[Scott G]

Does anybody have any other ideas for products or what a CSF might look like?

Would there be any benefit to following an Agroforestry concept for combined products, value, and marketability with a CSA/CSF mutant?

Would we be better off to partner with a traditional CSA to market our sustainably produced products.

Questions for all…

[Scott G]

…and here I thought Brittany Spears & Lindsey Lohan had joined up! Jason & Carl, how was Brittany the last time you saw her?:D

Welcome, Matthew. Seriously, this has become a great place to network as well as share information, introspective, and friendship. It makes us all feel that much closer to what we do & why we do it.

The kinship of like minded folks is enough in itself.

Welcome aboard and take care,
Scott

[Scott G]

Wow Simon what a show! A thousand people at a horse logging competition! Hell, we have a hard time getting a hundred or two to attend our local draft horse shows. Other than the evening pulls at the local County fairs you literally could only have a handful at the rest of the show during the day. The Weld County fair east of where I live (Larimer County) probably had an average attendance throughout the day of thirty or less, including myself. Larimer County maybe averaged 75-100. Drafts aren’t near as big here as they are in other parts of North America, though.

Great pics. The first pic is what we would call a huntin’ blind out here!:D

[Scott G]

At work I use ArcMap. Unfortunately it is a very expensive and large GIS program that is more in line with agencies & consultants.

What I have used at home is Topo which is fairly inexpensive but doesn’t give you an aerial just a quad map.

Google Earth, however, is a wonderful thing. You could, for instance, bring up your property, copy the aerial and use either Google tools or import the image into something simple like MS Paint and manually outline your mgmnt units, trail corridors, forest cover types, etc..

Snowin’ & -15 once again…

[Scott G]

Great input folks! This is what I was hoping for.

I would envision either 1) those of us that “own” forests could operate them as a CSF and/or 2) we would somewhat follow Jason’s model of DraftWood, working with landowners to produce sustainably harvested wood products and are interested in operating a CSF model.

To Carl’s point. Like a CSA, a CSF would not necessarily have all types of forest products available all the time. A CSA may not be producing a certain type of food crop this year but maybe the next. A CSF might not be harvesting white oak sawlogs this year, but maybe the next.

Products that I could think of locally in my region right off the bat would be:

-firewood
-x-mas trees
-boughs for wreaths, etc..
-posts/poles
-sawtimber that is value-added into roughsawn or secondary products such as T&G paneling, etc.. (this could involve other trades folks and craftsment in the community other than the land owner or timber harvester. Think local community economic value)

I think Jason hit it right on the nose when he mentioned non-timber assets that have high value. Examples would be:

– day use (picnics, meditation, etc..)
-limited use camping (The lure of having a limited, private, secluded, day use or camping area to get away from the masses is huge for some folks.)
-private birding/wildlife viewing area
-shroom gathering and other valued native plants
-seedlings for outplanting

The list would vary by region. Following the CSA model some people like to get their hands dirty and get personally involved in what they consume. I can’t tell you how enthused I would be to have folks pile slash for credit towards forest products like firewood.

In short, peoples direct connection to their consumption, using sustainbly managed and harvested products would be very appealing to alot of people. Just as it is with a CSA model.

[Scott G]

Atlas Therma-fits for the winter and regular Atlas’s for the rest of the year. They stick like glue to Beta lines and for running a saw they are second to none. Ther are some cheesy knock-offs out there but a pair of Atlas only costs 6 bucks. I’ll buy 3-4 pair of Therma-fits for the winter and I’m good to go. Keep the extra pair with me to change out during the day if they get wet and my hands seldom get cold. Thro ’em on the defroster in the truck and there dry in no time.

Of course when we have the warm weather like they do down in VA when it only gets down to -15 or so nothing more than a long sleeve shirt is needed. If it gets chillier than that than I’ll usually wear gloves and a light jacket… 😉

[Scott G]

@BachelorFarmer 14100 wrote:

Shoes are good for ice and macadam, other than that they are a nuisance.

With the rock in our area, our horses would be walking on their coffin bones if they weren’t shod.

Never used stocks until about a year ago when I started using a new farrier. He is stellar and so are the stocks. Farrier comfort is paramount in my book. It is hard enough to find good farriers that will work on drafts anymore, so when you do find one its in your best interest to take real good care of them. I spent enough time upside down when I was a young wrangler to realize I just wasn’t built for that s***. My torso makes up the majority of my tall frame so I end up being bent in a ‘U’. Anything I can do for a good shoer to make them happy I will. Stocks, ice tea, working in shade,… whatever it takes.

The only issue I’ve had with my new spotted draft gelding in the stocks is falling asleep. He’ll start dozing off if I’m not watching him and cut off his wind when he slumps on the front crossbar and wake up with a start. Still better off dozing in the stocks instead of on top of the farrier.

[Scott G]

“resisted belgin” is a Perch owner 😀

[Scott G]

Maybe we could go “back to the future” with the stud running point on a unicorn hitch going from farm to farm servicing mares. Same stud servicing multiple mares in the immediate vicinity would create the local “type” you were talking about.

Happy New Year everyone,
Scott

[Scott G]

If you are running Windows, just open the pic with MS Photo Editor, click edit, click resize, and you’re there.

[Scott G]

What Joel said, you need a better ground for the charger and double check that you’re not arcing to a ground along your line.

Electric fence is all I use. The current one for my “pasture” holds steers, horses, and a donkey. No problems…

[Scott G]

First, Merry Christmas everyone!

Second, marketing is key to any business. At a minimum you’re selling yourself & your services. Having a central “go to” for various products that were sustainably harvested with draft power could be a great resource.

As an example of a collective marketing effort, check out http://www.coloradoforestproducts.org

Jason’s CSF idea has me thinking… We have a lot of local little family tree farms where this could be a great opportunity. People who join CSAs’ like to get their hands dirty; integrating that mindset into the woods makes my imagination run wild, both good and not-so-good.

[Scott G]

Thanks everyone,
Judging by the e-mails & phone calls I’ve received, we have resources. I will be talking to Chris after the Holidays and probably take a walk about with him to tour the site. At that time I’ll find out just how serious he is and more importantly, see if Rocky’s supervisor is commited as well. I’ll follow up with an update in January.

[Scott G]

Thanks everyone,
Judging by the e-mails & phone calls I’ve received, we have resources. I will be talking to Chris after the Holidays and probably take a walk about with him to tour the site. At that time I’ll find out just how serious he is and more importantly, see if Rocky’s supervisor is commited as well. I’ll follow up with an update in January.

[Scott G]

Rick,
I know Canada keeps stats nationwide. Matter of fact I ran across a report on the web not too long ago re: a logger that got squashed in the bight between a tree and his horse; it was a fatality.

My guess is that the data may be skewed since we are such a small minority in the big picture and many horse loggers do not have insurance; therefore it would only be reported through the ER at the hospital or the Coroner’s office.

If you look at chainsaw incidents from ER reports they are never specific. Only division is between injury vs death and what body part was the unfortunate one. There is usually no clarification between professionals and homeowners unless work comp is involved.

You will need an accurate estimate of horse loggers in your State and then conduct some type of anonymous and non-biased survey. Talking to the folks in your local timber industry association would probably be a good start, even though that will undoubtedly be painful for you. I wouldn’t mention you are negotiating lower rates; just that you are looking for numbers.

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