any individual or firm engaged in harvesting roundwood or chips and converting them into various products —note 1. primary producers include loggers and chip harvesters, saw millers, plywood producers, pulp manufacturers, and paper makers who produce the initial merchantable products —note 2. secondary producers buy products from primary producers and manufacture additional products, such as furniture parts, paper bags or boxes, and modular housing —note 3. the line between primary and secondary producers is fuzzy; generally, the initial breakdown of roundwood or chips into salable products is regarded as primary processing and the firm that does that is called the primary producerThis definition last updated 08/04/2008