Newcomers to the Farming Simulator franchise are often surprised that it includes a forestry aspect.
Surely farming is about cows, crops, and chickens?
Maybe so.
But the fact that Farming Simulator has such a developed forestry component to it is a testament to what a great game it is, and shows how it has grown over the years.
There are individual trucking, mining, and forestry games out there. But Farming Simulator combines all of these activities into one neat package.
And where the base-game is lacking, the modding community have filled the gaps with a whole host of mods.
This inexpensive tool is basically a broom for tree branches.
You know all the small branches left behind when you’re felling trees? Well, this five metre road scraper from Lizard cleans them all up. Just connect your forwarders grapple to it, and sweep away.
It also comes with a plow/cultivator version, which allows you to create fields.
Price: €325,000 Max Reach: 10m Power: 280 hp Platform: PC/MAC
If you’ve got trees that need tidying up, and cutting to size, then run them through the John Deere 437D Delimber.
The grapple arm can be used to drag felled trees through the delimber, and the chainsaw will cut the trees to length. Then, use the arm to load them where they need to go.
Great if you like a more realistic logging experience. It’s great fun once you get it set up and get used to it.
Price: $20 each Platform: PC/MAC, PS4, PS5, XB1, XBS
If you’re going to be felling lots of trees, you might want to think about letting people know.
This mod includes plenty of signs to do just that, including a road closed sign, which is great for when you’re working along the highway.
It’s a really inexpensive way to add that air of authenticity to your logging operations. And, the road closed sign is useful in so many other applications. It’ll stop cars, and tractors, dead in their tracks.
If you want to plant a few trees, but don’t want to waste money on a full pallet of them, the tree sapling pack is the answer you’re looking for.
This mod provides trees in pallets of 6, 40, 60, or 120. It even includes handy decals on each pallet, in case you can’t tell your oak saplings from your beech.
As with most things you buy: buying in bulk is cheaper.
Price: €7,500 Capacity: 1 pallet Engine Requirements: 60 hp Working Speed: 10 km/h Platform: PC/MAC, PS4, PS5, XB1, XBS
Forestry isn’t all about cutting trees down, you know! Trees need to be viewed like any other crop – if you want another harvest, you’re going to need to plant more.
And, the Damcon PL-10 is just the mod for the job. It will plant trees at a steady 10 km/h, and can carry one pallet at a time.
Before long, you won’t be able to see the wood for the trees.
This forwarder from Ponsse is marketed as an “innovative forwarder”. That’s because it has a CVT transmission that allows it to reach 20 km/h without changing gear.
That means it’s perfect for getting around the forest floor, including isolated locations, in order to load felled timber onto its rear trailer.
It won’t cut trees down, but it will pick them up. You’ve got a chainsaw, haven’t you?
If you’ve got wood sitting in hard to reach places, you need the Tajfun EGV 80 AHK. You’ve gone to all that trouble of cutting those trees down – you can’t just leave them there to rot!
So, park your tractor as close as you can, walk over and connect your chains, and winch that timber to safety.
You can connect as many chains as you like, but it will be limited by its 8 tons of pulling power.
It doesn’t just work on trees either – you can winch most objects, and even equipment. Great if your tractor needs dragging out of a ditch. Again!
If, like so many other people, you struggle to load logs onto your trailer, why not give this trailer with an autoload function a try?
Simply pull alongside your nice pile of felled timber, let your trailer know which side you want to load from, and with the click of a button it will magically load itself.
Then, drive it to your nearest store, and do the same again, in reverse. Except, this time watch it load your bank balance!
Like so many of the best mods, the Fliegl Timber Runner is for PC/MAC users only.
If an autoload mod still sounds like too much hard work, then maybe Mobile Utilities will be more your thing.
It includes one mobile buying station, and two mobile selling points, which can be carried anywhere. Yes, carried – by hand.
So, if you love cutting down trees, but don’t like what comes after, then throw a wood selling point into the back of your truck, and take the shop with you.
You’ll find it in the construction tab. Place one next to a piece, or a pile, of felled timber, and click sell. It’s as easy as that.
Ever wanted to just tidy up some of the large trees on your farm, without having to cut them down? Or, maybe you prefer to remove the crown from a tree before it’s felled?
Well, the long reach chainsaw is the perfect mod for the job.
It includes a selection of chainsaws that have a far greater reach than those in the base game. Think of them as having really long blades, without the really long blades!
If you’re running a forestry operation on a console, it will make life so much easier.
Is there a tree in your way? Would you like to move it, including the stump, without having to cut, load, and haul the wood away?
Meet Tree-B-Gone.
Drive it up to the annoying tree in question and make it disappear! It will be like it was never even there.
It’s an invaluable piece of kit, especially when you are doing a spot of landscaping around the farm, or would like to clear land to make way for a new building.
This mod will turn you into a one-man logging machine!
With it, your chainsaw will cut trees down at twice the speed, and from three times the distance.
You can also grind stumps into oblivion in three seconds flat, along with any pesky leftover branches.
In fact, with the super strength option activated, not only can you pick up trees from four times the usual distance, but you can delete trees entirely. You can even cut down trees on land that doesn’t belong to you.
With a chainsaw in your hand, and a wood selling point by your side, that forest doesn’t stand a chance!
Jim Craig grew up in Yorkshire, and spent most of his time playing computer games, watching television, and not doing his homework. Surprisingly, he went on to study English Literature at the University of York. He enjoys gaming, gardening, reading, playing chess, and trying to write children's books. When he's not watching LOTR or Star Trek, you'll find him playing RPGs like The Witcher or Assassin's Creed, and strategy games like Command & Conquer, Farming Simulator, Civilization, and Total War.
