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For previous years archive features, click
here.
Three
Generation Game
A penchant for thinnings, and an affinity with water.
It is clear from meeting and talking to Simon Burns that he is a larger-than-life
character and a man that is passionately committed to the forestry
industry.
Inflating
Profits
Low impact vehicles and tyre pressure control
The seminar, held on 23 June at Perth Racecourse, was organised jointly
by Forestry Civil Engineering and Roadex, which is a trans-national
collaboration to disseminate and implement roads management related
information, practices and innovation gathered under previous
stages of the project.
El Forest
The future – the hybrid powered forwarder, with fuel consumption
of 7.5 litres an hour
To quote Mr Noel Gallagher of Oasis: She’s electric. She’s
in a family full of eccentrics.
She done things I never expected. And I need more time…
I first saw the hybrid forwarder prototype on a ‘research stand’
back at Elmia Forest 2005; it caught my eye, but then seemed to drop
from the limelight.
Abandoned
for Christmas
The FC attempts to grow Christmas trees
Whilst on a day out at a steam fair in Carno, Powys, in 2009, I got
chatting to some locals who told me of an ‘interesting’
project being carried out in the area by the Forestry
Commission.
Forest Floor
Dear Editor
A recent Forestry Journal article by Dr Terry Mabbett warned of, “The
destruction of our hard fought for home grown timber industry,”
as a result of restoring heathland for wildlife. But the reality is
very different.
A voice from the Woods
The first chainsaw I ever used was a big old McCulloch and the occasion
remains vivid. It was not one of those early primitive prototypes,
nor was it one of the current toy varieties,
but something in between.
Chipper
Roundup
Not just chips off the old block, but some new ones too!
Our annual chipper review seems to get larger and larger, as wood
chippers become an essential piece of kit. Whatever your needs, from
simply wanting to reduce the volume of green waste through to mass
fuel production, there will be a machine to suit.
Cowdray
Estate
“Trying to operate forests in the way it should be done –
not simply cashing in by returning
the area to heath!” It was said in the late fourteenth century
that patience is a virtue.
A
Step Ahead
"Where others stop we start"
Extreme conditions give rise to unusual solutions, and if you live
in Switzerland, you are likely to find yourself working on steep hillsides
much of the time.
Coppicing
Coppicing is an ancient and seemingly brutal form of tree and woodland
management.
On
the road to Damascus …clearing conifers along the way!
Big bucks were needed to bribe Third World countries not to clear
rainforest and kick-start the Copenhagen conference. Prime Minister
Gordon Brown was right up front with billions
of UK taxpayers’ pounds in his pocket, while back home conifers
were still being felled for heathland and with FC blessing.
Hovingham Estate
A forest that is neglected is worth nothing in monetary terms.”
The Worsley family has owned the 1225-hectare Hovingham Estate in
North Yorkshire since 1593.
Tread
carefully
Do your tyres get the attention they deserve?
Tyres are an important component on a forestry machine. Their performance
is closely related to that of the machine, and for optimum results
the tyre has to be able to perform well when the machine is operating
at maximum capacity.
End
of an Era
A sterling workhorse – and old technology has its advantages.
Husqvarna has quite a reputation in making chainsaws, and when the
softwood chainsaw gangs were in full flow, Husqvarna reigned supreme.
Trailers
and Cranes
From small specialist trailers to larger models for professional logging
contractors.
Portable
Sawmills
Some old, some new, and all very mobile. We take a look at what’s
currently available.The Alaskan Mk III chainsaw mill is a method of
converting timber into valuable planks and beams using an ordinary
chainsaw.
Timber,
Trees and Apple Pie
Wasting vital resources and opportunities, playing meaningless games.
The Forestry Commission is restoring ancient fruit trees and pressing
apples for juice in Wyre Forest.
Continuous
Timber Production
Commercial acumen at Bolfracks Estate. Bolfracks Estate nestles in
a scenic Perthshire valley close to Aberfeldy. Its 1600 hectares are
given over to organic farming, fishing, holiday accommodation, hydro-electric
generation, and it also has renowned gardens which are open to the
public.
