Thanks for an other inspiring video. As Joe said, not many can boast having planted, harvested and replanted a forest. You and Kathy are true stewards of the land...
Beautiful woodlot, I enjoy all your videos and catch my self watching them more than once. Great knowledge being passed down here, that I have been using on our own family woodlot. Looking forward to more videos, hope all is well. Brad- from southern New Brunswick, Canada
Thanks, Brad! It always makes me feel good when I hear that other stewards of the forest benefit from my few videos. I have footage already shot for the next two follow-ups in this series and plan to put them together this February. You will be amazed at how much those seedlings have grown in only a couple of years. Right now I'm about a week into this winter's timber harvest and, despite the weather being ideal, my daily productivity is about a third of what it was forty to fifty years ago and noticeably less than what it was a mere five years ago. I suppose that's what being old and getting older is about! A very Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year to you and your family! Vince
I like that old saying about when to plant a tree. That is so true! One good reason I will watch AND listen to your video is that you document the whole process in a span of many years, in the same video. Do you know many people to have planted and harvested the same trees, once mature? Must be quite unusual! Thanks!
I know a few but not many such people. In the past 40 years only two certified Tree Farmers here in Aroostook County, Maine have received the state's Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Award. Kathi and I are the second, and the one prior to us, Larry, is now 90+ years old. Fifteen or twenty years ago, perhaps more, Larry began harvesting trees that he had planted back in the 1960s. That's in this slower growing northern forest. If I had owned land in the South like we now do in Georgia, I would have performed a first commercial thinning at planted age 13 to 15, another at around age 20, and a final harvest at around age 25 to 30. In that case, I would now be about ready for my first commercial thinning in the second forest. So far as the warmth that it brings to my heart, I must say that the 40 years spent watching and nurturing those trees in Maine is priceless and quite possible would be less if the wait had been shorter. Thanks for your comment. Vince
Thanks for another great video! Always excited to see new content from your channel. I noticed you upgraded to a tajfun winch, hopefully we will get a review video on it someday! Take care
Eric, yes, I have wanted a Tajfun fully radio controlled winch for a long time, and finally justified buying one two years ago. I sold my indestructible 40+ year old Farmi JL30 to a fine young man and friend here in Maine who is infinitely happy with it and took my Payeur/Metavic winch to our Bombadil Nutzwald in Georgia to replace the Farmi. That gave me a reason to buy the Tajfun. It is, without a doubt, the Porsche or Ferrari or Lamborghini of tractor mounted logging winches! Do you have one? Vince
@Bombadil Tree Farms that's great, I hear good things about them they are becoming more popular in the maritimes here as well. I have a farmi 351 behind my L3450 kubota, and it amazes me what it does for such a small combination. Maybe someday I'll upgrade to a newer and larger tractor and winch, but for the foreseeable future, it's been a great machine for what I do with it!
@@ericsimp14 Eric, sure looks like you are equipped in exactly the same horsepower range as me but newer. Yes, it is amazing what such a combination can do. Like you, I would like to have something larger. A Kubota MX4800 is my dream machine, but will it make me any more productive? Probably not. Nonetheless, I'd love to have one. Take care! Vince
Well, Ross, the great blessing is that it will never be done! My woodlot's annual growth increment exceeds what I am currently harvesting. The problem is that I am definitely slowing down with each additional year, and spending more time in pampered luxury with my wife on a tropical beach becomes more attractive all the time. You know any younger person interested, capable, and devoted enough for me to pass the torch to? Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 I have almost the same equipment as you and have been working my wooded properties for 34 years. As the years roll by and our return date with the earth gets closer I think we would both like our life's work to continue. Sadly, the most likely outcome is that after the land changes hands the standing timber is liquidated to repay the purchase price. I for one would like all my work to be more than just a nice run of logs at the sawmill. I don't know your family situation but I would recommend a sale/donation to a non-profit or at least a conservation easement. Ross
@@rossprior8968 Ross, you and I share the same concerns and seem to have considered the same categories of options. There was a time when I had a donation to a specific land trust specified in my will until I became more familiar with the trust's actual purpose and management style. I keep looking, and wish you the best in your search. Vince
Thanks for an other inspiring video. As Joe said, not many can boast having planted, harvested and replanted a forest. You and Kathy are true stewards of the land...
