“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 finally arrive at the Forest Pro skid on a junction in the road in a windswept saddle to see a pair of John Deere machines busy hauling in and processing stems from about 100 metres across a gulley.
“The crew is harvesting a medium-sized roadlining block here before following its other John Deere (a tethered 959 felling machine) a few kilometres down the road to the next block.
“Today Iron Tester, Tony Hill, is here to test the 3756G with a rear entry cab and running a Woodsman Pro 850 processor. We haven’t looked at a 3756 since Clint Newlands’ machine back in 2019 so it’s high time for a check in on how things are going with development at John Deere.
“With an overall length of 15.37 metres, it is a big machine. The rear-entry cab is a luxury to get into and the workstation has plenty of light and accordingly, visibility thanks to the excellent windscreen design. A powerful LED lighting package makes for long productive days and with operator, Freedom, starting in the wee small hours those lights are getting well used.
“This machine has longer track frames and up to 17% more lifting power than the previous model. The cab is isolation mounted for lower in cab noise and reduced vibration, plus there’s a quite impressive 25% larger cab than the previous model so it’s easier to do those regular stretches while you’re still in the seat.
“Hamish says it was good to put current processor operator, Freedom, in a brand new machine: ‘We didn’t tell him about the new John Deere. We wanted it to be a surprise so my business partner Lukas Krkavec and I told him we were going to do a bit of maintenance on his old machine. We took the head off it and did some welding and then this transporter arrived with the brand new 3756G with a brand new Woodsman Pro 850 head on. He was almost in tears of joy, it was quite a special moment really.’ ”
To read more, get your copy of the March 2025 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 3 March. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).