Lumbering Jack
A play what I wrote, starring Jack as the Hunchback of Hornbeam Castle.
Tis a chill wind tonight, Ma lvolio, and it bloweth from the north
Wise is he who knoweth which way the wind bloweth, Sire.
Touching
Wood
Evidence suggesting the use of a hacksaw…
In a previous article I described how my old but tidy Ösa 250
forwarder has been a hard working and reliable piece of kit. This
was either tempting providence, challenging the laws of Murphy, or
that piece of alder that knocked me sideways.
Forest Research
Update
Jim Christie attended the winter 2009 update, held in Aviemore on
12 November
The attendees to this update were welcomed by Steve Penny, Research
Liaison Officer (Scotland), who explained who Forestry Research were,
what they did, where they were located, and how they were funded.
Heads up
Our annual roundup of offerings from the leading harvesting head manufacturers
Technology appears to be the main area of advancement in harvesting
head design over the past few years, with significant advances in
hydraulic systems and computerised control systems.
FCA News
Donald Maclean tells us what the FCA has been up to lately –
and adds an update on apprenticeshipsThe Forestry Contracting Association
is active on many fronts. Here we have a brief resumé. Online
membership directory The FCA is in the process of revamping its online
directory. With the current directory not all members are entitled
to have an entry, and those who do have only a simple lineage entry.
The
Ramorum Conundrum
Recently found for the first time in conifers, Phytophthora ramorum
is on the march
Six years ago Britain came face to face with
an alien plant pathogen which threatened to change the landscape on
an even greater scale than did Dutch elm disease three decades earlier.
Lumberjills
70 years after the start of WWII we take a trip down memory lane
So desperate was the need to maintain timber production in Britain
during the Second World War that not only were lumberjacks brought
across the Atlantic from Canada and Newfoundland to help fell trees,
but thousands of young women also took to the forests to replace the
native loggers.
Trial by the Tyne
The lowdown on the showdown on the quayside
Following multiple visits by ten different HSE inspectors to his small
rural sawmill at Wingates near Morpeth in Northumberland, owner and
operator David Troup could be forgiven for thinking the next inspector
would be ‘Jacques Clouseau’.
Forwarder
Roundup
Further refinements to existing machines and a number of introductions
to the market
Although the trend in the UK is clearly for 8-wheel models, issues
of ground impact and soil conservation mean that 10-wheel models are
now being introduced to the market. Other interesting developments
include lightweight and hybrid machines, both of which were on show
at this year’s Elmia Wood Fair.
Well Hard Hat
New job, new problems… I always expect this to be the case and
the Crow Wood contract is proving to be similar, but different.
Decline
and Fall
To use a modern term, it seems that ‘joined-up thinking’
is at last being used for the benefit of all who have an interest
in trees and forests. To this effect, the Royal Forestry Society,
Forestry Commission and Forest Research have combined their efforts
to produce a diverse, interesting and highly educational meet; it
seems that this was the first in a series of such events.
A Whiff of Luxury
The truffle ‘industry’ is surrounded by mystery and intrigue
and this aura is probably maintained by the high prices paid to ‘hunters’
of these ‘free’ underground mycorrhizal
mushrooms. This year, the midprice (per kilo) of Summer Truffle is
£150 and the Périgord Black Truffle £800.
FEG
The Forestry Engineering Group’s annual symposium: engineering
energy from forest lands.
The Forestry Engineering Group held its annual symposium at the Newton
Rigg Campus of the
University of Cumbria, in Penrith.
Lots
of Timber
Hilary Burke went along to watch the hammer fall at the Lincolnshire
Firewood Auction.
Just after 11 o’clock in the morning on a Sunday in early September,
auctioneer Robert Bell brought his stick down on Lot No. 1 in the
Lincolnshire Firewood Auction.
Tree
Shelters
Carolyne Locher takes us through our annual round-up of products available.Tree
shelters, first trialled by the Forestry Commission to protect broadleaf
plantings in the early stages of growth in the 1980s, are now accepted
by the global forestry industry as an aid to the establishment of
conifers, broadleaves and hedges.
