2008 John Deere 848H Grapple Skidder with Winch for Sale at Forestry First

        

January 26th, 2012

This 2008 John Deere 848H, Dual Arch, Grapple Skidder with Winch is available for sale with 6300 original hours.  One owner machine fitted with 35.5 tires in excellent condition, located in Arkansas this machine is ready to work.  We offer complete financing, spare parts support and logistics services to deliver this machine worldwide. Please click the Forestry First logo above to visit our main website where you can view high resolution pictures, videos, specifications and request an inspection or an in-woods demo.

Jesse Sewell 803-807-1726 cell

Brian Nielson 803-960-1613 cell

State of the Union – One Set of Wheels in the Ditch

        

January 25th, 2012

My fellow Americans I am sad to report today that the State of our Union is weak, divided, politically and socially toxic and headed for many, many difficult years.  While I respect the fact that President Obama has taken on a job that is very dificult (to  put it kindly), I am increasingly of the opinion that he is simply not up to the task.  Having said that, may God bless him and guide him as he continues to lead our nation.

In recent years I have come to despise politics more and more with each passing day and so I reluctantly offer my opinion on President Obama’s State of the Union address.  The President is a very good speaker and he can pull at the heartstrings like only a few Presidents before him.  He reminds me of a skilled Baptist preacher as he raises and lowers his voice for emphasis and dramatic effect.  He spoke eloquently about the underemployed and the unemployed, our military and hope and opportunity.  He is a far better public speaker and communicator than our previous President.  Unfortunately, oratory is not the skill that allows Presidents to succeed in the rough and tumble world of Washington politics.  Oratorical skill is a wonderful asset and the bully pulpit is one of the President’s best and most useful tools in pressing the Congress and the people to act on a bold new idea.  Unfortunately when the microphone is turned off this President seems incapable of getting fine sounding ideas transformed into legislation that could lead to actual progress.

As we know it is one thing to propose new solutions to age old, complex problems and another entirely to enact effective solutions to those problems.  If I were ten years old and watching the President’s speech, I might come away thinking that no previous administration ever considered it worthwhile to help laid-off workers or increase domestic oil production and thereby achieve greater energy independence.  The President articulated one excellent sounding idea after another, many of which are simply common sense positions that any listener would applaud. Such as, “We should offer every laid off worker the chance to re-train and move into the jobs of tomorrow”, (applause). “We should allow homeowners to refinance at the best rates currently available”, (more applause).  The average citizen could only listen approvingly as the President suggested the political equivalent of helping old ladies cross the street.

Unfortunately the ‘devil is in the details’ as they say.  President Obama and his party is unfortunately all too eager to engage in the politics of envy and class division, rather than offer real solutions that could unite America and lead to positive change.  Whether the proposed policy succeeds in improving access to more domestic energy or reduces the cost of housing appears to be irrelevant.  The purpose of the President’s proposals seem squarely aimed at success in November and not at effecting any kind of real and lasting good.  A perfectly horrific example is the President’s call to punish companies who do business overseas.  ”We need to stop giving companies tax breaks who take jobs overseas!”  This is code for creating new tax penalties for companies that hire new overseas employees.  This is patently stupid and ignores the realities of an ever changing global economy.  Additionally I am almost certain it is roughly the equivalent of hurling economic nuclear bombs at our biggest trading partners.  Why would they not retaliate with similar or worse legislation?

President Obama appears to be banking on sound-bite politics and a dim-witted electorate.  If a Company is successful in marketing its products and services overseas (as many of America’s fortune 500 currently are) it is only logical that these companies will need to hire overseas employees to grow their customer base.  They need these new employees to manage accounts and support overseas customers in the markets where these goods and services are being delivered.  This has nothing to do with ‘off-shoring jobs’ as the President is implying.  The practice of hiring overseas workers to support overseas customers is called, ‘good business’.  Mr. President this is called being competitive in new markets.  Write that down if you like I offer it free of charge.  These are the kind of policies that are hatched up in election years by people who have clearly never had to build anything, certainly not a healthy business.  If you want to grow your business in Ireland you will need to hire workers in Ireland to manage and support that business and serve your Irish customers.  If a business is truly global, such as General Electric, it is going to have hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide.  To sum up, liberals are no longer satisfied with taxing the income of these companies who operate overseas (with all their revenues coming home to the US, to stockholders, Senior Management, etc., TO BE TAXED), they now want to insist on taxing overseas employees as if they worked here in the US!

