Forestry is getting a serious upgrade

Did you see ‘that’ viral video of a drone cutting down a tree in Sweden recently? It might look like a gimmick, but it’s a preview of where the industry is heading: more automation, more precision, and less reliance on pure manual labour in some tasks.

Traditional forest machines: think forwarders, harvesters, and skidders — are already highly advanced, with GPS, onboard weighing, auto‑steering, and data logging built in. Now new machines are either hybrid or hydrogen ready. New tech is layering on top of that: drones for site surveys and tree health checks, remote sensing for stock mapping, and experimental systems like autonomous drones or robots that could handle high‑risk or hard‑to‑reach work without putting people in the line of fire.

This doesn’t mean the human role is disappearing; it means the skill set is shifting. Operators and forest workers are becoming more like machine supervisors and data users, interpreting what the tech tells them and making higher‑level decisions about safety, efficiency, and tree management. For those of us in forestry, keeping an eye on mechanisation and new tools is no longer optional — it’s part of the job.

Stay safe and enjoy the sunshine.

Jack

P.S. Do you have any cool ‘tech in forestry’ stories? Reply to this email and we’ll share the best ones in a future newsletter. Oh and check out the job posts on our Facebook page - remember to like and share them!

In this section we highlight our favourite opportunities each week.

What?: Forest Manager

Who?: Euroforest

Where?: Stirling, Scotland

How Much?: £35,000 - £50,000 DOE

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What?: Harvester Operator

Who?: Heartwood

Where?: Warwickshire, Midlands

How Much?: £45k plus benefits

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