Northern
Ireland Forest Service
State forestry across the Irish Sea has a very different history from
that in Great Britain
Swamp Oak of
the Deep South
(South Wales that is!)
A Sheltered
Past
A ‘potted’ history of three decades of tree shelters
An
Inspector Calls
I was first visited by HSE Inspectors Dr Stephen Britton and Andrew
Mulligan in January 2008. Following their visit I was informed that
a prohibition notice was to be placed on a ‘trim saw’
as it had no brakes.
Sweet
Heat
John Atkins set out to create
a supply of woodchip from local trees for energy generation in commercial
biomass boilers. Based at Amery Court in the village of Blean near
Canterbury in Kent, his company (CE Murch Ltd) is working to this
goal by integrating resources, skills and experience from farming
and forestry.
Gone
with the Wind
The severe storm that hit the coastal forests of south western France
and north western Spain in late January this year felled as much as
70 per cent of the pine trees in parts of the coastal Aquitaine region,
south of Bordeaux.
Clinton
Devon Estates
Clinton Devon Estates’ new woodchip enterprise is helping make
sustainable sense of its forestry operations. As you meander up the
long drive with landscaped parkland on each side towards the Rolle
Estate Office, the HQ of Clinton Devon Estates (CDE), you’d
be forgiven for expecting to be signposted to a small manor house
or some other aged building that’s been part of this Grade 1
listed landscape for centuries.
ElmiaWood
This event, held, as ever,
near Jönköping, is huge, and you really do have to be there
on all four days if you are going to get round the whole show. The
number of exhibitors was slightly down on the 2005 show (by around
40) but over 46,000 ‘unique’ visitors passed through the
gates over the four days, and the atmosphere, as always, was buzzing.
The
root of the problem
Forest owners and managers may be forgiven for becoming increasingly
confused over the long heralded benefits of stump harvesting. When
a tree is felled a large proportion of biomass remains in the ground.
Certified
The Forestry Commission’s woodlands are certified as complying
with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS). This sets out the
requirements which must be met by forest and woodland owners and managers
in order to obtain certification, and has been endorsed by the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC). Therefore the FSC label can be displayed
on products from FC forests.
Joining
Forces
It is a long way from Warwick
to Inverness and Fuelwood’s Richard Slatem chose to break his
journey halfway – in Northumberland. He took the opportunity
to drop off the company’s demonstration model of the Transaw
350 firewood processor with Kenny Dobson and Stephen Wills of Forest
Machine Services (FMS).
The
Lumberjack Trail
During
the dark days of the Second World War this wood was one of many throughout
the country, and indeed the rest of Britain, that was logged by members
of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit. The unit had been formed
in 1939 after a dramatic appeal from the British government to many
places throughout the world, including Newfoundland, for experienced
forestry workers.
Harvesting
Hardwood
Felling chestnut with a Viking harvesting head is an approach Graham
Saunders would not have been pioneering had an unfortunate change
in family circumstances not forced a career review. Many would say
it’s a job that should be left to the hand cutters if you want
it done well.
ICF
Conference
Timber, Mutton or Fuel?’
Debating the economics of land use and forestry.
Richard Ogilvy, President of the Institute of Chartered Foresters,
opened the 2009 ICF National Conference in Cardiff by painting a picture
of his train journey to Cardiff as a perfect backdrop to the conference.
It
takes all sorts
Having
just turned 70, Maureen Tucker is not your typical log dealer…
Maureen Tucker has, as they say, many strings to her bow. She’s
a farmer, a relief school bus driver, a mother and grandmother and,
for the past couple of years, a log merchant. This is a bit of a surprise
to many people who meet her.
Research
Update
The Forest Research annual update was attended by some 25 delegates
who were welcomed by the morning session chairman, Steve Penny, Scottish
Liaison Officer for Forest Research. Steve reminded the delegates
of the wide range of information that can be accessed through the
FR website www.forestresearch.
gov.uk and encouraged the use of the advanced Google facility
to help search for specific items of interest..
Further
Education
Carolyne Locher takes a look
at some of the courses available.
2009 will see changes taking place in some forestry and arboricultural
courses. New diplomas in landbased studies are being trialed at specially
selected educational establishments in September..
