That, too, was a money-losing proposition during the last few drought stricken years. B.L. Swenson of Abilene, another Abilene firewood seller, said her business wasn't faring well either. Too many past warm winters and searing hot summers kept her from getting the kind of woodlot stock she really needs, she said. People don't use fireplaces much when the winters are mild, and braving the triple degree heat and rattlesnakes in July can be torturous. Summer, Frank Ysa said, is about the only time of year wood cutters are able to do their job anymore.
Hunters now take precedence over woodcutters seeking a few logs for the woodpile.
Trophy bucks bring far more dollars than a few dried up logs can offer. When the woodcutters do get through, it comes at a cost, the Ysas said, be it a monetary payment or a trade off in firewood. That cost is passed on to the customers in higher firewood prices. And the more the wood costs to get to the woodlots, the smaller the stockpiles get. Tim Hall, executive director of the Taylor County Farm Service Agency, said cash earned off of firewood in Taylor County doesn't even comprise one-tenth of 1 percent of the overall agricultural income earned in Taylor County.