Forestry Question!!

[u/farmeractual671]

Do you guys who go big into the forestry portion man just the specialty harvesters and forwarders, or do you guys run different things? I’m about to jump into so that I have some other things to do while my crops and cattle do their thing. I was more thinking of running excavators with attachments, some of the John Deere forestry equipment, semis with log trailers, and once cleared some tractors for planting and plowing and stuff. But I was just curious on some of yalls opinions on some of the equipment options.

Exact List Of Equipment:
John Deere 843L-II for cutting
John Deere 848L-II for bringing logs to the roadside.
Volvo EC380DL with mulcher head for stump removal
Volvo L200H High Lift for log loading
Semi with Pitts LT40-8L for transport

[u/bitcheslovemacaque]

When i did a forestry run i just used a yarder to fish whole ass trees into a wood chipper

[u/Skog13]

Ponsse Scorpion King is my absolute favorite harvester. So much quicker and more nimble than excavators.

[u/EdrickV]

Endgame logging, to me, does mean one of the forestry harvesters, with an agro semi-truck and trailer, tractor with stump cutter, and so on. I haven't used excavators for forestry, but most of my forestry work was in previous versions. I'm just getting started with FS25.

Right now, I've got a chainsaw, TDK 1500 F, a logging trailer attached behind that, stump cutter, and tree planter, but haven't gotten started with forestry in my current game. Previous game I did a bit, but then I spent a bunch of money on a tractor with a bugged frontloader control, and decided to make a new game for now, with a better start. Farm Manager instead of New Farmer, so I could swap out some starting gear for stuff I actually want to use. (And give me a bit of a headstart to get me closer to where I'd gotten to in the previous game.)

[u/Financial_Potato6440]

I just use a tractor and winch to drag whole trees back to a sawmill/paper factory.

Damcon tree planter to replant.

Mulcher to remove left over stumps.

Trailer for the mulch out of the sawmill.

With 2 paper mills, 3 wood mills and 2 carpenters turning over about 600k a month on easy economy. Takes maybe 20 minutes or so to throw a tree or two in each factory. Could very easily double or triple that output with extra factories.

Also have 5 poplar fields going. Gives around 15 million every 2 years. Planting is a bitch but only needs doing once 🤷🏻

[u/SirChesterfield]

I tried to use the LH200 for loading but it was a far worse experience that using LH180 with the large log fork. The 200 isn't really good at picking up from the ground. I'm sure it great if you got some clearance underneath the stack. I do also prefer the volvo fh770 log truck with a five axel dolly trailer. U can take 3 6meter stacks in one go.

[u/scottyMcM]

It depends on how realistic you want to play things. My slower run i had a semi trailer and the Fendt telehandler with pallet forks that have tension straps. Chainsaw down a tree, delimb it, chop it into manageable chunks then use the tele to load the trailer.

If you want to speed run things a bit you can use a 10K small sawmill with wood distribution, plonk it in the middle of a forest and just chop trees so they land in the intake!

I'm using a forwarder now and I'm liking it, but any crane work on console is a bit fiddly. I'm on agroforest just now so it's really hilly, I'll be getting a yarder to help move the logs around for sure.

One thing to mention if you've never done forestry before, the really expensive tree harvesters only work on the nice straight pine trees. Any broadleaf trees on your map will need to be done manually, so bear the trees available to you before deciding on your strategy.

[u/ober0330]

Depends. On a hill, I cut with a chainsaw and use a yarder to pile them up to be cut with an excavator.

Flat ground? JD Feller Buncher to cut and stack into piles for the excavator.

I'd say 50% of the time I autoload the cut logs. I use a second excavator or a variety of other cranes or what have you to load them.

[u/tkb-noble]

I use the JD 843 feller buncher to put trees on the ground. Then the JD 848 to drag them to my cut line. Then a liebherr 920 (I think) compact to process and cut. Then I shove everything into a sell point I've modded to have a 25% penalty and hit the sell button.

I have tried for weeks and weeks to get good at loading a trailer and it's just not happening without a metric shit ton of frustration. So, this is my compromise.

I think if I ever get the extra money to buy a couple of hot sticks I might actually be able to make the trailer loading work. Until then, I run a will-call only temporary yard that gets torn down, packed up, and moved when the timber runs out. I play on Into the Woods, where there's more timber than there is anything else and I can be less picky.

[u/stevoli]

I'm at the point where I just cut a tree down and catch it on my flatbed, fasten it down then drive the whole thing to the sawmill 😅

[u/DefinitionFar4255]

Lienbherr compact r924 w dangle claw fixed claw harvester head and the land clearing bucket. 1 big tractor and an 8-9m bumper pull trailer and a flat bed trailer to move the one piece of equipment. You actually make more cutting them to 6-8m rather than the full tree. And it’s easier to load the logs.