the forestry managers and allow Steve to
co-ordinate the ever-changing demands of
the forest management and establishment
contracts. With the upgrade in mechanical
harvesting efficiency, there will be more times
when the chainsaw operators will need to
be called in to deal with oversized, rough or
difficult trees to keep the timber production
flowing smoothly.
Steve is able to call upon the services of
three extremely competent cutters for these
tasks and has four qualified climbers in
the tree surgery squad. Although one team
is normally at work on the arb side, larger
operations can see the call-up of operatives
from across the team. Treeworks scheduled
to go ahead recently, entailing a weekend
road closure, saw Lee and Anton on the tree
surgery contract on a Sunday as the blustery
snowy showers drove down from the north.
Arranging the workload to keep the team
fully occupied is a major task for Steve;
especially when the weather is as disruptive
as it has been this winter. Normally, around
half a dozen of the squad are on tree-planting
duty and Steve admits it can be a very tough
task when conditions are far from perfect. In
the summer months, forest maintenance tasks
keep the manpower busy. The investment in
a Kubota L3200 compact tractor has been a
game-changer for Wainwright Forestry when it
comes to planting and maintenance contracts.
The 32 hp, three-cylinder 4WD machine
is so much more versatile than a quad bike,
according to Steve. Easily shifted between
sites, it is available for transportation of
fencing materials and seedlings for the
planting teams and its speed and carrying
capacity make it ideal for spraying duties. Its
compact size, reduced weight and quietness
make it perfect for work such as grass cutting
22 MAY 2018 FORESTRYJOURNAL.CO.UK
CONTRACTOR FEATURE
on high public access sites.
The Center Parcs site amongst the
Sherwood pines is a regular contract for
Wainwright Forestry and revenue from the
grass cutting has been the ‘base load’ that
has convinced the business that the Kubota
L3200 has paid for itself very quickly. Amenity
schemes requiring the planting of larger trees
now present no problem for the Wainwrights;the Kubota’s attachments can cope with the
more difficult tasks of lifting and shifting.
If Wainwright Forestry needs to order in
planting stock to fulfil a contract, Steve is
keen to support his neighbouring businesses
if possible. Crowders Nurseries, based in
the nearby Lincolnshire town of Horncastle,
have always been able to supply most of his
requirements and stock has always been
delivered in top-quality condition. A half-hour
motoring across to see the nursery manager
or foreman and inspect the plants available is
time well spent, in Steve’s view.
Diversification may reap benefits, but
experience has taught Steve that there are
places he should not go. In his early days
in forestry he had a Land Rover with a
winch. His services were much in demand.The pine plantation established on the rich agricultural land
has grown rapidly, but the stem form is extremely poor. The
buoyant timber prices currently being experienced in the UK
make the harvesting of this crop a financially viable option.
The landowning business is prepared to pay for clearance of as
much woody material as possible to convert the small acreage
to turf production. Provision has also been made to establish
woodlands on more suitable soils under the estate’s ownership.In a brief interlude of clement weather in what was turning
out to be a difficult and unpredictable winter, Anton Dale
needed to work fast while the sandy soils bordering the
River Trent remained in good condition. Minimising damage
to the valuable agricultural land between the plantation and
Manor Farm was a top priority.