Big J

If anyone finds stands of smaller timber (softwood preferred) that they want harvested economically and ecologically, get in touch. With my mini forwarder and processor, I've a good angle for getting into more delicate sites. Land owners can sometimes be fearful of the mess created by forestry work and the low impact nature of my machines can help allay that.

Biomass and 3.7m log would be the way I'd go. Depending on the size of the timber and overall volume, I'd be tempted to just biomass the lot. I should add that I am very well set up for thinning sitka economically and with a minimal environmental footprint. I have a mini forwarder and a mini stroke processor, so I'd be keen to have a look at the job for you and offer some idea of costs and potential profit. I'm at Cullompton now (previously Edinburgh).

I would say that if you are intending to use it for work, then learn German. It's a country that places great value on quality tree work, with stunning forests and well maintained urban trees. You can also work in Austria and parts of Switzerland with German too.

Got two new trainees on the forwarder:

Well, the job is finished and there was good and bad. The main issue is that it rained each and every day for 2 weeks. The ground conditions went from passable to absolutely awful. It meant that we couldn't get the larch out through the soft extraction route that we were there to process. So in the end, we cut about 130 tonnes of larch which was left in the stand until the remaining spruce is clearfelled in three years time. There is no other way of getting it out. We also cut 175 tonnes of spruce (some selective thinning, some windblow processing) which I was able to extract. The forwarder performed well but I lost a few days to repairs. The leg assembly (which is now updated and improved with the manufacturer) was weak, and bent quickly. I now have a very strong leg system. Lost two days to that. The pins were also in need of bracing, which has now been done and they are now unbendable. I also had a very heavy log slip the grab and land squarely on the back left pin, which badly bent the cross member. Bent back and reinforced, it's much stronger now. Some of the issues were operator error (only got my FMOCS ticket last Monday) and some were weak points on the machine. What is good though is that the manufacturer is extremely receptive to all feedback and the improvements I'm making to the machine are being taken onboard for future machines. With my forwarder being machine 16 and the first into the UK, it's not quite a prototype, but it's not far off that. UK forestry is harsh compared to the lovely flat sites, and smaller, striaghter trees they have in Scandinavia. Anyway, we reached the conclusion that the forwarder isn't really suitable for Commission sites (on the whole) as the ground conditions are so poor. Huge dtiches, mounds and very high stumps from previous mechanical thinning. It's good to know what you can and can't do

Fair point, and I'm sure that the job looked very smart when done.

It's a shame, but it's just going for chip. It's been down long enough that whilst it's still heavy (sat on wet ground), it's starting to get blue stain running through some of it. Running the risk of rejection from the sawmills, chipwood it is. I'm not sure that the Commission would be happy with that with the machine having a 20m risk zone. I'm trying to avoid doing anything to piss them off! It's a good method though and one I'll keep in mind for other sites.

I hate seeing stumps like that, but as you know, a lower cut would mean a full sharpen on every tree. What is annoying is that some of the stumps from the previous thinnings (all mechanically done) are actually too tall for my machine with 40cm of clearance to drive over. No need for it at all. Hoping to get another 250 tonnes out next week. Getting into the swing of it, the machine is working well and I'm enjoying myself.

Haha! The stumps could be a bit lower, but they are all self righted windblow stumps. Until they were severed, they were all deep in the ground (it's quite boggy) and there was no way to cut lower without mullering the edge on the saw. I'm keener for my cutters to stay safe on multiple windblow rather than taking more risks trying to get a super low stump.

I don't understand why on this windy, wet little island that we don't take greater advantage of what is widely abundant - wind and hydro power. I have no problem with looking at wind farms, and much prefer it to the unsustainable rate of timber felling at the moment. Scotland is incredibly wet, with vast amounts of rainfall on the west coast. Plenty of potential there as well. Producing 'green' energy from wood on a large scale is labour intensive compared to wind or hydro, which require no fuel to be brought to the generator. Wood is ideally suited to small scale, domestic and small business heating needs, and given the lack of supply in the UK, using it for anything else isn't sustainable.

Ended up on some fairly large spruce windblow for a while and the machine didn't struggle with anything at 3m. The grab on it is 0.16m square, which I presume means that when the grab is just closed the area is 0.16m. On this log, the grab is nowhere near closed and it's the small end of the log. Probably about 0.75 cube, and not the largest log at all. It's handling the terrain well, and it's very soft in places as well as stumpy. It's got the agility to wiggle between the various obstacles.

Spot on. If you want someone to blame for the imminent collapse of domestic firewood, blame the government. RHI, paid by the government, means that anyone using wood who does not qualify for RHI payments is at an automatic financial disadvantage. Given the generosity of RHI, it's a huge disadvantage. Look at it from the sawmill's perspective too - chipwood is making more than green log now in places too. It's going to rip the heart out of that industry too. It's staggeringly short sighted to think that the UK has sufficient timber stocks to cope with the demand from RHI. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, we'll be doubly stuffed with the issues it would create for imports.

