In the July/August 2017 edition of My Take, Timber Harvesting magazine Executive Editor DK Knight tells the story of his friend Gene Carter. Knight writes, “It’s always a ‘peach cobbler pleasure’ to visit with Gene Carter, a retired Alabama logger whose friendship is special and who I admire for many reasons, two being his infectious sense of humor and high octane optimistic spirit. Gene must have exited the womb grinning, for with him smiles and laughter bubble up like water from an artesian well. It’s been said that laughter helps make a person live longer, and if true, then he should easily make it to 110. Every time I see him in person or talk with him via Verizon, Gene is happy. He’s the type of person who makes you feel good by simply being around him. He likes to talk, is good at it, and never seems to tire of it.”

Softwood Dispute Goes Against Canada Again; Good Earth Project Gets ‘New Life’; Enviva Looks Hard At Danville Site

Timber Harvesting magazine Senior Associate Editor David Abbott travels to Crossville, Tennessee to visit FNT Logging, LLC. If it’s true that fortune favors the bold, then Floyd Turner, 51, should be in quite the favorable position. The owner of FNT Logging, LLC, based in the eastern Tennessee town of Crossville, has never been one to shy away from experimenting with new and different technologies or methods. For example, back in 2003 Turner ran several machines that were rarely used by southern loggers. The roster included an 8-wheeled Timbco skidder, a clambunk Timbco combination feller-buncher/skidder, a Timberline stroke delimber and a Morbark 2455 flail chipper. All of this was to help handle big, rough hardwood stems he deemed too difficult to process efficiently at the loader.

Timber Harvesting magazine Associate Editor Jay Donnell has the opportunity to visit Jeff Powell Trucking in Wrightsville, Georgia. Jeff Powell has made a living going where few loggers dare to go. The 56-year-old veteran has made a career out of cutting hardwood timber in or near swamps all over central Georgia. It’s no wonder he has a toughness about him that’s immediately noticeable. Powell started going to the woods with his father when he was eight years old. His dad, John, started a logging business in 1959 and Powell worked with his father, also known as “Big John,” for much of his early adult life. In the early ’90s Powell decided it was time to go off on his own so Big John sold him a 325 Prentice loader and a 460 Timberjack skidder. By 1993 Powell had established his own logging company, Jeff Powell Trucking (JPT).

Timber Harvesting magazine Contributing Editor Jordan Anderson visits Jason Fly Logging, LLC in Benton, Arkansas. When asked what drew him into logging in 2010, Jason Fly, 41, responds, “I always liked the equipment, the big machines, and I enjoy merchandising the timber, especially big hardwood.” Six years later, Fly expanded his operations, now based in Clarendon, Ark., and his equipment became bigger. But that’s only part of the story, at least for one of his three crews, which is now also more mechanized and safer, not to mention more adept at merchandising bigger timber, which benefits all parties in the wood supply chain. In the fall of 2016 Fly worked with Daniel Morgan, his salesman at Stribling Equipment in Tupelo, Miss., and Tom Hirt, owner of FSK Equipment & Supply, based in McKinney, Tex., who represents Log Max in Fly’s region, to acquire a new John Deere 3756G swing machine equipped with a new Log Max 12000XT harvesting/processing head—the largest on the market.

Timber Harvesting magazine Senior Associate Editor David Abbott recently traveled to Jonkoping, Sweden for Elmia Wood and provides a report. Abbott writes, “Held every four years, it’s touted as the world’s largest forestry fair, and the 2017 version of Elmia Wood only solidified that reputation. With 85,000 square meters (915,000 sq. ft.) of stand space, 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) of walking trail and 131,000 square meters (1.4 million sq. ft.) of live demo area, this year’s international event was not only the biggest ever, it is reportedly Sweden’s largest fair of any kind. Taking place in a forest south of Jönköping, Sweden from June 7-10, Elmia Wood 2017 brought in 555 exhibitors from 28 countries in six continents. Of those, 200 were exhibiting at Elmia for the first time. Along the forest trial, exhibitors demonstrated 143 machines. In all, show organizers report an attendance of 41,834.”

Starting as a small company with a single prototype and no distribution, Tigercat has come a long way since the Canadian corporation was officially incorporated in January of 1992. This year is the silver anniversary of the Brantford, Ontario-based entity. The design of the first prototype machine, known as the 726 drive-to-tree feller-buncher, started in 1991. “We began designing the 726 in the fall of 1991 with a goal to have it completed and ready to exhibit at a live, in-woods show in Quitman, Georgia in April 1992. Although lacking some finishing touches, such as finding a location for the batteries, which we had temporarily secured with bungee cords under the engine, we loaded it on a truck and set out for the southeast USA,” explains Tigercat President Tony Iarocci.

Exhibitors Booking Space For Mid-Atlantic Expo; Wallingford’s Is New Carlton Distributor; McLucas Finishes First In Loader Competition; Dealers Join Barko Hydraulics

As We See It: Safety Or More Railroad Profits?; American Loggers Council To Meet In Natchez, Miss.; USDA Supporting Longleaf Pines; Missouri Logging School Begins Classes October 2; Trucking Survey Feedback; Greene, Tidwell Receive FRA Awards