generally made of Douglas fir, pine or cedar. She says customers use them for a variety of industrial and home uses including decks, porches and fences. She and her crew also produce bridge planks that measure 2 1/2 in. thick by 8 in. wide. Other commercial uses include wood vats, which use 10-in. wide slabs. The rounded edges cut off the slabs also have a use. Farmers put them on the ground under round bales. They're perfect for this because they won't rot and are lower to the ground than tires or other objects that might be used to prevent spoilage. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Sharon Whitehurst, LSW Sawmill, 1712 N. 1800 E Road, Taylorville, Ill. 62568 (ph 217 325-4222; After 5 pm, call 217 325-3587).

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