This ‘fairness’ rhetoric will certainly excite some who are out of work or struggling and want to blame someone for their situation.  The sound-bites may be effective in getting people to the polls in November, maybe even set the table for some great attack ads.  However, this betrays a strategy that clearly is concerned about nothing but being re-elected.  Those who thought the President was tossing and turning at night trying to think up new and innovative ways to get the economy in gear should look elsewhere for any real encouragement.  What good will rhetoric do for this country when we need real leadership, real solutions to very real and complex economic problems?  You cannot simply hold a gun to America’s biggest and best companies and tell them they can only hire new employees in the United States or they will be hit with new tax penalties.  The Democrats are on a political strategy course that will destroy the American Republic if they continue to use the tax code as a political weapon to reward their constituents and punish the opposition. There is nothing Democratic or morally appreciable about creating a majority that rewards itself from the treasury with greater and greater tax benefits while demonizing and punishing the wealthy (a numerically insignificant constituency).

Currently, according to the IRS, we have a full 40%+ of Americans that pay no federal taxes whatsoever (sad but true).  Please go and look at the numbers for yourself.  Go to www.irs.gov and you can look at exactly who pays taxes based on their median household income.  The top 20% of wage earners pay over 80% of all income taxes collected and this does not take into account corporate taxation on the companies they own. If you assembled your local community at a public meeting and you asked them, ‘Who here believes they should be exempt from federal taxes?’  The response would be predictable.  There is not a single person in this country who would try to argue that they should pay no federal taxes.  Yet we have a party who argues this on a daily basis and what’s more, argues that the wealthy should bear an even greater burden then they already shoulder.  Let’s also consider that nearly 20% of Americans actually receive money from the treasury at the end of the year in the form of the ‘Earned Income Tax Credit’.  This should be renamed the ‘Someone Else Earned it Tax Credit’.

Much has been made about Mitt Romney’s 15% tax rate on his investments (property which he owns).  Again the Democrats are counting on sound-bites and an economically illiterate public.  Governor Romney owns stocks and bonds which he has purchased with after tax dollars (How dare he?).  Understand this please, because it is a crucial distinction.  He has already been taxed on the money that he used to purchase the stock to start with.  As you know we are taxed every time we draw a breath, when we earn it, spend it, invest it, save it, etc.  Now Democrats want to suggest that somehow he is earning money at a rate far below what the average citizen pays.  No greater lie has ever been told.  He is part of the top 2% of Americans who pays an exorbitant tax rate already on their salaries and income.  The fact that he is wealthy and does not currently draw a salary which the Government can overtax is quite irrelevant.  This is not about tax rate equity in the slightest.  This is simply another example of spinning an issue into a weapon with which to divide the electorate and win at the polls.  Consider your home, which you bought with your ‘after-tax’ wages which you dutifully saved until you had enough to make that dream a reality.  Should your land and home be taxed as it increases in value at the same rate that your pay check is taxed at, 25% or more?  Of course not, but this is exactly what the Democrats are trying to suggest and it is an attack on wealth and the basic right to own property or save and invest and it is disgusting in every possible sense.

Our right to own property without fear of illegal search and seizure is protected in no uncertain terms within the founding principles of the US Constitution.  That protection is tossed aside whenever lawmakers decide they want an ever increasing portion of private wealth.  They see all private property as subject to the whim and authority of the federal government.  It is in fact expressly protected by the Constitution, but that is of apparently little or no merit.  In their opinion we should all rent our homes from the government as many are already doing (called annual property tax).  If you should fail to pay this usurious tax then you will be forcibly removed from your home (private property) by a Judge and it will be sold at auction.  There is no justification whatsoever for this kind of property taxation and seizure, yet it goes on every day and we quietly endure it because the majority of Americans are able to pay the tax, so we do so without a fight.  Can anyone begin to calculate the number of homes and the value of real property that City, State and County Governments have immorally and illegally seized from the poor, the aged and the mentally ill because a tax bill was not paid on time?