Loch
Ness Monsters
On
the north west of the Great glen, sitting like dark shoulders above
Loch Ness, are some of the earliest Forestry Commission acquisitions
and plantations, with Inchnacardoch and Port Clair dating back to
the 1920s and the very inception of the FC.
Klaus
Ravages les Landes
On 24 January les Landes was at the epicentre of a storm which has
left behind it a picture of desolation reminiscent of an earthquake.
In some areas, Hurricane Klaus brought winds in excess of 170km/h,
causing immense damage to the timber which had already been suffering
under the ill wind of the credit crunch for some months.
Trust
- A tale with a moral
Trust is often lacking from
the world we live in. In fact timber merchants are often blamed for
raping the woodlands, and where woodlands of beauty and value exist,
a forester often receives praise for excellent work in the forest,
whereas in fact most of the work was done in those woodlands generations
before the forester set foot in them. It has been my privilege to
work in the forests of Wales.
Woodwise
The view from the sharp end - Do it all
For
many, many years now I’ve had a thought growing away at the
back of my brain. It usually starts when it’s bucketing down
on some dreadful site; the fire keeps going out and productivity and
profit are draining away as fast as the water is running down my neck.
My
Two CEN/TS Worth
Woodfuel standards in the UK. The following may be dry as a ship’s
biscuit, but I honestly believe that, if you can choke it down, it
is all that most people in the forest industry will need to know to
be able to start working with the new CEN standards for solid biofuels
The
UK Nursery Industry
Looking in particular at
the ConFor Nursery Producers’ Group. Given the significant strengthening
of the euro versus sterling, UK-grown nursery stock now offers vastly
greater value for money when compared to imports, an advantage that
is combined with the many other benefits of using homegrown stock.
Stourhead Estate
The
case for continuous cover forestry
The Stourhead Estate has been owned by the Hoare family since 1717,
and during that time there have been many changes to its management.
To
lease or not to lease?
That was the question at the Scottish Forestry Forum in Edinburgh.
A dark December day of howling tempest and torrential rain, the slough
of financial despondency surrounding us all, and a principal speaker
with a sore throat, did not augur all that well for the Scottish Forestry
Forum, held at the Capital Hotel in Edinburgh, but a surprisingly
upbeat mood pervaded what was an interesting and stimulating day.
England
has a Plan.
A five-year plan for England’s
woodlands was launched on December 15 by the FC and Natural England.
It has been drawn up in conjunction with over 100 organisations representing
woodland owners, forestry businesses, conservation bodies and local
communities.
Pocket Power Pack
The Forcat
goes diesel. In May this year Forestry Journal carried an enthusiastic
report by Ed Robinson on the Forcat skidder who considered it well
able to fulfil the Canadian manufacturer’s claims, and offer
the buyer a costeffective lightweight machine, with exceptional manoeuvrability
and pulling power.
Privatising
the Nation’s Woodlands
A proposal to lease out a quarter of Forestry Commission Scotland’s
estate has sent shock
waves through the industry and beyond. It looked quite innocuous and
unremarkable at first sight when it was released on November 4 –
another consultation paper, this one concerning climate change.
Foresters
Diary
By eleven o’clock,
we were getting tired and thirsty. We had left the main house at six,
and had set out onto the vast, rolling plain before sunrise, which,
when it came, was muted and hazy. Before long the promise of fair
weather had given way to a high blanket of thick, grey cloud.
Timberdown
How to
make a profit in thinnings
Nobody expects the Timberdown NH-1900 harvester to add significantly
to the growing stacks of timber that are lining the roadsides in our
larger coniferous forests. After all, it is no heavyweight.
Husqvarna
346XP
The Husqvarna 346XP always was a bit of a starter saw – a very
plain small saw with no pretensions and frankly not a lot to offer.
At 45cc it was just a tad short on power, and, despite good handling
and light weight, it was condemned to mediocrity by being that little
bit underpowered.
Scotland
ROCs
Many in the forest industry were taken
aback by the remarkably short window of opportunity for applications
to the Scottish Biomass Support Scheme (SBSS) last year, but the Scottish
Executive proposal for a banded Renewable bligation Certificate (ROC)
scheme for woodfired electricity generation has hardly rompted any
comment at all.
