Miguel Faucher’s harvest contracting business focuses on sensitive thinning and harvesting for private woodlot owners in the Centre-du-Quebec region, around the city of Drummondville, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Faucher’s home base is in Sainte-Sophie-d’Halifax, east of Montreal. His operation moved from tracked harvesters to a new Rottne H21D double bogie harvester in 2022, and he remarks that the move has proved to be a good business decision.

Through the auspices of Groupement Forestier Arthabaska-Drummond, Faucher provides his private woodlot clients with silviculture services on plantations, natural stands and maple sugar operations, and undertakes clearcut harvesting, in some circumstances.

The Groupement Forestier Arthabaska-Drummond has provided woodlot management service to its members for 45 years. Currently, the Groupement has 800 shareholders/members, and manages some 46,000 hectares of privately owned forest land.

The Groupement forestry staff prepare a woodlot management/development plan which allows private woodlot owners to access forest management programs offered by the Quebec government. Management plans guide the landowners to make informed decisions, to improve the quality, productivity and sustainability of their forest resource.

Faucher’s operations are all on private woodlots. The Groupement organizes wood supply contracts with regional mills, to market wood generated on their members’ harvest/silviculture activities.

For several years, Faucher’s harvester equipment capacity included a Timberjack 608 with Log Max 5000D and a Tigercat 822C with Log Max 6000B head. While his machines were productive, increasingly he found many woodlot owners did not want to have tracked harvesters working on their woodlot, citing concerns about compaction and rutting, regardless of the high quality stand improvement work that Faucher could reference.

Faucher explained that land owners decried tracked harvesters because they figured they caused increased ground disturbance and root damage in partial cut operations, compared to wheeled harvesters.

When the decision was taken to seek a wheeled harvester, Faucher wanted a machine that offered high floatation, yet had the power and capacity to operate effectively for either commercial thinnings or clearcut applications.

After considering a wide array of harvesting equipment, he came to the decision to purchase a new Rottne H21D.

Faucher explains that he evaluated many harvesters, and the decision to go with the H21D included qualities like the high flotation provided by the double bogie configuration and its power characteristics. The deal was made with Anthony Pelletier, Sales and Service rep with Didier Equipments, located in Causapscal, Quebec.

Faucher explained that the H21D has the power and traction comparable to tracked harvesters, and the floatation provides great operator comfort—and it is said to provide the most powerful hydraulics available in a wheeled harvester configuration.

The H21 sports 710–55×28.5 tires and they are dressed with Olofsfors tracks, with the front set only in easy terrain, and then on all four corners in difficult and soft ground conditions.

The initial impression of the H21D is that it is a physically large machine. Overall length is 364 inches or 33 feet. Width is 118 inches or nine feet.

Faucher says that many woodlot owners are cautious about the size of the machine at first glance, but they are impressed and sometimes left speechless with its effectiveness in navigating through the forest with a modest ground impact.

The H21 features a 549 cubic inch turbocharged John Deere diesel engine which generates 305 horsepower at 1700 RPM. The engine tuning provides a healthy torque curve at low RPM. The hydrostatic transmission features three speeds.

Fuel consumption for the big harvester averages at 19 litres per hour.

Hydraulic power comes from a 298 litre per minute pump dedicated to the crane and a 357 litre per minute pump dedicated to head functions, in addition to a third pump supplying the three-speed hydrostatic transmission and ancillary hydraulic functions.

The crane operates from a tilt base platform and with its parallel jib 7.2-foot extension, provides thirty-six feet of reach, with power to reach and fell trees at full extension.

The machine features large side panel openings, to access the engine, and a rear tilt hood provides access to radiators and pumps. A hinged belly pan provides convenient access for service.

Its Can-bus machine control system allows the operator to monitor all temperatures and fluid levels and, additionally, to troubleshoot machine functions.

Harvester operator Vincent Bilodeau counts nine years of harvester experience with Faucher. He graduated from forwarder operator to harvester operator, after Faucher injured his wrist and was unable to operate the harvester.

Bilodeau demonstrated his talents handling large and limby hardwoods. Peeking into the H21D cab, it’s very impressive to see Bilodeau and Faucher maintain the interior in showroom condition. Interior accoutrements include a tray for dirty or wet boots.

Bilodeau begins his work shift with the H21 at 7 a.m. through to 5 p.m. Faucher then operates the harvester through to 1 a.m.

The landscape of the Centre du Quebec includes extensive agricultural areas interspersed with woodlands on hilly and less productive lands.

During a recent visit, Faucher’s H21D was operating in a mixed tolerant hardwood/softwood natural stand and in an adjoining softwood plantation. The partial cut operation had been marked by Groupement Forestier Arthabaska-Drummond foresters. Faucher commented that tree marking is an option that the landowner may subscribe to, but contends that many years of partial cut and thinning experience allows himself and Bilodeau to harvest to the specification required, without tree marking.

Groupement offers a full range of management services for woodlot owners including development plans, supervising road construction, silviculture and harvest supervision.

Selecting a harvesting head for the H21D, Faucher settled on the Log Max 6000V.

He commented that the head has proved to be strong and fast, and true to the ‘V’ designation, very versatile, working effectively for either thinning or clearcutting applications. He remarked that the head delivers accurate and consistent diameter and length measuring.

The 6000V will cut stems up to 71 centimetres in diameter, and will hang on to stems and process down to 1.5 cm. The head is most productive with stems in the 14 to 44 cm. diameter range.

For the 6000V, Log Max incorporated many improvements including on the measuring wheel cylinder and the hydraulic circuit, as well as reinforcing the measuring wheel arm and mounting attachment. A larger diameter measuring wheel follows stem contours more effectively, resulting in greater performance.

Additional improvements included reinforcement to the frame, which includes a mounting area for the upper delimbing knife. Head tilt has also been increased, which adds versatility and overall performance of the head. Bucking functions is handled with a Dasa Forester control system.

The Rottne H21D features a swivel cab with suspension and levelling feature. Faucher and Bilodeau have become quite fond of the cab features, noting that it provides great operator comfort, resulting in less physical stress and stiffness at the end of the operating shifts. The windshield is long and tilts to the rear providing a good view of tree crowns and surrounding stands, allowing Bilodeau and Faucher to make competent selection and harvest decisions. The cab swivels ninety-degrees to either side from the forward facing position. The ninety-degree position provides the operator with a great rearward view for backing the machine up, and avoiding crop trees or other obstacles.

Bilodeau’s commercial thinning left a good distribution of healthy immature tolerant species, presenting a partially open crown closure which will encourage the establishment of shade tolerant species. The stand will be scheduled for a re-entry in 10 to 15 years, and will offer quality sawlog production. It offers great potential to evolve to an multi-age stand.

When the H21D began operating, forwarder capacity was handled with a John Deere 1210G. As the production potential of the H21D was reached, it became apparent that the old forwarder could not keep pace. Subsequently, Faucher went looking for increased forwarding capacity. At the end of the exercise, Faucher made a deal with Didier Equipments for a new Rottne F15 forwarder.

Faucher explained that he is very happy with his Rottne H21D. “It’s very comfortable to operate and to carry out maintenance,” he says. “It has great strength for handling big heavy trees, more than equal to the power of big tracked machines, and it is very fuel efficient in comparison, and it has a much more gentle footprint.

“We can operate with it very efficiently for first thinnings, and still work it very productively where the prescription is to clearcut. We have built a good reputation for the quality of our work with the H21, both with the Groupement and our woodlot owner clients. We look forward to continuing to do good business with the H21.”