As I listened to the President lay out his plan for dividing and conquering the electorate I could not help but wonder if this Union can be saved.  We have two wheels firmly in the ditch and it seems as if our President might get around to pulling it out, maybe, possibly, after he is re-elected. I am not holding my breath.

Jesse Sewell

2008 CAT 545C Dual Arch Grapple Skidder with Winch for Sale at forestry First

        

.

January 19th, 2012

2008 model 545C Dual Arch, Grapple Skidder with Winch, 35.5 / 32 Tires at 90% on front, 70% on rear.  Machine has 7400 original hours and is in excellent condition.  All functions are working, cold AC, cab is clean, body and sheet metal is clean.  Call me today or visit us online to see more pictures including specs and videos.

Jesse Sewell 803-807-1726 c.

2005 CAT 525B Dual Arch Grapple Skidder with Winch, 8170 Hrs for Sale at Forestry First

        

.

January 19th, 2012

This is an excellent, one owner CAT 525B Skidder with Grapple, Winch, HD Axles, ISFD Rims in very good condition.  I inspected this machine myself just a few days ago.  Everything works including the AC which is cold, Parking brake is holding, Torque converter lockup is working, diff-locks work great, everything is working including the backup alarm.  The tractor has one or two minor issues.  The winch driveline is missing and it has one or two small leaks.  The pins are very tight, center, cradle, boom are all very good, about 1/8″ on the boom pivot pins, otherwise tight.  Grapple has some typical pin-wear and a seeping cylinder.  Blade is clean, sheet metal is clean, cab is clean with one small tear in the seat, otherwise very good.

Call me today to arrange an in-woods demo or visit us at www.forestryfirst.com to see all the pictures of this machine including videos and specs.

Jesse Sewell  803-807-1726 c.

Maine Governor, Picks a Fight with the USGBC

        

.

January 8th, 2012

I ran across a headline from Maine which tells us the Governor there has issued an executive order, ‘directing all state officials to regard four sustainable forestry initiatives as equal when planning for the design and construction of ‘Green Buildings’. You may follow the link to read the article if you like.  I suppose that the Governor feels his industry is unable to compete in the global forest industry without his help and intervention.  If Maine forest products companies want to be certified to the more rigorous FSC standard, qualifying them for LEED accreditation, then they should pursue FSC certification. I can only assume that some of them refuse to comply with FSC’s sustainability standards, yet are angry that imported timber is being used on Green Building projects.  To that I can only say, ‘Duh’.

The practical result of this decision is that Government facilities in Maine will be constructed to a lesser, homegrown standard which allows for Sawmills in Maine to provide timber from a variety of sources, certified to different standards.  The result of this decision will be to make Maine less competitive in the global timber industry.  We know that Wisconsin is the largest and most profitable State timber market in North America in terms of dollar revenue per ton produced.  This is precisely because Wisconsin has the highest number of certified harvesters and mills in the United States.  Certified timber sells for higher rates per board foot and FSC timber is sought after on the global market because it is recognized as the gold standard.

What the Governor of Maine has done is simply exclude Maine from participating in the fast-growing green building movement.  This is a movement that has been championed by the US Green Building Council.  I know a little something about the USGBC as I was formerly involved in the commercial construction industry.  The company I worked for marketed commercial interiors that qualified for LEED points.  LEED accreditation is single-handedly responsible for creating a massive international movement that promotes recycled materials, sustainably harvested timber and other materials, local materials (to reduce transportation pollution) and highly efficient lighting, heating, utility systems, etc.  LEED deserves to be recognized as one of the most successful environmental organizations in the world in terms of real and measurable progress in their field.

It might benefit the Governor to know that LEED does not really care what he does, says, orders, directs or thinks about sustainable forestry.  They will continue to issue credits for the certification of Green Buildings in precisely the same manner they have been issuing them in the past.  If we have learned anything about LEED, they are seemingly immune to outside pressure. Being a private entity they can give their accreditation to anyone they deem fit to receive it, or deny it just the same. If the State of Maine wants to gain accreditation for its buildings it will comply with LEED standards or it will simply have to come up with its own standard to christen its buildings with.  Maybe a nice plaque with the Governors face on it and a snappy quote from the Gov.  ’Be green, its keen’, perhaps.

