Equipment/machinery grants?

Siamsa Sessions

Hi all,

I'm probably being optimistic here but does anyone know if there are grants available for forestry equipment and machinery?

I've Googled it and searched on the Dept. website but couldn't see anything.

Thanks.

timfromtang

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm probably being optimistic here but does anyone know if there are grants available for forestry equipment and machinery?

I've Googled it and searched on the Dept. website but couldn't see anything.

Thanks.

hi Siamsa,
If you have hardwood forestry planted, and you are ready fro first thin, then it is possible to do the work yourself, thin and tend etc, and use the thin and tend grant 750/ha, on equipment, not really a grant aid, its more like spending your wages on machinery, but it is how i bought our Japa Skidding Grapple in 2013.

If i were doing it again, i would buy a forestry winch first. I have both now, and the winch is much more versatile for moving timber.

tim

Melodeon

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm probably being optimistic here but does anyone know if there are grants available for forestry equipment and machinery?

I've Googled it and searched on the Dept. website but couldn't see anything.

Thanks.

To the best of my knowledge, no such grant aid (for machinery and equipment) exists in the Republic of Ireland.
All the aid here is targeted at 'operations': establishment, thinning, etc.

Such aid DOES exist in the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-forestry-grant#what-the-grant-will-fund
...which I surmise goes a good way to explaining the extensive displays of shiny metal at UK forestry shows

Siamsa Sessions

Thanks for the replies. I'm planning on taking out thinnings myself so will look at that option more closely

timfromtang

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I'm planning on taking out thinnings myself so will look at that option more closely

Hi siamsa,
For taking out thinnings, before we got the grant money.
We came up with two methods that both worked well.

We strapped a round feeder on edge to a bale lifter with a lorry strap through the bars of the feeder and around the arms of the bale lifter. reversing into a rack and tossing 6 ft length into the round feeder we could remove big loads, with the benefit of being able to tip them out in the yard.

We also used a back loader with the bucket removed, and a car tow rope with hooks both ends to extract stacked bundles from the racks, simply thread the rope around the bundle, hook it to itself so that it tightens on the bundle, wrap the remaining rope firmly around the arm of the loader and hook it to itself, lift up and skid to the yard.

Other folks have used cock lifters with uprights welded on the ends of the tines to extract timber, but this method requires turning the logs through 90 degrees before loading and is a little more labour.

best of luck with the thinning

tim
ps, wear a helmet, gettin knocks on the head from dislodged branches whilst felling quickly gets old.

SILVAMAN

timfromtang wrote: »

hi Siamsa,
If you have hardwood forestry planted, and you are ready fro first thin, then it is possible to do the work yourself, thin and tend etc, and use the thin and tend grant 750/ha, on equipment, not really a grant aid, its more like spending your wages on machinery, but it is how i bought our Japa Skidding Grapple in 2013.

If i were doing it again, i would buy a forestry winch first. I have both now, and the winch is much more versatile for moving timber.

tim

there were before the economic crash, for at least 2 years