Take 2!! Hopefully I can load the photos of the logging operation at our farm. We had a bunch of dying and dead ash trees we needed to harvest. The Emerald ash tree borer has been devasting ash trees throughout the US & Canada. The Forester had a crew of three men, including himself and 6 pieces of machinery plus a large truck for hauling the logs away. It was quite an operation. Here are two skidders they used for hauling the logs up from our "back forty". It was a goodly distance, about a mile, all slightly uphill. Our farm is located South of one of the Great Lakes, so it gets a lot of rainfall. The logging roads were mud mud mud. We now have deep deep ruts. Those wheels were huge! Taller than me. Back in the woods, they had another piece of machinery that would grab a standing tree with it's pinchers, cut it and direct it's fall. Then it had some wheels with big studs that grabbed the trunk & would pull the tree through a cutting process, lopping off all the branches. Finally, it would cut the top off. This machine is actually a lot bigger than it looks in the photo. Back at the head of the road the loggers had a crane that would pick up the logs, sort them between firewood and hardwood, cut the hard wood to length, then stack them for the log buyer. These are the firewood logs; dead ash or too diseased for sale as hardwood. This is a pile of ash for sale as hardwood. Crane at work, stacking. Here is the buyer, measuring the hardwood logs diameter and length, grading them, and entering the info into a computer attached to his belt. He also measures the depth of any cracks and deducts that from the length. Here is the crane swinging the logs around so the buyer can examine them on all sides. This log is a cherry. The Forester has relationships with at least five different mills. He contracts with about 5 different mills, and sells based on the price they were giving for the different kinds of wood:. Ash, cherry, larch, hemlock, hardwood maple, hickory, & scotch pine. The Amish buy the hemlocks for shed & barn building. The maples go to a mill in Canada for baseball bats and skateboards, the ash goes for....I have forgotten what. Cherry goes for furniture, veneer and kitchen cabinets. Scotch pine goes for pallets, I forgotten what the hickory goes for, and the walnut goes for furniture & veneer. Finally, here is the truck the Forester uses for hauling the logs away. If he does the delivery, he saves himself a delivery charge. This truck also has a crane on it. It was a very interesting operation and clearly this Forester is a good businessman. He knows his business: how to deal with customers (us), his crew, the machinery, the various mills, etc. And of course the trees.
Cayu--I thoroughly enjoyed this foto spread and great commentary. Not only did I feel as if I were right there, but I got a patent understanding of the process and economics. The fourth foto from the top captures the most important job of the whole operation--the supervisors and commentary blokes. Thanks ever so much for going to the trouble of sorting the foto's and making this very interesting thread. I seem to be missing another thread--the "Take 1".
That's great, but I'd like to buy the most powerful tractor. Just look at the specs. The monster Quadtrac 620 is by far the most potent production tractor globally: while its rated power in regular operation is 620 hp, its maximum power reaches 682 "horses" - more than, say, the current Corvette Z06. Thanks to the Intelliview III system - to adjust the pressure in the hydraulic circuits via a small screen. Maybe someone can tell me where I can see the price of such a monster?
I am a woodcutter. These machines that cut grab and chop the wood can replace 80 lumberjacks with chainsaws.
I ran across a systemic insecticide for the EAB. Arborists inject it I believe, for a 2-3 year protection. That is a LOT of trees. Emamectin benzoate is the name of the chemical.
What kind of trees & what kind of insects @Dirtmechanic.....oh, I see, EAB= Emerald Ash Borer? I'll ask our Forester what he knows about that.
