Has anyone ever hired out forestry mulching in the past? I'm looking at clearing about 5 acres to turn it into pasture but it's just so overgrown. It's a battle just to get to trees to cut them down. I'm thinking about getting some quotes from some local outfits that do it as they don't rent them around me. Any info would be appreciated as far as cost, questions to ask the companies, how much can be cleared in a day etc. P.s. this stuff is to much for a bush hog and I'm just looking to clear between all the bigger trees as I can take all those down that need to go and use/sell for firewood.
I think the charges (I believe) are generally by the acre and are in the $1000+ range, but I'm sure it varies regionally. If burning is an option and your 5ac future pasture clearing is more young tree growth and heavy brush "mechanical" clearing can work and is not nearly as specialized and widens the number of contractors available to price it for you. The results will be different in that a guy with a dozer & excavator will take the stumps, but also there's usually roots left poking out and unless he is asked to back drag everything you can be left with some rugged terrain. The mulcher guy will leave the stumps flush with the ground and a coating of chips and woody debris, not playground mulch, again per your direction. He can spend more time reducing everything and partially incorporating it into the soil. It's all about relaying your expectations to either contractor before they bid and start. Some guys have a ginormous chipper that will grind everything once removed and piled, keep in mind that this will be almost a million dollar machine with 1000hp and a 800 gallon fuel tank and will cost you accordingly. Pictures are difficult to really judge the work but would be some help for recommendations from us here. Poke around on YouTube to familiarize yourself with these different processes, machines and results.
Thanks for the replies. It's my understanding that one of the advantages of forestry mulching is that it's all one machine and is priced as such. So if they gotta bring a dozer, excavator, chipper ect that will be alot more money, but it can't hurt to get a couple quotes clearing with that equipment. I understand that after I cut what's left after the mulching I'll have to go in with an excavator anyways to get rid of the stumps. Luckily I can rent one for a couple hundred bucks and a case of beer so no biggie. I'll try to get some pics today, thanks!
Too big for a sidearm flail type mower? The type that the highway dept uses to to clear ROW...they just grind all the smaller trees down and "trim" all the limbs off the road side of the remaining trees...not pretty, but effective I guess, if you don't give a rip what the trees look like afterward (the ones they "trimmed") Once everything is knocked down with the flail, a bush hog could be used to tidy things up a bit, if needed...
Not sure if a flail mower could handle it. I'd like them to mulch everything under 8 or so inches as well as there's a ton of tops that I've already picked through from the last time it was logged. There's also alot of 12" to 30+" stuff that I wanna leave standing so I can cut and process myself later. I don't think I'd be able to maneuver around all the bigger stuff with a flail hanging off the side of the tractor
old school type of flail mower front mount skidsteer or hydraulic drive off tractor think of an old style reel mower instead of long blades, shafts with floating teeth that look similar to the back end of claw hammer. Had a job for a number of years building the teeth back up and hard facing them. wood get below the surface a few inches depending on the operator. Kinda like a portable hammer mill ( that's a better description than the reel mower) teeth were hard cast steel heat treated ( same material that line wheel abrators with, after heat treat only way to drill a hole in it is with a diamond abrasive bit)
Mulching will go along pretty quickly in a lot of that. There's also a lot of firewood in those poles in the 5"-8" range that you might consider selling vs. paying for them to disappear. Is the future pasture the immediate primary goal, or a little firewood side hustle it?
I definitely side hustle firewood. I sell about 100 face per year the past few years and can definitely get bigger... I'm looking to have the pasture up and running in 2024 just because I know I can't get good pasture to come in very quick after mulching that much. Then I could cut at my leisure and stack up logs while I do. A ton of firewood in there and a bunch of black walnut and cherry I could sell to the mills in log form too... this is a long term process I know
I'm ignorant about alot of mechanical stuff, would that require a high flow hydrolic system? If so I'd have to rent a high flow skid steer?
Yes on the high flow. I've seen a couple of places that rent mulchers, one on an excavator and another place on a CTL (SKID STEER). Expensive and I think there's some charge for damaged cutters, how the figure that I don't know. If you're lot is rocky that's going to effect the price if you contract it out.
I’d say get a better bush hog… this thing was chewing through stuff up to 8-9” in diameter no issues. 11,800 lb machine and the Diamond brush cutter pro X is like 2800 lbs. SK Brush Cutter Pro X - Diamond Mowers® Attachments It was brutal on everything. Let me cut about 3 1/2 acres of 6’ cockleburrs and undergrowth in 2 hours. cost me $280 for a day. Best view I have of it before I cut it down. not sure if a forestry mulcher would have been any better. either way, I could get a Bobcat T770 forestry machine with a forestry mulcher and it would cost about $3750 for the week and it would be done. they are called specifically a forestry machine because that’s a Ballistic door on the front and the hydraulics and cylinders have sheathing to prevent chips etc from getting into the machine nooks and crannies and messing stuff up. when they say “stay back 300 feet”. They ain’t joking. Daughter was saying I was tossing stuff from one end of the yard to the other. And it’s like 580X480 feet. Anyway, 5.48 acres. much cheaper than paying someone to come in and do it. I suppose I could be egged into a road trip too..
What are you pasturing? You could play the slow game and put up a perimeter fence and put some pigs in there. Give them a couple months head start then start cutting.
In your area… I’d go to talk to these guys and see what they have for rentals. Five Star Equipment (585) 235-3011 Google Maps
Cows eventually. Ran a bunch of pigs on about a half acre of it last year with the same thought. Was gonna rotational graze them a half acre at a time but it was to hard to shag them out of one section to another... getting them on the trailer to head out to the butcher was next to impossible lol... let's just say I didn't get them all and had to have a pig hunt the next morning
