Production and Cost of Wood Extraction using Farm Tractor Case Study: Sheikhneshin Plantation Area in Shafaroud Watershed

Farm tractors are a multipurpose machine in many applications، especially in agriculture and forest logging activity. Short log skidding with farm tractors is one of logging systems in plantation area in north of Iran as in many other areas in the word. In forest logging operation، equipped farm tractor with trailer can be used to skid short logs from stump area to landing. In this study، that has been carried out in Sheikhneshin plantation area of Shafaroud watershed، 69 skidding cycle studied and، after determination of skidding affective factors، the elemental time study method was applied to develop the skidding time predicting model. The efficiency and unit costs of logging were calculation in the operational and scheduled working time for farm tractor operators. Skidding time was most affected by number of log per turn، volume per turn and skidding distance. The logging productivity was 5. 66 m3/PH or 5. 34m3/SH with an average log number pre turn 59، an average volume per turn 3. 81m3، and the average forwarding distance 202m. The cost of skidding using with and without delays was 88196 and 80354 Rials per cubic meter، respectively. Result of this study consistent with the result of research in progress should provide forest manager، planner and logger with detailed and accurate logging cost estimators allow for comparison and selection of equipment.