ESS

There is no direct headage payment for livestock, SFP is predominantly made up from environmental payments.i.e taking land out of production for the benefit of nature. Why do people think farming is subsidised? because otherwise produce in the shops would have to meet the cost of production which would result in families on low income etc. starving,..the consumer gets the benefit of subsidies also in the cost of their bread, milk, meat etc. Take subsidies away and we would have to increase the welfare payments to those that need them, ... The main reason woodlands have been neglected was money, or lack of it, until more recent years the cost of harvesting, reinstatement etc outweighed the financial return, particularly for low grade wood. Admittedly the increased demand for woodfuels has seen a rise in prices, but often the return to landowners for low quality small blocks could amount to a few hundred quid.

Why do you say sustainable forestry is not allowed? The way I see it the people willing to invest in land, pay their own establishment etc without grants is the thing that's not sustainable. What direct subsidy payments are farmers receiving for livestock ? the subsidies livestock farmers are receiving, particularly hill farms are environmental payments for reducing stock numbers for the benefit of the birds and the bees, flowers and grouse. Arable farmers receive subsidy for taking land out of production, buffer strips, set aside, for the same reason as above.

Putting it like that makes you sound like you either have entitlement issues, are wrong in the head, or summat.

Ha ha,sure hes not. If someone had the right line of Limosin, Belgian blue.Charollais, etc. the return would be attractive from a dozen head.A look at the pedigree sales results for somewhere like Carlisle mart would confirm this. Semen sales alone from a high class bull can run into tens of thousands a year. Far too many people make assumptions about farm subsidies without knowing the facts.

Someone could have a dozen pedigree cattle of the right bloodlines and be in a very strong position financially. You are making statements about something you know little about.

Contrary to what a lot are assuming the current subsidy system in this country did not come about because UK farmers are lazy , bad at they do or anything else of that nature, in fact totally the opposite.Pre EU farm subsidies were introduced to put cheaper food on the table and keep farms afloat at the same time. UK farmers were doing what was asked of them and because of their efficiency we had milk mountains, beef , potatoes, lamb, etc etc in intervention .EU farmers who are less efficient could not compete, hence the goal post moving by Brussels.Without subsidies food bills could easily double, that would be the cost of production, the consumer does get the benefit of subsidies, and a lot of the money filters back into local economies. Child allowance is a "benefit", I wonder how many of the knockers have decided not to claim that because it is "wrong"? Its very easy to take the moral high ground based on assumptions, a very high percentage of farmers are tenants faced with high rents.We have arguably the best highest animal welfare standards in the world with full traceability on produce , but it comes at a cost.Most farmers I know, including my own family members would be happier farming instead of receiving environmental payments, they do not make the rules.nor do they dictate the prices, processors and supermarkets do that for them. Commercial forestry is a subsidised industry, receives tax breaks and is long term. If it was attractive there would be a rush to plant land,but its not happening, nor is it likely to without further subsidies. Eggs made a reference about a county council holding,.. three years ago I did some work not far from Milton Keynes, the council had taken back 500 acres of prime tenanted agricultural land to go under concrete. One day with the annual land loss, and population increase we will become hungry, subsidies may not seem a bad thing then.

Once you get sorted with saws and tickets it may be worth giving your local Euroforest harvesting manager a call.Theres a possibility one of their contractors is seeking saw men in front of a harvester for the power station supply. It would be gutty work, but would get your foot in the door.

Valve blocks etc. are likely to have been bought in by Farmi from a manufacturer, there should be some markings on them. They will be used by other companies, so should be able to source.

Not sure where you are in Dorset, but I can recommend Southern counties engineering, they do quite a bit with forestry kit, know their stuff and do a good job....

Rake and burn conifer site from brash mats with 360,..£800-£1200 /ha

I was on a site a few years ago, they were running one on a Hyundai. It handled beech well, they were averaging 100t a day in a mix of soft/ hardwood. What will process big will also process small, makes you more versatile.

The story is KWR have bought that machine.

Theres a Valtra 8000 with 5k hours on, £12k ish on the forest machine ops page on FB at the moment. Looks clean, never seen the woods apparently.

I think we are talking about men in general rather than an age thing. There is some research that suggests that men have become more feminised, for want of a word ,as time has progressed.

Seen similar where cables have been used for blocking,..perhaps something along those lines or wire have encircled it in the past.

Perhaps its the money that has an impact on ethic? certainly that is the case in forestry nowadays, hence the race to sit on seats as opposed to throwing a saw around all day. My sweat is a lot more valuable nowadays than it was years ago.

I think its very easy to underestimate how young people are not physically prepared to do this kind of work. Its something that needs to be built up over time. I was brought up on a hill farm and was probably better prepared than some, but being honest in my early days of hand felling, where all brash was hand burnt,i flagged a lot sooner than those that had been at it years.

Its easy to generalise, I am in my 60s now and people went on about the young ones not wanting work when I was a nipper. Was the work ethic much different back then ? There was a generation hell bent on strikes and bringing the country to its knees, and they weren't all "youth".

… clearly because you are older, and a northerner like me.

Lancashire saws , Blackburn , have always provided a good service in the past for me. They have a good reputation in the area, and quick turnaround.

Where sites have allowed access we have run a furrow with a plough with just one share on before knocking posts in, saved a lot of time and graft.

Settle coal , Yorkshire.

First one I owned was late 80s, they were a gutsy saw. I have had 3 stolen down the years. Some of the parts are obsolete now, including AVs, but at that money would be a good donor saw if nothing else.

Yes, Kent were probably the largest ones left at the time.Dont know if you ever saw their yard? they used end stack every pole . We used to supply a couple in the north, Syc, birch, ash, and one of them took alder too. Striping was bit of a ballache hey ?

Was this Kent Woodware ?