Thanks for all the pointers chaps. Much appreciated. The first week went very well. The harvesting manager at the Commission couldn't have been more helpful and just left us to it. As we don't have the tickets for the processor yet, it limited our work a bit, so he found us other work to do to keep us going. Also not helped by having 4 inches of rain in 7 days softening everything and not having the tracks until next week. The forwarder is working really well too, and by Friday I was pulling out 5-6 tonnes an hour (on stack measure).

I'd leave some of the softwood in place. Mark out your desired trees and halo thin, but leave a ring of sheltering trees around it. I'd really try to avoid lopping and topping the trees as I can't see them having a long future.

I would say that the hardwoods there are too drawn to survive without the support of the softwoods. Topping them would be very labour intensive and wouldn't look good. Consider a mixed thin, leaving some of the softwood?

Having just moved to Devon, I've cut off my firewood supply (no longer having a sawmill) until I get going with forestry down here. I'm sorted for this winter, having brought 23 cube of logs with me in a shipping container from Scotland. I would however like to get sorted for next winter. Does anyone have any jobs in the vicinity of Cullompton that will produce a reasonable amount of firewood? I can extract it for you with my forwarder (max lift 1000kg) against the cost of the timber. I'm not fussed what it is - I'll burn anything and my stove will take a 2ft log. I need about 12 tonnes for winter 2019 - 2020 No hurry either, as I'm completely sorted for this winter, but I'd like to get something in before the end of summer as it's easiest for the wagon to go through the field to offload. Not critical though as I can double handle with the forwarder. Nothing oversized though as I'm unable to move it, so maximum 2ft diameter. To stress, I'm not bothered what the species is at all.

On Monday we start on a new site working for the Forestry Commission for the first time. I appreciate that they are very particular about health and safety compliance, as well as correct procedure. Can anyone share their experiences getting started with the Commission and any teething issues they might have had? Up to this point everything has been quite straightforward and easy, but I want to make sure that I'm starting on the right footing. I have: 2 cutters, fully qualified, full PPE, fully insured under my insurances All relevant signage Risk assessments Method statement My qualifications (I'm actually doing my forwarder assessment on the morning we get started!) and insurances and all relevant PPE Spill kit, major first aid kit Can anyone add to that? Any help much appreciated.

Repairs are a big one certainly. I reckon I spent £100 a week on average on fixing things that would routinely break. Sometimes more.

Out of curiosity, out of the £100 (to use that figure), how does that break down? In terms of raw material cost, processing cost, delivery cost and profit? I only ever played at firewood production, but found that the most irritating part of it was delivery. I offered quite large discounts if people collected. At the end of the day, to produce a full trailer load (7 cube) only took about an hour and a half on the processor, but usually at least 2 hours to deliver. The last load we had into the yard was quite dry spruce from a windblow site. It was £40 a tonne delivered in (cheap now, I know) and the breakdown was this: Per cubic metre: £12 - cost of spruce £4 - wages for processing £2 - electricity/diesel costs for processor and forklift (estimated) £6 - wages for delivery (based on 7 cube load) £2 - cost of fuel for van for delivery £3 - yard costs (based on the above work taking half a day) So £29 costs on a £55 sale price. On a 7 cube load you're making £182 profit per half day after all costs. I appreciate that the raw material costs are quite a bit higher now.

There is a good reason I brought 23 cubic metres with me from Scotland when we moved down. Firewood prices are only going to go up with the increasing cost of the raw material. Chipwood in southern Scotland is doing a minimum of £42 at roadside, so you're not going to get that into the yard for less than £50. That's almost £20 more than just 18 months ago. I don't envy you guys selling firewood now. It will be difficult to get your customers to understand the magnitude of the price rises for the raw materials. The funny thing is that the customers are paying for it twice over as they are also subsidising the big biomass companies (who are driving the demand, and therefor the rise in prices) who are being paid by the government, who we are funding with our taxes! Madness!

It's mostly just the tightness and indirect nature of the roads that is bemusing. In Scotland, the roads are mostly fairly large, but riddled with potholes. Here the reverse is true. My sat nav hasn't quite twigged about not taking me on what are mostly paved farm tracks. Anyway, having fun, trying to get the house straight whilst entertaining my two young daughters.

Having lived in Devon for a full 5 days, I think it's important to reflect on my first impressions. These are as follows: * Everyone is lovely. Friendly, seemingly happy people. We've not met them all yet, but our neighbours up the road have been incredibly welcoming. * The roads are daft. If they were upgraded to 20th century standard, that would be a huge improvement (let along 21st century). * Everyone seem to appreciate a nice trailer. At the local plant hire place, the staff there made a point of coming out to check out the trailer when I came in and then again when I came back, each time complimenting it. * Lack of litter. You get used to Central Belt Scotland, where a significant minority of people treat the landscape as an oversized rubbish dump. Very clean here. * Loads of stunning houses. I'm the grandson of an architect and married to one too. So many stunning, innovatively designed houses here, making use of natural materials and complimenting their surroundings. I shall update on further reflections as I go, but suffice to say we are very happy to be here.

Need any help with extraction?

The issue you get in East Scotland is the North Sea ruins the weather. Endless grey, cloudy days with wind, mist and quite low temperatures. Glad to leave it behind.

No, I know it can be wet here. A lot drier in the Culm valley and East Devon in general, I am told