The real impact of this action will be costly for Maine.  Architects and Engineers who value their reputation will not participate in any alternative Green Building process that the industry deems to be less than legitimate.  Those that do so could very likely be subject to lawsuits for applying LEED design principles without recognizing or compensating the USGBC (essentially ripping them off).  Skilled LEED designers will simply have to look elsewhere for employment and in some cases relocate.  Most new commercial structures that are of any appreciable size or significance are pursuing some level of LEED accreditation. Therefore the USGBC will still play a major role in the construction of privately owned facilities.  Architectural firms who specialize in municipal facilities will be harmed in both revenue and reputation.

I understand that some think it is unfair that LEED has singled out FSC to be the recipient of its accreditation point(s).  Consider that there are literally hundreds of sustainable forestry programs in the world and most are terrible.  I am using the word terrible because they are nothing more than marketing programs designed to make consumers feel better about buying wood.  Like putting the word ‘light’ or ‘nutritious’ on a pack of cookies these programs are a fraud.  They accomplish little or nothing when it comes to promoting the principles of sustainable forestry or teaching best-practices.  I have come across many of these programs over the years and to call them a ‘certification’ is really a disservice to the English language. To be fair the Governor of Maine has selected four programs that are effective in promoting sustainable forestry.  Still, it is important to make the distinction that all programs are not equal.

There are certainly several good sustainable forestry certification programs.  Whether that is true is not at issue.  The issue in this particular case is the much sought after and financially valuable FSC certification.  It is the gold standard in sustainable forestry for many valid reasons.  Speaking with one of my customers in Australia he told me they paid over $100,000 to achieve the designation and it took many months of training and compliance work.  So let’s establish first and foremost that the program is expensive and difficult to comply with.  He continues to pay for certificates for each shipment of tropical timber as they are produced, milled and shipped.  The individual certificates attest that the mill has not only met FSC standards but is continuing to meet those standards with each shipment of timber.

It is clear why some are so upset with the preferential treatment FSC receives.  It has to do with money and money alone.  FSC certified timber sells for higher prices than any other.  The only significant rival to FSC is the US based SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative).  SFI is every bit as good as FSC in many respects save perhaps one or two.  FSC is more aggressive in limiting the number and size of new plantations being developed within its program.  Extremely large plantations are difficult to defend when you consider the nearly total lack of biodiversity that exists within them.  I believe we need plantations and they have a vital role to play in our industry.  However, we need to protect natural forest stands and limit the amount of new plantations and the size of those being developed.

My advice to loggers and mill owners is simple.  If your buyers want you to be SFI certified, then you do not need to concern yourself with the expense and effort of being FSC certified.  However, if you can gain access to another market, perhaps a new customer by becoming FSC certified than go after that, if it is financially justifiable.  Both SFI and FSC are good programs and we are all benefiting mightily from the good work they are doing.  The programs are different just like college degrees are different. You don’t want somebody’s online certificate to have the same weight and merit as your costly and hard earned Ivy League or State College sheepskin.  It may offend some but the certifications are different and therefore their economic value is different.

I personally appreciate the stubborn independence of the USGBC.  We need more private institutions that don’t wet their pants because some politician starts wagging his finger.  In that case lets admit one thing.  The Governor needs to stick to what he knows, whatever that is.  For him to try and impose his will on the free market by making useless decrees is really impotent and childish.  If there were a credible rival to LEED then the market would give rise to that alternative independent of any pronouncements from politicians.  Architects and Engineers as well as developers and building owners have determined that LEED is the undisputed leader in this growing industry and there is nothing that envy or politics can do to change that.

