Self-sufficient woodland management transforms Suffolk family farm

An excavator, woodchipper and sawmill are allowing one Suffolk farmer to manage his woodland and produce timber for his own fencing and outbuildings.

After retiring from his Suffolk-based contracting business, Brockhill Contracts, Mick Murfitt decided to buy a 170-acre farm as a new personal project.

With around 65-acres of the farm being woodland, Mick taught himself the art of felling, logging, sawmilling and wood chipping - and now produces material from the trees to construct facilities for his family’s onsite horse yard. It is a fully self-sufficient process - and no wood is used for commercial purposes.

The woodland consists of non-native coniferous trees, which had been left in its natural state. He’s now working with the Forestry Commission and Woodland Trust to replace the pines with native species to benefit the local environment. Already more than 400 trees have been planted – and there’s plans to introduce even more.

So far Mick’s produced timber to build fencing, stables and field shelters for the horses – and there’s already a new menage in the pipeline, along with other shelters, outbuildings, and even a solar-powered fan log drying barn, so Mick doesn’t have to wait as long to process the logs.

Each stage is carried on the farm, so from woodland to construction, Mick’s material never leaves the site.

At nearly 70 years of age and solely carrying out the woodland operations, Mick needs high performing machinery that’s practical, comfortable, economical.

The first machine Mick bought was a Norwood Lumbermax HD38 sawmill which allows him to produce perfect rails and beams for his fencing and buildings – and being hydraulic means it’s easy to operate.

Following this, a Pronar M15 woodchipper was then added to his arsenal to process the increasing amount of material and shred woodland brash.

Mick then realised he needed a more compact excavator to pick up logs and put them on the trailer ahead of being milled or chipped. He chose the SANY SY50U for its ability to operate in the confined space – a particularly important feature when operating in the condense woodland.

Mick said: “The excavator, sawmill and woodchipper are now fundamental in my operations. I had never milled or processed wood before I met Global Machinery Solutions’ Andy Dudley - and without his advice and onsite demonstrations, I would never have been able to accomplish what I’ve done on the farm. His knowledge is exceptional, and I can’t thank him enough.

“Being able to manage the woodland, process logs and construct fencing, field shelters and outbuildings – all self-sufficiently – is so rewarding. The machines have also saved me so much money from having to buy materials.”

Andy said: “Mick is a delight to work with and it’s fantastic to see how he manages his woodland and is enhancing his land by constructing fencing and field shelters from the byproduct - rather than chopping it for firewood.”

Contact Global Machinery Services to discuss your forestry machinery needs.