Abstract We time-studied a Caterpillar 950F front-end loader and a Caterpillar 528 grapple skidder used to extract bunched whole trees to a landing in a short rotation Eucalyptus plantation. The loader was 40–60% more productive than the grapple skidder, depending on extraction distance. Alternatively, the single loader could both extract trees and handle the landing duties, such as moving residues from the flail-chipper, whereas the skidder required a second machine (skidder or small loader) to handle landing activities. Front-end loaders appear to be very promising as extraction devices for short rotation plantations where tree characteristics, terrain and soil conditions allow them to be used.