[Baystatetom]

I think Traveling Woodsman made the right choice with the forwarder over a tractor wagon combo. You need the right tool for the job. Those forwarders are built specifically to carry wood over rough ground. I have a good friend with a small Valmet I am just waiting for the right time to team up with him for a job or two. I hear what you are saying about the value being the increase in jobs your capable of doing. It can be tricky finding land owners who have both a positive attitude about draft logging and land suitable for it.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I really think that is a great direction to be heading. Using both machine and animal to their best advantage. The increase in production may close some of the gap in stumpage prices between the horse logger and skidder crews? I look forward to hearing about your progress, keep us informed how its going.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Nice job. I love pulling wood because of all the variables, its never the same. Some pieces are bigger, heavier in a tricky spot so you have to go left before you can go right. Its always interesting.
I did notice last year that my steers learned to cut the load all on their own, a quick side step helps them gain momentum. This was great in the woods but not so much when trying to keep my furrows tight and straight with the plow in the spring time.
Keep up the good work.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

They announced today that all of Berkshire County Massachusetts is also under quarantine. Kind of foolish because parts of Hampshire and Hampden counties are much closer to the infected area then are the far ends of Berkshire County.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

When I started in forestry I had to eat sleep and breath timber. Everybody I met the first thought in my head was do they own timber, if not do they have a good in with somebody who does?. Thankfully 15 years later people just call me and I often turn down the work because I have too much to do. You just have to stay out there stick with it and build a network of clients, friends and connected people overtime. Erika also gave you great advice about the business plan. I got a grant from the state of Mass. to write a business plan for my weekend sawmill business. They put me in touch with a professional business guy who asked questions that I did not no the answer to. I think the experience of writing that plan with his help was highly educational. I would try and seek out assistance in coming up with a business plan and a pro to help you do it. The state div. of food and ag, farm bureau, and NRCS are all good places to start looking. The business plan is the foundation you need to start with. You should also get a couple jobs lined up and do it as a side line for a while so you can start your way around the learning curve without your livelihood on the line. The game of logging is a great program.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

You found the right place
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Bill,
How many days do I have to gather sap to pay for a pair of normandy calves…lol

[Baystatetom]

All the guys down here in Mass started tapping today, and it was running. Tradition is to tap this coming week because its school vacation week and the kids are home to help. I gather with my bulls for my uncle and my neighbor during the week but they do all the tapping and boiling. I like it just because its another job for the team, this year a full tank will not be a problem they are getting strong!
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

You all might enjoy this.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755822/ns/msnbc-the_ed_show/#50738749
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Rumor has it they are going to include Berkshire County in Massachusetts so that it is a contiguous area. Luckily I rarely work in the Berkshires and most of my timber is sold to mills within my immediate area so the quarantine shouldn’t effect me much. The whole idea of losing another tree species from our forest is quite upsetting though.
Thanks for posting this Carl.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

When I saw that ad I did not think of big agribusiness I thought of my grandfather and my cousins and the dairy farmer I worked for in high school, and my wife’s family and guys like you. I understand your annoyance, but take it as a compliment, it was a shout out to you.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I wish I had some way to quantify it but I can say for sure that my team is pulling much larger loads now after a few weeks of steady logging then they did on the first week. My team is around 2800 now and I wouldn’t expect them to have the least bit of trouble pulling my 12″ plow. In fact after logging on brushy side hills they might think it a welcome break.
I would think a 3000 pound team of devons should pull a plow just fine if you get them in shape.
~tom

[Baystatetom]

My problem is that I am a ox man and have no clue about horses. He was a great horse when I got him but after a few months of giving pony rides to my kids a couple times a week he started bucking everybody off including me. I have gotten better at staying on but I still can’t really ride him. The impaired site might have something to do with it, as I am not experienced enough with horses to be a good leader. I have been walking him a lot in a harness as the first step to teaching him to drive but now I am second guessing the wisdom in that. I got him cheap, maybe I should cut my losses and try again after my kids have had more riding lessons on a safer horse.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Your right Carl, I don’t baby them much at all. They have been pulling huge loads all week in the extreme cold, might have softened my heart for a minute there :-).
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Trust me I am quite familiar with the mimic natural disturbance idea, I used it as the base for managing thousands of acres. A couple light thinnings to get the best trees up to size then…..lets pretend it was a huge hurricane. The thing is in a natural state those disturbances don’t come along in every generation of trees. Sometimes it could be hundreds of years between them, not every 80 years when the stand hits financial maturity.
The area I work in has been highgraded multiple times since agricultural abandonment and sometimes putting 9 out 10 stems on a 50 acre plot through a chipper is the best thing to do with the mess we have created by poor forestry or no forestry. That being said every once in a while the perfect job for draft logging pops up. Too bad more foresters can’t recognize the opportunity and think that it is actually a worthy way of doing things.
~Tom

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