I have a Kubota L2501 and around 40 acres. I have my logging trails, but also lots of areas with buckthorn. Currently using a brush hog on everything 2" and smaller. Bigger I'll cut and burn it. I priced one small PTO mulcher and it was $13,000. My tractor new cost about price. I was thinking maybe a heavy duty flail mower? We are going to clear out maybe 5-10 acres. not sure what the best economical route to go is.
Welcome to FHC dan8152 ! I'll be tagging along on this thread. My buddy got a compact JD ( 4100 iirc) and he'll be needing some sort of brush clearer to keep the trails clear. He's got buckthorn too.
I’ve got a heavy 6’ Bush Hog, a forestry brush saw, chain saw, and backpack sprayer in my arsenal. I find clearing with the saws and then maintaining with the mower works well, leaving stumps below mowing height. I don’t have experience with Buckthorn, but do with Hawthorn, Oriental Bittersweet, Multiflora Rose, and Barberry. This small field was 4”-6” Hawthorns. I cut and piled them, and let it rot away. A lot of work, but I was younger and poorer 20 years ago! There is a lot to be said for hiring someone with a mulcher to do the bulk of it in a very short time, sparing the wear and tear on your equipment.
A bigger brush saw (weed eater with a saw blade) can cut close to 3". Much bigger than that and depending on the root system you might be able to yank them out with a chain. Or.... $5k budget might be close to a used backhoe. Not real fast but certainly effective.
I'm getting out of this thread. This tractor accessory thing is worse than a bad case of CAD. Is there a vaccine for this ??
I have lusted for a mulcher for sure. I've cleared all my trails by hand like others. Brushcutter, chainsaw, machete. I also had a neighbor having some mulching done with a skidsteer mulcher and I hired the guy to do 3 hours at $90/hr to see what he could do and it was a lot. I should have had him do more but he ran off to another job and it slipped away. Wouldn't surprise me if his price is higher now, that was over a year ago. I was going to say that you could see if you can find a used heavy duty bushhog... the one I am thinking of is Brown brand. I saw a ten-acre tract cleared by a guy who had such a rig, a very much beefed up forestry tractor with one of those Brown Tree Cutters. Looks like a very heavy duty bushhog. The tractor was heavily armored for working in the woods. I think it was a New Holland tractor. But now I recall that I checked into it and the Tree Cutter, I think the salesman said it could also mow decently (I have 7 acres in pasture) but that I would need a 75hp tractor to run it, I think due to the weight.
After having our land selectively cut, we wanted to get rid of the brush and stumps on the woods trails, a couple miles of them. I got a quote for $1,500.00 per acre for a dedicated forestry mulcher. Much larger than a skid steer mounted one. The guy gave me the price over the phone and said its high because of the little backyard areas people call him for, takes longer to get there, and unload than it does to work. He came out and looked at what we had, and $5K a day and he should cover 8-10 acres a day, which is way more reasonable. I looked at a loader mounted mulcher, and quickly learned my machine isn't large enough, JD 4052R. A bush hog in brush is rough on the machine, been there and done that before. There are a couple guys with excavators with mulching heads on them, but they are slow moving, and better at taking everything down to ground level.
+1 vote for hiring a guy with a mulcher or renting an excavator on a weekend. Around here you can get one on a Friday and keep it till Monday for the 1 day price. I tried the ol stump bucket thing. Only got about 1/2 an acre in before I realized there were better ways!
