Big J

I was thinking about an excavator, I must admit. It would have been handy on this job.

No tax benefit in paying off the finance early. The Valtra is invoiced in this tax year, claimed for in this year and paid for over 6. I need another largish invoice to put through as I had to bring the purchase of the forwarder into the last tax year. It's only because I sold the sawmill that I'm having to think of creative ways to avoid losing a lot in tax. It's a nice position to be in but just frustrating that the right vehicles are out there, but extremely hard to find. I think I'm pretty much resolved not to consider a Disco commercial as I don't like the image (for work) and the Landcruiser commercial is extremely basic and doesn't tow 3.5t

That is what I was thinking too. I think I'd feel pretty self conscious driving one too. They are awfully bling.

As far as I can tell it's a bit of a grey area. You're relying on the HMRC description of a van being: a goods vehicle of a construction primarily suited to the conveyance of goods or burden of any description But the addition of rear seats, even if they are removable is where you can unstuck. I saw one thread online where an owner of a Disco Commercial with removable seats in the rear had HMRC insisting it was a car (from a tax POV) as he'd altered the fabric of the vehicle for the carriage of passengers. Tricky.

I hadn't, but I need 4 seats minimum unfortunately.

They did the paperwork on my Sprinter to take it from 2000kg to 3000kg but with the 3000kg weight on the MAN TGE 4x4 being lower than that of the RWD I wonder whether that is because of the drive ratio on the differentials? I couldn't take the Sprinter to 3500kg without changing difs.

Only tows 3000kg in 4wd form. Which is annoying because it tows 3500kg with rear wheel drive.

Not one I even knew about - I shall go investigate

It's as much a need to spend some tax deductable money as a need for a second work vehicle. Both the Iveco 4x4 and the Sprinter 4x4 are between models (not selling the old models anymore and the new models aren't out yet) otherwise I'd just get one of those. It's bloody frustrating.

In an ideal world, I'd rather have an Iveco 4x4, crewcab 319 Sprinter 4x4 or 70 series Landcruiser pickup, but they are all virtually impossible to find.

£30k, plus VAT, maybe a bit more.

I know! But (and this is where Landrover gets you), the Disco 4 is unbelievably comfortable, and amusingly quick. A car dealer friend of mine said that a) he'd not sell me a Landrover and b) that a Landrover dealer friend of his would find customers in the dealership because their LR had broken down buying another one as they walked out. They are strangely alluring. It all comes down to the tax status though. If I can't deduct it, I can't consider it.

Beech doesn't have much value as it's very much out of fashion. For the last couple of years I wouldn't pay more than £30 a tonne for it (just over £1/hoppus foot) but if you've good quality stuff and a motivated buyer, you might be able to push them to £2.50-3.00 a hoppus foot.

I could do with a second work vehicle for site visits and as a back up for the Sprinter 4x4. I test drove a Ranger today but didn't really like it. The driving position aggravated my leg injury, the interior space was limited, the 3.2 engine sluggish, the auto box obtrusive and it was a bit bling. I had a Disco 4 some years ago, it didn't end that well. And yet I still find myself drawn to them. More sensible would be a Landcruiser commercial. My question is what the tax status of the two aforementioned vehicles is? As I understand it, they aren't classed as vans as they don't carry 1000kg and as such you can't write off 100% of the capital cost in the first year. This is something that I could do with doing. I really don't want to have to buy a pickup. I don't get on with them - they just aren't comfortable for someone my height.

Good to hear your thoughts on this. My feeling is that due to the fairly steep terrain, it needs to be clean and straight enough for mechanical harvesting. We did discuss eucalyptus as the growth rates are extraordinary, but I'm unsure whether it would grow with sufficient good form. Additionally, the best that it will ever be is firewood and after 40 years, I'd hope that in a softwood plantation to have a significant proportion of millable timber, with the additional revenue that that brings. My best advice to the landowners was to seek the advice of a professional forestry consultant as I don't know very much about planting.

You volunteering for an 850 mile round trip for 250 trees Wallis?! ?

That's madness. I remember about 5 years ago, the estate where I used to live sold off all their piles of crappy oversized hardwood for £25/t. Prices have certainly gone up, but I think that they are possibly highest with you in the north west.

It's not millable though. Shake, rot and fractures to contend with. I'm no fan of processing firewood, even when it's processor grade and I wouldn't touch this stuff with a bargepole! ?

I've got a little bit of planting to do near Taunton (250 trees) and no time to do it. Is there anyone with experience who fancies it? Easy, flat site, with vehicle access. Mostly hardwoods, staked and tubed. PM if you can help.

I've got a job coming up at the end of next month on a shooting estate wanting to tidy up their various fallen trees. Near Honiton. There will be a couple hundred tonnes of oversized hardwood firewood. Some of it might be worth milling for the non professional sawmiller, but most of it won't make the grade. Species mixture will be beech, oak, sweet chestnut and ash. I'd thought that about £40/t roadside might be somewhere near reasonable, and my first thought was Euroforest for the timber vacuum that is the biomass plant in Kent. I'm not selling the timber I should stress (I'm just there on a day rate), but what might prove attractive for a smaller scale firewood retailer is that the vendors are not VAT registered, so no VAT on the timber sales. Any interest, or suggestions where to sell the stuff?

You might want to include a location Aaron ?

Extremely valuable black walnut? ?

A little further up the valley, but facing west and south is a similar banking with pine and spruce on it. Many of the spruce are suppressed and the pine is growing more quickly. I don't have any douglas fir nearby to compare to though. There is no chance of planting larch as most of it in the area has been cleared due to PR. Likewise though, I've seen plenty of stands where the hybrid larch towers over the spruce. I'm not able to open that Murray - do you have a link to a webpage perhaps? The woodland would be bordering 130 acres of mixed broadleaf woodland owned by the National Trust, so they aren't too concerned about biodiversity. Having just worked the neighbouring woodland, with all of the issues with the terrain, I've recommended planting something that can be mechanically harvested. Good cutters are very hard to find and produce an expensive tonne on a site like that. Thinking 40 years ahead, I can only envisage that harvesting will be more and more mechanised and planting accordingly is prudent. Fundamentally, it's an investment with a required financial outcome so you have to plant pragmatically to optimise that. A stand of well managed douglas fir will still be better ecologically than a grazed field, and serves the purpose of being a carbon store.

I was having a nice chat with some friends this morning about woodland planting. They've just over 9 hectares that they'd like to plant on their farm, spread across three compartments. The ground conditions and aspect are all pretty similar. Reasonably free draining clay on north east facing slopes, with an average incline of 1 in 4. It's land that's too steep to manage for haylage and grazing doesn't bring much income. What they are keen to do is to provide a legacy for their children, so a fairly short rotation would be required. 40 years or so. We chatted about the possibilities of hardwood, but agreed that almost all options would take too long to become profitable. I suggested considering softwood plantation. Now not knowing a huge amount about planting, I'm keen to pick your collective brains on it. I don't think that sitka would do well on the slope as it's too dry, but my very modest knowledge on the subject suggests that douglas might be a reasonable option. Planted on a 40 year rotation, with reasonably regular thinning should result in a good windfall when eventually harvested. I'd suggested softwoods simply because the market is strong, the uses diverse and it can be mechanically harvested, which is important on a steep slope. As ever, I'm grateful for any advice.

There is a long thread on the topic, but I can't find it. £12-20 an hour. I work longer than normal days, so that's what it works out as. £12 is for the most basic of cutters, £20 for top notch, well motivated cutters with lots of experience, tickets and who are able to work for long periods unsupervised. It's physically demanding, skilled work and should be paid accordingly.