Jesse Sewell

New EPA Regulations on Coal will Boost Biomass

        

December 22, 2011

Coal Fired Power Plant in Pennsylvania

The EPA has finally imposed tighter emissions regulations on coal power plants after lengthy litigation by US power companies to prevent the new standards from taking effect.  This is a positive sign as coal has long dominated the North American power industry fuel portfolio and its lobby is extremely wealthy and politically influential.  This singular action will do more to boost alternative fuels such as Biomass than any other action the government might take, such as tax incentives or crop assistance programs.  The new regulations are needed because coal has long been the largest single industrial polluter in the US.

It seems the Federal Courts and the Bureaucrats did something right for a change.  This leaves me thinking someone must have screwed up somewhere.  Is it possible that President Obama has stuck to principle, forcing the coal companies to shape up and install pollution controls?  Could it be that the deep pockets of the coal industry did not prevail upon the Obama administration in an election year?  Are we witnessing a Christmas miracle?  One thing is for certain, the power companies are pretty upset about this ruling and the cost of upgrading these plants.  Personally, I am not entirely sure why they are opposed to it, after all they simply pass their operational costs on to the consumer.  Sure would be nice if the rest of us could simply show up with some charts and graphs and get a big fat raise.

The real silver lining in all of this is it pushes the economic scale just a little bit further in favor of alternative fuels like Biomass.  It is one thing for cleaner, greener, local alternatives to compete with cheaper imported fossil fuels such as oil and coal.  It is another matter altogether if those cheaper fuels are not required to take reasonable steps to curtail their emissions.  For too long coal has been protected by lawmakers because it is produced here in the good old USA and is seen as being homegrown energy. While I agree with that sentiment when comparing coal to imported oil, it is clear that some states are being economically harmed by their dependence on imported coal.  When US States like South Carolina purchase $1 Billion in coal annually, those dollars leave the local economy and never return.

So in closing let me give thanks to our Federal Judges who it seems erred on the side of ‘less Mercury, Cyanide and Sulphur Dioxide is probably a good thing’.  It seems that a College education does have its uses.

Jesse Sewell

New Listing! 2007 Tigercat 620C single Arch Skidder for Sale at Forestry First

        

December 6, 2011

This is a very nice one-owner Skidder that has been well cared for with 7500 original hours, 15.1 sf Grapple, Winch, 30.5 Tires, Cab in excellent condition, Everything works.  Call or visit us online at www.forestryfirst to see high resolution pictures, videos of this machine and manufacturer specifications.  Call me to request a copy of our mechanical inspection or to arrange a in-woods demo.

Jesse Sewell 803-807-1726 c.   jesse@forestryfirst.com

Brian Nielson 803-960-1613 c.  brian@forestryfirst.com

Globalization: Get on Board or get Run Over

        

November 20, 2011

.

In recent years globalization is taking hold and US Companies are struggling mightily to come to grips with an ever widening global marketplace.  The effects are very real as companies are bought out, merged or liquidated.  Massive layoffs by major fortune 500 companies here in the US have also clearly indicated that companies are broadening their workforce and hiring more workers to serve their foreign customers.  Half the income of US based fortune 500 companies now comes from overseas customers.  This number is inflated at the present, due largely to a sluggish US economy and reluctant US consumers.  However, this is a sea-change from previous decades where the US consumer was king and overseas markets were a secondary concern.

Even more disturbing is the impact of online shopping globally and here in the US.  Once held in contempt by the major US retailers as some kind of fad, online shopping has increased dramatically.  Just two years ago a Nielsen survey found that global online shoppers numbered 627 million.  Today that number has increased to 875 million in just two years.  You do not need to be a marketing genius to understand that any pool of potential buyers growing at 20% or more annually is probably a good market to tap into.  Perhaps you have noticed massive consolidation in the distribution industry.  Companies that sell parts and industrial components for machinery or equipment of all kinds have been consolidating at a record pace over the past ten years.  This is largely driven by the e-commerce haves and have nots.  Those who developed online marketing strategies survived and gobbled up their slower, less competitive rivals.

