Maine Agricultural Trade Show Speech
On January 14th, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to address some folks at the Maine Agricultural Trade show. The goal of the presentation was to describe what hiring a Master Logger might look like and the process you might expect. If you missed it, below is a copy of what I had to say. - Chrissy
My name is Chrissy Kimball. Together with my husband, Randy, we own Kimball and Sons Logging out of Poland, Maine. My father-in-law started a logging business in 1988 with a chainsaw and a cable skidder. In 1998, he upgraded to a mechanized logging operation and a few years later became Master Certified. Randy grew up going to the woods with his father and started working with him before and after school as a teenager. Randy and I bought part of the company in 2015 and have been actively working on developing relationships with landowners in our region. Our mission, is to not only thrive in our own business, but to be a voice for small logging contractors throughout the state demonstrating professionalism, knowledge, and skill in our trade.
We adhere to all standards set forth by the Master Logger Certification program. This means we start with a documented plan to ensure we take special care of your land to maintain its natural habitat. Our goal is to always meet the landowners objectives during a harvest with a diligent effort to minimize environmental impact. This is accomplished through ongoing education of our team, use of best management practices including road building and stream crossings, and knowledge of sensitive ground conditions. Our team of Master Loggers personally identifies each species & assesses the quality and value of every single tree that comes to the landing. By adding this personal interaction to each tree, we're able to be more efficient, reduce cost, and improve profit for the land owner.
When interviewing a logger, I would always recommend asking if they are Master Logger Certified. I wanted to take this opportunity to outline the process you might expect when you hire a Master Logger.
1. In our initial consultation with a landowner we typically meet right at the woodlot. We come prepared having researched the deed and the tax map for the property and will bring the documents with us. Of course we always appreciate a recent survey as this makes identifying boundary lines much simpler, but it can be done without it. The goal of our initial meeting is mostly to determine if the job is a good fit for both the landowner and ourselves. Basically an interview. We walk the property together and discuss the landowners objectives for the harvest. We take this opportunity to explain how we work, what our equipment does, where the products go, and how the landowner gets paid. While my husband is walking he is observing ground conditions, terrain, soil types, tree species, tree size, damaged trees, hazardous trees, and diseased trees to name a few. In addition to the actual trees, he makes note of the potential site for a landing and how to get trucks in and out.
2. If we mutually decide to move forward with a contract, we will complete a timber harvesting agreement which identifies pricing and any special provisions. We will document a written harvest plan, and submit a forest operations notification to the Maine Forest Service. The harvest plan will identify any sensitive areas on the lot and lay out the plan for a landing and trucking. It will also provide contact information for all parties involved plus abutting landowners, whom we do our best to notify prior to starting. At this point we can typically give a timeline for when we will be able to start. This depends on weather and ground conditions, as well as market conditions and obviously our schedule. Hiring us doesn't always mean we will be there tomorrow.
3. Time to move onto the job. Typically, you’ll see the feller buncher and skidder show up first. The feller buncher will cut out the landing first and get it prepared for the yard loader and chipper to arrive. Occasionally, we will need to bring in a dozer or an excavator to assist with creating a landing. Once everything is set up, the feller buncher will usually move to the furthest point on the lot and start working backwards toward the landing, cutting out it’s first skid road. (if they're aren’t already pre-existing roads… which sometimes we stay away from anyways because there is a lot of regeneration of trees there.) He typically starts in the back in order to decrease damage to standing trees while felling the harvested timber into the skid roads.
4. Once the initial skid road is created, the skidder will begin dragging felled trees to the landing where it will be cut and sorted by the loader. The loader operator must be very knowledgeable and skilled in order to best utilize each tree to its maximum value. For us, this operator is my husband, Randy. We operate a whole tree system versus a cut to length, which means we chip tree tops and brush into biomass as opposed to dragging it back into the woods. We utilize this method in order to leave a more manicured woodlot for the landowner. This biomass is delivered to wood fired power plants in both Maine and New Hampshire. The bulk of the products are divided into saw logs and pulp and delivered to various locations throughout the state.
5. Each load is accompanied by a scale slip or a weight slip once it is delivered to the mill. We provide a copy of each and every one of these to the landowner along with payment for the loads within 2-3 weeks of any harvested tree.
6. Once the job is complete, we make sure as much debris is away from brooks as possible, any bankings to a brook gets seeded & hayed. If there are any steep grades, water bars are created with one of our machines to prevent erosion. We close up any stream crossings that may have been necessary. Then we clean up the landing with a bulldozer and seed and hay it if necessary. Each woodlot has its own special needs and as Master Loggers, we take time to assess and continually reevaluate these needs throughout the job.
We take pride in maintaining strong working relationships with foresters, wood buyers, and various others throughout the forest products industry. My hope, is that after this presentation, you will better understand that a Master Logger sets himself to a higher professional standard and ultimately works in the best interest of the landowner, the land, and the future of forest sustainability.