Forest Talk

“Forest Pro has two crews in in the mighty Mangatu Forest. Its original crew is a classic European style ground-based logging operation with processing in the cutover and forwarding logs to skids. The crew we are visiting today is its recently established crew based around a near-new John Deere/Harvestline,” says Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman. 

He continues: “The Forest Pro team is really up against it when it comes to road access but we finall..... more

Returning speed limits on Rotorua roads to higher speeds could spell trouble, residents say, following the Government announcement that it will reverse or consult on speed changes implemented since 2020.

Rotorua Mayor, Tania Tapsell, says she would be reluctant to see the limit on State Highway 5 south of Rotorua back at 100km/h without Government investment into road safety, and a former council candidate is planning a petition against the proposal...... more

Forestry Australia has welcomed a new study on the relationship between timber harvesting and greenhouse gas emissions published in Australian Forestry by the former Chief Research Scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Dr John Raison.

The paper, titled A review of the impacts of sustainable harvesting, non-harvest management and wildfire on net carbon emissions from Australian native forests,..... more

Logging has always been defined by a complex balance between innovation, cost management, and environmental stewardship say the University of Canterbury’s Trevor Best and Rien Visser. Among the strategies gaining traction within this balancing act is “two-stage” trucking - a system that introduces an intermediate transport stage between initial log extraction and final load-out. Ten percent of all logging operations in New Zealand now involve some form of ..... more

Everyone knows Wagner’s are big, but to get up close to them and even ride in one while it is working is nothing short of awe inspiring. Did we mutter obscenities in awe? Yes we did. Heck we even made some legit outbursts, says Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman, of the Wagner L130 being tested at Rotorua Forest Haulage (RFH). 

He continues: “Every man should have one of these really. You’d save so much time loading and unloading pretty much everyth..... more

Anyone who spends their days in forestry terrain knows that what you wear on your feet plays a big role, not only in how safe your feet are, but in how tired you feel at the end of the day. We all know how sore our feet can be after a day of wearing boots that don’t support our feet properly, don’t feel good, and are just too heavy. 

We also know that feet are vulnerable in a forestry environment. According to data supplied by ACC, the active co..... more