The biennial APF show in Alcester, Warwickshire, is the place to see latest and greatest wood-taming, fencing and forestry equipment in action. We pick out a few highlights.

See also: Top tips for chainsaw chain and guide bar maintenance

Pro Fencer Compact

Bakewell firm Pro Fencer has introduced a compact wire unroller and tensioner that can be fitted on a front loader.

The aptly named Pro Fencer Compact is designed for farm use and includes three hydraulic functions: side-shift, tilt, and wire clamping.

Unlike the company’s larger models, there is no built-in function for picking up a roll of wire, but the task can be carried out simply by tilting the loader forward.

A single wire spool can accommodate a 500m roll of net up to 1.2m high, and this has a plastic guard on the base to protect the galvanising during rolling out.

As with all Pro Fencer models, the Compact has a pull-type clamp with two hydraulic rams that grip the wire tightly without causing damage. This can tension up to 500m in a single run.

If buyers want to strain taller wire, the quick-release clamp can be replaced with a larger version. It’s also possible to add a remote-control system.

The price is £5,800, including a set of brackets to suit the buyer’s loader.

Koala 300 tree shear

Tree shears have become a popular tool for agricultural contractors looking to squeeze some extra potential from their digger.

Irish firm Koala has been building shears since 2014, and its 300 model has proved to be particularly popular. This has a replaceable Hardox steel blade that can snip through softwood trunks up to 400mm in diameter and hardwood up to 300mm.

Diggers need to have a hydraulic system capable of generating 300bar pressure to operate it effectively. In most cases, a 7t machine should be man enough for the job, but a 13-tonner is ideal.

The price is £6,530, including a quick clamp and hydraulic hoses.

Japa 365 Basic firewood processor

Soaring energy prices might make timber an attractive option for heating the farmhouse, but there is no getting away from the fact that it’s bloomin’ hard work to cut.

For those with large amounts of wood at their disposal, a firewood processor might be a sensible option to ease the workload.

The Japa 365 Basic sits at the entry level end of the spectrum, but it is still able to draw in lengths of timber up to 360mm in diameter, slice it to the desired length and split it, before carrying it up a conveyor that can load a bag, box or trailer.

Thanks to three-point linkage mounting and pto drive, the Japa can be set up in any location. Most functions run off an on-board hydraulic system, and the operator has spool levers to control each of them. Only the action of the 15in chainsaw cutterbar is manual, via a lever on the outside of the machine.

The Japa 365 is sold by Warwickshire firm Fuelwood and costs £12,907.

Stihl MSA300 chainsaw

Stihl recently launched its most powerful cordless chainsaw yet, which can be teamed with guide bars from 14in to 18in.

It’s designed to match the firm’s 50.2cc MS261 pro-spec petrol saw for output, with 3kW of power and three-stage adjustable chain speed from 20m/sec to 30m/sec. This gives operators the ability to slow the saw for less-demanding tasks such as cutting firewood to make the battery last longer.

To unleash its full potential, buyers need to team the MSA 300 with one of Stihl’s 36V AP500 S battery packs.

These 8.8Ah units have sufficient juice to keep the saw running for 20-44mins, depending on how hard it’s worked.

Stihl has designed the AP500 S with a laminated power pack that promises double the number of charging cycles compared with its standard AP batteries with cylindrical cells. Assuming the user charges 253 times a year, it should last about a decade.

Additional features on the MSA300 include a Light 04 guide bar with .325 RS Pro chain, a chain speed control switch with LED display and a fleece filter to keep fine dust well away from the electronics.

Retail price of the saw is £630, and a AP500S battery pack costs about £345.

Perrett Post Plate

Fencing contractor Tony Perrett, from Sherborne, Dorset, has developed a nifty way of holding fence strainers straight while they are walloped in by a post knocker.

The Post Plate, which has been six years in development, can be mounted to the mast of any machine and, for transport, is latched onto the weight by a loop of rope. Once the knocker is in position, the plate is released, leaving it to sit atop the post, ready for bashing to commence.

It locks in position by way of dozens of dangling, free-moving metal pins. The ones that come into contact with the post retract to leave a flat surface, while those surrounding it remain in their downward position to hold it in place, meaning it can cater for posts of any shape.

This eliminates the risk of damaging the top of the post, unlike a traditional spike that pierces the top, leading to water collecting and eventual rotting.

Heavy-duty, 19mm-thick rubber matting is fitted on top of the plate to reduce the noise of each thump, and there is a replaceable, shatterproof plastic finger guard around the perimeter.

There are three sizes available, starting with the “compact” version priced at £1,950, which is suitable for 200-300kg weights. The “standard” model is designed for 300-450kg weights, can be used with posts up to 300mm square and costs £2,300. The “heavy-duty” variant will handle up to 800kg, is a match for posts up to 330x380mm in size and costs £2,500.

Each one is built to order by a local engineer and customised to fit the buyer’s post knocker model.

Cherry Products track grader

After spending harvest bouncing between field and yard with a grain trailer in tow, many farmers will have track maintenance high on their list of winter jobs.

Though plenty will fancy building their own tool for the job, Cherry Products offers a ready-made option for loosening and levelling material.

The firm’s box grader features a leading set of hardened steel tines with adjustable working depth that are typically set to skim the surface, as the implement isn’t designed to deal with big potholes.

It’s important to keep up a decent working speed, says Cherry, as this causes a shockwave that blows up the ground up to 60cm in front of the legs.

The loosened planings are then moved and levelled by a pair of angle-iron cross-members, with any excess material riding over the bars and out the back.

In most cases, it’s best to compact the ground after, either with a roller or vibro-plate, but plenty of steady farm traffic should do the job almost as well.

The range runs from 6ft to 10ft, with the 9ft model on show listed at £5,610.

Quickfencer

Hydraulic net clamping is now an option on Quickfencer’s range of tractor- and loader-mounted unrollers, saving owners the faff of fitting and removing channel clamps and wedges when tensioning wire net and attaching it to strainer posts.

The system is particularly beneficial for those regularly dealing with short runs on hilly, up-and-down ground that requires a greater number of strainers, as it removes a significant amount of manual handling.

Opting for it on the base model, the Farmer 80 (80cm net) ups the price from £2,200 to £4,000, while hydraulic clamping on the bigger Multi 125 (1.25m net) takes the cost to £5,000, versus £2,650 without.

The rest of the Quickfencer system remains as before, with hydraulic adjustment for sideways tilt, top link fore/aft and side-shift.

Both models can carry two 500m rolls of net and have the option of a barbed wire attachment.

Husqvarna 540 XP chainsaw

Husqvarna unveiled the Mark 3 version of its 540 XP, which is designed for professional operators looking for a lightweight saw predominantly for coppicing.

Its 40cc engine makes it the smallest model in Husky’s top-spec 5-series, but it comes with an electrically controlled auto-tuning carburettor that is able to compensate for different fuels, humidity and temperature.

It also has a new run-on choke that takes the guesswork out of start-up by automatically part-throttling when necessary, plus improved anti-vibration dampers and an adjustable oil pump.

Other perks of the XP spec are better tuning, higher-grade materials – including a magnesium crankcase – and more performance than the standard version.