NZ Logger Magazine | March 2025
March 2025 Iron Test

Shaws Iron Test; Built to last

     Story & photos: Tim Benseman

The sparrows weren’t even thinking about their first fart when Iron Tester, Tony Hill, set off from his Tolaga Bay home base somewhere around 1AM, heading for work in the back of remote Ruatoria on the East Cape.

Around 10am he left his regular job tethered harvesting and set off on a three-and-a-half hour drive to meet us at this Iron Test in the mighty Mangatu Forest.

As for me, after traversing the frost-heaved roads of central Alaska on a recent work trip, I thought I had seen the worst roads in t...

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March 2025 Forest Engineering

Forest Engineering; The case for two-stage trucking

Ten percent of all logging operations in New Zealand now involve some form of two staging. This has prompted Forest Growers Research (FGR) and the University of Canter...

March 2025 Harvesting

Small-scale selective harvesting in action

In 2022, and then again in 2024, the Northland Tōtara Working Group (NTWG) harvested small volumes of tōtara from the same Pāmu (Landcorp Farming) property in Northlan...

Forest Talk

 
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    Expansion and acquisition for Niagara Sawmilling

    Niagara Sawmilling Company recently began a $115 million expansion of its timber processing operations, marking the most significant growth phase in the comp...

  • Fungi-carrying “beetle taxis” could impact forestry plantations

    Fungi-carrying “beetle taxis” could impact forestry plantations

    Bark and ambrosia beetles are acting as tiny taxis for fungi across New Zealand, giving researchers valuable clues about how these organisms travel through f...

  • Log grapple shines through

    Log grapple shines through

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  • New CEO at OneFortyOne

    New CEO at OneFortyOne

    Andrew Leighton is OneFortyOne’s incoming Chief Executive Officer.  He will join the company following a comprehensive selection process and will succee...

  • NRC says Fuel Response Plan hits the mark for freight

    NRC says Fuel Response Plan hits the mark for freight

    National Road Carriers Association (NRC) has welcomed the decision to prioritise freight carriers as part of the government’s updated Fuel Response Plan in t...

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    NZIF supports stronger focus on climate adaptation for forests

    The New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) has welcomed the release of the Climate Change Commission’s 2026 National Climate Change Risk Assessment, partic...

  • The humble skidder

    The humble skidder

    Over the last two decades, a lot of effort and research has focused on improving cable logging systemsThis has been driven by the need to mechanise both for ...

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