Conclusion

The analysis of the competitive forces helped us identify resources and relationships needed to be successful in the redcedar market.

Critical resources needed to successfully compete in the eastern red cedar marketplace include access to raw material and labor, market knowledge (where and how to sell everything that comes out of the mill), financial resources (even if it is possible to start small and grow the business in time), and the cultivation of personal relationships among players in the market value chain.

To gain an edge over other firms in the marketplace, the companies must build competitive advantages. A competitive advantage can be a better price for the value offered, a higher and consistent quality, a recognized brand name, or additional services offered (availability, in time delivery, convenience, flexibility, serviceability, and reliability). Understanding of the coordination, control, and relationships within the market can also be a valuable competitive advantage.

Concentrating on small market niches, knowing where the resource can be found, having good management and a trained work force, building strong relationships with suppliers and customers, and watching for competition are some keys that help companies to be successful in the marketplace.

We performed an overall analysis of the redcedar market. Each company, based on its position in the value chain, must understand the competitive forces that apply to them and overcome the specific barriers.

This research has shed some light on the inner workings of the red cedar industry. The market directory provided is intended to help make new contacts in the market and develop new relationships.

Next steps:
For the collective benefit of the redcedar industry, it is suggested that industry participants join their efforts to identify and pursue actions to grow the overall market. Actions to be taken in the near future might include:

• Creation of a redcedar marketing board to increase awareness of market opportunities.
• Developing an infrastructure by working with federal/state agencies to facilitate the flow of goods and information through the market.
• Linking industry participants with research institutions to develop new market opportunities by exploring alternative uses for eastern redcedar wood, oil, and products.
• Encourage private landowners to manage redcedar stands and foresters to learn more about how to manage it.

Creation of a redcedar marketing board
One of the key characteristics of the current redcedar market is the disjointed nature of the market participants. Little coordination exists between participants in the market for redcedar products. The market consists primarily of numerous individuals functioning autonomously. Because these market participants are disjointed, efficiencies that could benefit all players in the market are lost. By creating a redcedar marketing board, coordination within the market would help reduce these market inefficiencies.

For example, from our survey it was determined that the supply of raw redcedar material in states such as Oklahoma and Texas seemed to be limited; however, in Missouri and Arkansas, redcedar is so abundant that people are paying to have it destroyed. A red cedar marketing board would be able to coordinate supply and demand, provide a contact point for those who are looking to buy or sell red cedar, and lobby governmental agencies to adopt management practices on public land that benefit the growth of good quality redcedar.

Regional and local organizations can be formed to help educate the market about the use and management of the redcedar resource. These regional and local groups can work with public educational institutions and programs, such as Future Farmers of America (FFA) or University Outreach and Extension to educate landowners and future landowners of the potential redcedar markets.

Eastern redcedar's invasive nature has been one of the greatest impediments to its market development. Very little effort has been spent on understanding what it takes to improve the growth or quality of the species. Likewise, very little effort has been put into understanding its market uses and potentials. The abundance of redcedar has translated into the idea that it is a low value species. A marketing board can work with research institutions in order to develop new uses and markets, as well as improve the quality of the products that are sold.

Develop an infrastructure by working with federal/state agencies
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has supported many agricultural industries since it was established. Without the USDA's production and price reports, many agricultural commodities would suffer greater market risks than they currently experience. Likewise, many federal or state agencies provide information about timber markets and timber growth, such as the Missouri Department of Conservation's quarterly timber reports or the US Forest Service's FIA database. Although eastern redcedar prices and growth rates are reported through these agencies, more could be done to help establish an infrastructure that promoted the redcedar industry.

For example, the USDA has developed marketing standards for all the agricultural commodities. When "corn" or "pork bellies" are marketed there is an understanding of what is being traded. For "corn", buyers and sellers understand that it is a fixed number of bushels of number 2 yellow corn with a specified moisture content. However, no such understanding exists in the redcedar market. As a result, buying or selling raw redcedar materials requires a considerable amount of negotiating on terms of quality and quantity. Most timber species have specified standards, yet eastern red cedar's standards of quality are extremely vague. From this research it was quickly discovered that redcedar quality was often defined differently depending on what it was going to be used for.

Landowner's who have redcedar growing on their property will be reluctant to participate in a market where standards of quality and quantity are not clearly defined, simply because they are not in a position to negotiate price or hedge against risk.

Coordinate industry participants with research institutions to develop new market opportunities
In several areas of the country, research institutions are beginning to work with landowners to develop new market opportunities. For example, the Oklahoma Redcedar Association is working with Oklahoma State University to develop a particle board product that can be used in closet lining and other places where solid wood redcedar had typically been used. Likewise, Niobrara Valley Wood Products in Nebraska is working with the University of Nebraska to form a cooperative of eastern red cedar marketers. In each case, the partnership of market participants and research institutions has been a positive force in laying market foundations.

A template for an Eastern Redcedar Marketing Board already exists for the western redcedar. The Western Redcedar Lumber Association (WRCLA) is a non-profit association representing 28 quality producers of Western Redcedar lumber products in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, North Dakota (USA) and British Columbia (Canada). Known as "the voice of the cedar industry"-the WRCLA operates customer service programs throughout the United States and Canada to support its members' cedar products with information, education and quality standards. http://www.wrcla.org

Other institutions, such as the Midwest Research Institute, are looking at the chemical properties of eastern redcedar that can be used as a natural insecticide or to provide rot resistance to other types of wood. Researchers at the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), have developed a new kind of water filter made from a variety of wood fibers including eastern redcedar that show promise in cleaning water contaminants in a more effective and less expensive way. These filters are cleaning heavy metals from former mine sites; phosphorus, nutrients, and pesticides from agricultural activities; and oil from highway and parking lot runoff.

As mentioned earlier, the invasive nature of eastern redcedar has hindered the interest in research into redcedar reproduction; however, a need for research on the production of non-invasive 'male' cultivars could promote the use of eastern redcedar for windbreaks, timber and other product applications. In terms of wildlife habitat, male redcedar (lacking fruit) would provide winter cover but would not function as a food source.

A joint effort between The University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry and US Forest Service North Central Research Station will develop a handbook for redcedar that will provide an all encompassing look at production, biophysical characteristics, and markets. The goal of this handbook is to provide landowners with a basic understanding of redcedar and the industry in order to promote their involvement in the market.

Encourage private landowners to manage redcedar stands and foresters to learn more about how to manage it.
Studies have shown that growth and yield of eastern redcedar are affected by site quality, stand density and hardwood competition³ . Good growth rates can be maintained by controlling competition and stand densities. In a 45-year-old eastern redcedar stand, highest volume growth was obtained in unthinned stands from which hardwoods had been removed, double the growth of stands where hardwoods were left.⁴ Maintaining relatively dense stands can maximize post production. Thinning one or more times before harvest cut hastens sawlog production but may not increase total yield. Eastern red cedar should be managed in even-aged stands, judging from studies conducted in northern Arkansas.⁴ The ideal density for growing saw logs is not known, but excessive thinning may promote excessive formation of sapwood and growth of lower branches.

³Lawson, Edwin R. 1985. Eastern redcedar - an American wood. USDA Forest Service, FS-260. Washington, DC. 7 p

⁴Ferguson, E. R., E. R. Lawson, W. R. Maple, and C. Mesavage. 1968. Managing eastern redcedar. USDA Forest Service, Research Paper SO-37. Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, LA. 14 p