Here, we HAVE to go through a dealer. The dealers hold all the cards and not just anyone can become a dealer. It's set up through the mills so, yes, there is opportunity for shady dealings. The dealers get the load tickets for the mills. One dealer may get 50 tickets (loads) per week or 500 tickets. But a logger MUST have a ticket for each load. The dealers gets the wood price from the mill. They buy the timber and send in the loggers. The mill sends the dealer the pay and in turn the dealer pays the landowner and the loggers. If timber prices go down, between the three (,landowner, logger, and dealer) which 2 do you think take the biggest hit? Remember, the dealer is the one dividing up the money. Also, if there is only 50 tickets a week for say 4 crews, that's about 13 loads a week per crew. Hard to stay in business with equipment cost,fuel, and labor hauling 13 loads a week.