Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists

It has taken me four years to build up from scratch:
1x Nuffield of power.
1x winch with no name.
1x log splitter.
1x saw bench.
These have been bought second hand and all have needed work. Currently as things stand i am desperate for a 4x4 tractor, but running the above seem to drain any savings that i manage to aquire.
This year i am hoping that i will see a bigger return on firewood as production will be trippled.
My point to this how are you going to finance this, your kit list is a huge outlay. Forestry is probably more cut throat than any other industry. Furthermore you will be competing against people with many more experiance. Both of the above will count heavily against you, and if it all goes pear shaped you will have no work and owe a large amount of money.
I am not trying to put you off as foresty is very satisfying.
Good luck.

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Depends on how far your extraction is but how about small excavator with log grab and atv like timber trailer?? If no work in wood you've always got option of some digger work landscaping or ditching.....plenty of good attachments for excavators.

I recently set up my own small scale contracting business based on a 75hp alpine with 3.5 tonne winch and a standard 4wd tractor and 10 tonne forwarding trailer. I hope that this gives me a good set up to manage small to medium private and estate parcels and allows me to play the low impact card without being too niche/specialist.

Sometimes a day rate can be appropriate, but more often clients want a piece rate for cut and extract - £20-£25/m3 seems reasonable for hand cutting and extracting with agri-based machinery.

However, any business plan that is based on working 5 days a week for 52 weeks is seriously flawed. Look at the weather at the moment, I can't get onto most sites the ground is still too wet. You also need to factor in machinery down time, working around shooting season/bird nesting, time spent quoting/pricing/invoicing/paperwork etc. Work out what your total overheads are for the year, then be realistic about the number of days you think you can find work - 260 days is very optimistic in my opinion - and divide one by the other to see what you need to be earning each day to break even - never mind make a profit!

That sounds a really good setup to cover most sites

Thats the sort of idea I have for a job I have lined up next winter. I have agreed an hourly rate for 2 cutters to tidy up 3 small woodlands, and will probably hire a small digger with grab to move timber out with using a small timber trailer. By having digger on site, will hopefully get some ditches to clean out as well.

Farmer Ben, what price did you agree for that set up?

Dont forget fuel for saws,tractor,oils,chains etc punctures in your tractor,downtime for breakdowns etc,all adds up mate, ive been self employed for 18 years and still never seem to get it right !!, ill always help out tho when i can, just give me a nod

If you're still interested in doing this, grants are available but applications have to be submitted before 17 July 2012

The alpine wouldnt be eligable anyway, the winch would although you would have to demonstrate your working in woodland requiring winch extraction, and the woodland must have a management plan, if you dont have eligable woodlands with a mgmt plan you will require a letter from your local FC office

Hope this is of some use, the paperwork isnt that hard and depending on your area there are organisations out there that will work through it with you on your behalf

All I can say, as I know nothing of forestry work, what you have allowed for running and repairs to machinery, take that figure and double it! You will find that machinery will always cost more to run than you think, you'd be surprised at how expensive the smallest item can be and it soon tots up to a huge bill!

No trying to be negative, I hope you succeed with it and prosper. But don't do yourself short now, as it'll come back and bite you when you need some cpaital for a new machine!