Independent local farmer-settlers were also established suppliers of pulp wood to the mill, supplying approximately 25% of the company's annual needs. When they were asked to halt their own sales to put further pressure on the mill, however, the farmers refused. Combined with a separate strike at "The New York Times", one of the chief consumers of the mill's pulp, this weakened the bargaining position of the woodcutters. Union members began sabotaging the farmers' stacked piles of lumber, making it unsaleable. The farmers' refusal to support the strike, and the tactics of the strikers soured relationships with the community.