What kind of equipment do you need to manage your tree farm yourself? What is available on the market? As much else in life, this is a jungle where you might get lost. In this series of articles, we will present some of the equipment that you can use.
Tree farmer equipment
Chainsaw and a log trailer, and then of course you will need something to pull the trailer with. A tractor or a quad, or maybe even a secondhand forwarder? If you have a lot of logging to do, and the chainsaw seems too heavy, then there are a variety of small processors that you can choose from.
Last but not least, you will have to have good protective clothing, be aware of the risks and how to stay safe in the forest. If you are new at this, some education is recommended. It can save your life.
If you have a forest land that you wish to manage yourself, you need to have the right equipment for it. If you intend to do everything you will need a lot of equipment to make it efficient. Many forest owners, however, make some work themselves and let professional contractors do the heaviest parts. So, before you go shopping you have to decide what it will be in your case.
A lot to choose from
I come from what we call large scale forestry, meaning that I have only worked with large machines (apart from chainsaws). Small machines, intended for private forest owners, were unknown to me. But then I started working for the Elmia Wood show and there I realized how much equipment there actually is for “small scale” forestry (as we called it at Elmia).
There is a large variety in prices, and also in quality, but the crucial thing is how much you are going to use the equipment. If you need a log trailer to use twice a year, you can probably settle for something cheap. But if you intend to haul a lot of timber, you should make sure to go for quality rather than cheapness.
As mentioned above we will try to sort this out in a series of articles. In the meantime, you can read one of the previous articles about tree farmer equipment here.
Tree farming – Forestry
Just for the record, let´s straighten one thing out: In northern Europe, we don´t talk about tree farming. We call it forest management or simply forestry. We think that “tree farming” refers too much to plantation forestry which we don´t like up here – mainly because we can´t have it as our climate doesn´t allow it. Also, the certification standards demand biodiversity in the forest which means that plantations are no option as they are monocultures.
If you ask me, it doesn´t matter if you call it forestry or tree farming – it´s the same thing.
The next article about tree farmer equipment
This was just a short introduction. There will be (at least) two more articles on this theme. The next one will be about felling equipment and what to think about before you start shopping … and working.
So, keep a lookout here at NordicWoodJournal.com.
