Harvester rates

[Justme]

What is the going rate for a harvester & forwarder per ton?

Level site with good access mostly softwood but some immature hardwoods. Roughly 10 acres clear fell.

North Wales area.

[5thelement]

12 hours ago, Justme said:

What is the going rate for a harvester & forwarder per ton?

Level site with good access mostly softwood but some immature hardwoods. Roughly 10 acres clear fell.

North Wales area.

I don’t know the going rate, but 10 acres is a very small compartment to justify the transport and fuel costs for those two machines, you may struggle to find an operator who is prepared to bother.

[Squaredy]

16 hours ago, Justme said:

What is the going rate for a harvester & forwarder per ton?

Level site with good access mostly softwood but some immature hardwoods. Roughly 10 acres clear fell.

North Wales area.

I suggest contacting Coed Cymru who give advice on this sort of thing to landowners.  If as is stated above it is too small for harvester and forwarder then I guess you need a small scale forester who will hand fell and winch or skid the logs.  I am guessing it will be 700 to 1000 tons of logs, so I guess that is a big job for hand cutting?

 

But hey - I am not a forester.  Speak to Coed Cymru and I am sure they will give you some contacts.  Sorry, the people I know who could advise you are all South Wales.  

[timberonabike]

Not had a harvester in for a while, but 1000t used to be the tipping point for them to turn up and not cost you if they are also marketing the timber. Fuel rates have gone up a lot since then though.

Possible to do by hand cutting, just a little slower.

 

Try Aron Roberts, think he is working for Pearsons these days in North Wales and they have small scale forestry kit from memory.

 

[slack ma girdle]

The woods i am in at the moment Is 650m3 of good quality spruce.  The owner had tried 3 or 4 contractors ,  and all said the same thing, it wasn't worth there while as there wasn't enough volume to make it cost effective.

[AHPP]

1 hour ago, slack ma girdle said:

The woods i am in at the moment Is 650m3 of good quality spruce.  The owner had tried 3 or 4 contractors ,  and all said the same thing, it wasn't worth there while as there wasn't enough volume to make it cost effective.

What made it cost effective for you?

[Justme]

I think there is another patch close by thats getting done soon too that will help.

 

 

[slack ma girdle]

On 28/02/2023 at 15:12, AHPP said:

What made it cost effective for you?

My equipment is lighter weight, easier to move( I can mover it all myself), and doesn't use large amounts of fuel. Experience to know that i can make this site work despite saw logs nearly halving in value in the last year.

Lastly a good bunch of reliable sub contractors with a good work ethic.

[Mr. Ed]

On 01/03/2023 at 20:22, slack ma girdle said:

<< saw logs nearly halving in value in the last year.>>

Is that fall a correction to a supply chain spike in prices? You have thought the war would have kept prices high. 

 

 

[slack ma girdle]

I have no idea why the price dropped, given that the mill only sources timber within 50 miles,  so international fluctuations shouldn't affect the price. Thankfully the owner is happy despite the price drop.