We must compete now in an electronic marketplace where goods and services are bought and sold on a global scale.  This is disturbing to some and terrifying to others but it presents a tremendous opportunity to US companies if they will act boldly and decisively.  The problem is we are now fifteen years down the road and we no longer have the massive competitive advantage that US Companies enjoyed in the early to mid 90′s when 99% of all internet users were English speaking.  This is when brands like Google were taking shape, becoming icons of today’s internet world.  All is not lost however as some industries are slower to adapt than others.  The timber industry has been slow to adapt, yet websites like Fordaq are offering timber dealers and harvesters the opportunity to market their select hardwoods to a global clientele.

Fordaq offers loggers and timber harvesters the opportunity to connect with mills worldwide and sell their timber direct to buyers in over 150 countries.

The importance of this cannot be overstated.  You now have within your grasp the ability to advertise your select hardwood logs online and sell them to buyers worldwide.  If you have some discipline and patience, you can stack your select logs (or a portion) for a short time and get excellent prices (minus the middle men) by selling direct to a Sawmill in the UK or Germany.  You may need to square them off to efficiently fill a shipping container.  Still, the challenges of learning to satisfy a new overseas customer are minimal when you consider the benefits of gaining new buyers.  I can tell you that without our overseas customers buying forestry machines we would be out of business.

My advice to everyone is to get on board or get run over.  The internet is not something that we should consider.  The internet and your ability to market your company to new online customers is a matter of economic survival.  The internet is the most powerful visual advertising media ever developed.  Consider that when you use your computer it sits on your desk or your lap just a few feet from your face.  Rarely do you use your computer and watch television or do the dishes, etc.  When we use our computers we are engaged directly with the screen and keyboard.  There is no more powerful visual media available to you as a business owner, advertiser or marketer.

One of many surveys showing that those who shop online are beginning to shop exclusively online.

I once worked for a local distributor of electronic components here in Columbia, South Carolina.  This company was a family owned, multi-million dollar stocking dealer of all things electronic for industrial use, from batteries to diodes to molex connectors and communications routers.  Unfortunately the customers who frequented their store to purchase items off the shelf, discovered they could pay less and order it online.  This company which experienced five consecutive years of declining revenue was finally bought out and no longer exists.  Sadly this story is repeating itself all over the United States and North America.  This company had a website, but it was a bulletin board style site and not an e-commerce site where customers felt comfortable looking for products and making purchases.

We must take advantage of the opportunity that the internet is providing all of us as business owners and consider how we can expand our current customer base to include overseas customers, more specifically; online customers wherever they may be.  The US economy is going to continue to struggle as long as business owners cling to tired methods and tools for marketing themselves.  Certainly burger chains will continue to thrive regardless of their internet presence as will many traditional businesses.  However, if you produce any kind of manufactured product, commodity or finished good of any kind you should be running not walking toward an online marketing presence.

Please feel free to call or email if you have questions or need advice on how to do business online.

Jesse Sewell

New Listing! 2007 Tigercat 234 Knuckleboom Loader with Delimber for Sale at Forestry First

        

November 18, 2011

This one-owner, 2007 model Tigercat 234 Knuckleboom Loader is in excellent condition.  Everything works, including the AC.  Machine has 9700 hours but has been well cared for as you can see from the photos above.  Equipped with Cummins QSB 6.7, TC 53″ Log Grapple, CTR 426 Delimber, Enclosed cab with heat and air, all in good working condition.  Call or visit us online at www.forestryfirst.com for more information, including high resolution pictures, video, manufacturer specs and a mechanical inspection.

Jesse Sewell – 803.807.1726 c.

Brian Nielson 803-960-1613 c.

New Listing! 2010 John Deere 753J Track Fellerbuncher for Sale at Forestry First

        

November 4, 2011

One owner, 2010 model John Deere 753J Track Fellerbuncher with 30″ Double Grouser Pads, Extended Warranty, FS20 Single Post Sawhead, Enclosed Cab with heat and air, Zero Tail Swing, 900 original hours.  Call or visit us online for more information.

Update: 12-19-11  Since posting this unit early in November it has been sold and is now on its way to Canada to a happy new owner near Edmonton.  Let us know if you would be interested in something like this and we can make some inquiries to owners running similar equipment.  Or if you have something like this you need to sell, please let us know.  We would love to help.

Jesse Sewell 803-807-1726 c.  Brian Nielson 803-960-1613 c.