Valtra’s Automatic
Choice
A new line-up of tractors, a new name for Sisu Diesel, and an insight
into what sort of diesel engine you will be driving in a few years’
time. Valtra have added additional models to their N and T series,
and also added a brand new five-model S series at the top of their
range.
Confessions
of a Woodman
Part two of the reminiscences takes us to Low Dalby.
1977, and I had spent five happy years at Ganton, but as my life has
always been since leaving Hull, I was ready for a move and a change.
Tyre
Pressure Control
Working smoothly, under less pressure
There has been a great deal of publicity surrounding the merits of
tyre pressure control systems for use within the Scottish timber haulage
sector.
The
American Dream
A windblown site at the north end of the Isle of Skye, a contractor
from Aberdeenshire, timber being shipped to southern Ireland and the
harvester hailing from Wisconsin…
Revolutionary
Forestry Journal recently attended the second John Deere Forestry
global press event, which included the revealing ceremony of John
Deere’s new E-series wheeled harvesters and forwarders.
Woodwise
- The view from the sharp end
Chainsaws, don’t you just love them? Well, I do. I’ve
lost count now of how many I’ve owned over the years, mostly
from the same orange stable though. I have tried other makes but somehow
could never quite get on with them.
The
KWF Tagung German Show
The KWF Tagung is a big show, which is to be expected, since forestry
is taken very seriously in Germany. It attracted some 43,000 visitors,
who came not only to see the various stands – there were over
500 exhibitors – but also to take part in seminars and to take
a ride on a minibus through the nearby forests to see various demonstrations.
Capel
Celebration
On April 25 and 26, the two hottest days of the year so far, Capel
Manor College hosted its sixth Celebration of Trees. The Celebration,
sponsored by Husqvarna, is the first event of the show season in the
arboriculture and countryside industries’ calendar.
Men of Knoydart
If you have never heard of it, get your road atlas out and look for
Inverie, Knoydart. To make it a bit easier, look for the fishing port
of Mallaig, approximately 30 miles west of Fort William, and then
run your finger north across the Atlantic for a further 6 miles.
Confessions of
a Woodman
Late summer, 1972. I was just about to make a move that would change
the whole of the rest of my life. As it was such a big move you would
imagine I could remember the date more clearly. Well I can’t,
so there you go.
On
the dot...
There’s plenty of room in the new Valmet harvester cab. Valmet
addresses some crucial areas in its product range.In
the middle of last month, Valmet invited the international forestry
press to a snowy Umeå, in northern Sweden, to view the latest
additions to their range.
Meeting
the Minister
The meeting with Michael Russell MSP, the Minister for the Environment
who has responsibility for Forestry, was arranged by FCA Chairman
Donald Maclean in response to the frustration felt by both himself
and the membership regarding the failure of ConFor and the Forestry
Commission to recognise and consult with the contracting sector of
the forest industry.
Chippers
- Market Round Up
Woodchippers vary in size, from machines that can chip large diameter
roundwood with outputs of over 100 tonnes per hour, to the small,
hand-fed chipper for dealing with arboricultutal waste. Chipping can
be carried out at any stage – on site or at a fixed location,
but there are many features to consider before buying.
Timber
Market Report
Global uncertainty, peaks and troughs – and an urgent need for
the Commission to start doing what it was meant to do in the first
place. In a ‘normal’ year the UK forest products industry
eases into the Christmas period with a slackening of demand before
gearing up for the spring upturn.
To
Hell and Back
Sitting in the office of his Essexbased contracting yard, just off
Junction 7 of the M11 – not a place best known for its forestry
– John Fish, owner of Treewood Harvesting, is a man who (at
age 48) is finally at ease with himself and the choices he has had
to make.
Railway
Cutting
On 18 March GreenMech held a launch of their new Multi-Task 120 unit
which features their patented Safe-Trak technology. As launches go,
I have been to a few but GreenMech take some beating, as they never
fail to put on a well planned and interesting day for their guests,
and this one was no exception.