Yves, coming from you those words mean a lot, and I thank you for them. Vince
It's great to see you documenting the whole process of harvesting, replanting, and reharvesting, and so on nice to see there eh! Thanks for sharing
I am glad that you are finding this long series, and bound to get longer with each passing year, informative. Thank you for your comment. Vince
Beautiful woodlot, I enjoy all your videos and catch my self watching them more than once. Great knowledge being passed down here, that I have been using on our own family woodlot.
Looking forward to more videos, hope all is well.
Brad- from southern New Brunswick, Canada
Thanks, Brad! It always makes me feel good when I hear that other stewards of the forest benefit from my few videos. I have footage already shot for the next two follow-ups in this series and plan to put them together this February. You will be amazed at how much those seedlings have grown in only a couple of years. Right now I'm about a week into this winter's timber harvest and, despite the weather being ideal, my daily productivity is about a third of what it was forty to fifty years ago and noticeably less than what it was a mere five years ago. I suppose that's what being old and getting older is about! A very Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year to you and your family! Vince
I like that old saying about when to plant a tree. That is so true! One good reason I will watch AND listen to your video is that you document the whole process in a span of many years, in the same video. Do you know many people to have planted and harvested the same trees, once mature? Must be quite unusual! Thanks!
I know a few but not many such people. In the past 40 years only two certified Tree Farmers here in Aroostook County, Maine have received the state's Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Award. Kathi and I are the second, and the one prior to us, Larry, is now 90+ years old. Fifteen or twenty years ago, perhaps more, Larry began harvesting trees that he had planted back in the 1960s. That's in this slower growing northern forest. If I had owned land in the South like we now do in Georgia, I would have performed a first commercial thinning at planted age 13 to 15, another at around age 20, and a final harvest at around age 25 to 30. In that case, I would now be about ready for my first commercial thinning in the second forest. So far as the warmth that it brings to my heart, I must say that the 40 years spent watching and nurturing those trees in Maine is priceless and quite possible would be less if the wait had been shorter. Thanks for your comment. Vince
Thanks professor for a job well done, hopefully this spring I will be harvesting at least 50 acres of hardwood in WV. Take care.
Mark, you are very welcome, and I wish you a safe & successful harvest that benefits all. Vince
Thanks for another great video! Always excited to see new content from your channel. I noticed you upgraded to a tajfun winch, hopefully we will get a review video on it someday! Take care
Eric, yes, I have wanted a Tajfun fully radio controlled winch for a long time, and finally justified buying one two years ago. I sold my indestructible 40+ year old Farmi JL30 to a fine young man and friend here in Maine who is infinitely happy with it and took my Payeur/Metavic winch to our Bombadil Nutzwald in Georgia to replace the Farmi. That gave me a reason to buy the Tajfun. It is, without a doubt, the Porsche or Ferrari or Lamborghini of tractor mounted logging winches! Do you have one? Vince
@Bombadil Tree Farms that's great, I hear good things about them they are becoming more popular in the maritimes here as well. I have a farmi 351 behind my L3450 kubota, and it amazes me what it does for such a small combination. Maybe someday I'll upgrade to a newer and larger tractor and winch, but for the foreseeable future, it's been a great machine for what I do with it!
@@ericsimp14 Eric, sure looks like you are equipped in exactly the same horsepower range as me but newer. Yes, it is amazing what such a combination can do. Like you, I would like to have something larger. A Kubota MX4800 is my dream machine, but will it make me any more productive? Probably not. Nonetheless, I'd love to have one. Take care! Vince
So for 40 plus years you have been harvesting aspen, fir and blow down spruce. When that is all done what is the next step?
Well, Ross, the great blessing is that it will never be done! My woodlot's annual growth increment exceeds what I am currently harvesting. The problem is that I am definitely slowing down with each additional year, and spending more time in pampered luxury with my wife on a tropical beach becomes more attractive all the time. You know any younger person interested, capable, and devoted enough for me to pass the torch to? Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 I have almost the same equipment as you and have been working my wooded properties for 34 years. As the years roll by and our return date with the earth gets closer I think we would both like our life's work to continue. Sadly, the most likely outcome is that after the land changes hands the standing timber is liquidated to repay the purchase price. I for one would like all my work to be more than just a nice run of logs at the sawmill. I don't know your family situation but I would recommend a sale/donation to a non-profit or at least a conservation easement.
Ross
@@rossprior8968 Ross, you and I share the same concerns and seem to have considered the same categories of options. There was a time when I had a donation to a specific land trust specified in my will until I became more familiar with the trust's actual purpose and management style. I keep looking, and wish you the best in your search. Vince