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| 2007 Global Citizenship News & Events |
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John Deere Demos Biomass Harvesting System
June 19, 2007 – John Deere's Construction & Forestry Division recently demonstrated its unique biomass harvesting system for about 250 loggers and U.S. Forest Service representatives on 40 acres of land outside Malheur National Forest in John Day, Oregon.
The U.S. Forest Service awards stewardship contracts to loggers to go into the national forests to clear away the timber and biomass materials (known as fuels) that could start forest fires. The clearing is usually done by hand felling to minimize the impact on the land.
John Deere's biomass harvesting system – using a 1270D Wheeled Harvester, 1110D Forwarder and 1490D Energy Wood Harvester – can make a single entry into a forest and remove the fuels with very little ground disturbance. The demonstration proved that this three-machine system could do in one year what it takes four years to do by hand felling.
For the demonstrations, a forest manager for Malheur National Forest invited representatives from 94 national forests in 13 Western U.S. states, many of whom brought loggers along with them. The U.S. Forest Service brought in people to test ground pressures, and a researcher from the University of Minnesota also helped conduct research studies. Two representatives from companies building co-generation (or wood-to-electricity) plants spoke to attendees about the growing need for and use of biomass to generate electricity and steam.
"The whole idea is to efficiently and economically harvest saw logs and biomass while contributing to a healthy forest," said Mike Schmidt, Biomass Project Manager, John Deere Forestry. "This method is incredibly quick and efficient – it requires only a single entry into the forest and totally eliminates slash pile burning and waste."
Watch the 1490D Energy Wood Harvester at Work
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