forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
vehicle that carries big felledlogs cut by a harvester from the stump to a roadside landing for later acquisition. Forwarders can use rubber tires or tracks. Unlike a
skidder
A skidder is any type of heavy vehicle used in a logging operation for pulling cut timber, trees out of a forest in a process called "skidding", in which the logs are transported from the cutting site to a landing. There they are loaded onto t ...
, a forwarder carries logs clear of the ground, which can reduce soil impacts but tends to limit the size of the logs it can move. Forwarders are typically employed together with harvesters in
cut-to-length logging
Cut-to-length logging (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting system in which trees are delimbed and ''cut to length'' directly at the tree stump, stump. CTL is typically a two-man, two-machine operation with a harvester (forestry), harvester felling, d ...
operations. Forwarders originated in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
.
Load capacity
Forwarders are commonly categorized on their load carrying capabilities. Other classifications include whether they are wheeled or tracked and the axle arrangement. The smallest are trailers designed for towing behind
all-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...
s which can carry a load between 1 and 3 tonnes. Agricultural self-loading trailers designed to be towed by farm tractors can handle load weights up to around 12 to 15 tonnes. Light weight purpose-built machines utilised in commercial
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksthinning operations can handle payloads of up to 8 tonnes. Medium-sized forwarders used in clearfells and later thinnings carry between 12 and 16 tonnes. The largest class specialized for clearfells handles up to 25 tonnes. Forwarders also carry their load at least 2 feet above the ground.
John Deere
Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...