Two loggers discuss running a swamp logging operation and why they stick with John Deere equipment. They talk about family legacy, the specific challenges of working in swamps, and how their crew stays reliable in difficult conditions.
I'm third generation logger. My, my grandpa logged. That's what my dad always did, you know, he made a good life. And I have so far learned a lot of the most important values from my, from my dad out here. I probably wouldn't be the, the logger I am today from without his knowledge. And all what I learned from him, it was just one of them things. I loved it so much. I just knew, I mean, that's what I'm gonna be. And I mean, I love it as much today as I did then. We're primarily a swamp logger. You know, it stays wet 99.9% of the time all year. We're never in dry conditions.
There ain't very many swamp loggers around here. We're the only one in our county. There's a lot of logging goes on around here. There's a spot that can't be cut. That's the spot we want to cut. I ain't seen a spot yet we couldn't cut. And we've been in some battles.
This swamp behind us we're working in. This is probably one of the worst ones we've ever been in. It's as bad as they get.
You gotta have a team and everybody's gotta be working together to get it out. If one man ain't doing his part, it ain't gonna work. Everybody's gotta be on the same page. You gotta have production and making every move count. All my daddy and my papa would buy was a John Deere. All we've ever had is track machine cutters. You can reach out and get so much more wood. And I mean, just being able to go in them bad terrains, I mean, you're gonna need tracks.
Being on the John Deere buncher, it was just like nine day difference. They're just real good machines to me. They're some of the best out there right now. They're dependable, they're comfortable and just. It's just one less thing you have to worry about out here. Pretty much all you gotta worry about is showing up and getting on it and doing your job.
It's just good dependable tractor. When you run a skidder for 5,6000 hours and don't even put a hydraulic line on it in the swamp, that's good. I'm just proud that we got it this far and we've got some good equipment to work with. My daddy, that was all he done and I feel like he'd be proud of us.
