Forestry mulching removes brush and small trees by grinding them into wood chips where they stand. The machine is a tracked carrier with a drum mulching head. It works through standing growth and leaves a layer of mulch on the surface instead of brush piles, ruts, or bare dirt.
What size trees can be mulched?
Brush, saplings, and trees up to about 8 inches in diameter are practical to mulch. Larger trees can be done, but production slows and cost rises with stem size. Above roughly 10 inches it is usually cheaper to fell the big trees first and mulch the tops along with the rest of the growth.
Advantages over conventional clearing
- No burn piles. Nothing has to be stacked, dried, or burned, and burn bans do not hold the job up.
- No hauling. The material stays on site as ground cover.
- Topsoil stays in place. The machine works above grade and does not strip soil the way a dozer blade does.
- Roots stay in the ground, which matters on the slopes around Truman Lake. A cleared hillside with intact roots holds up in heavy rain.
- The mulch layer suppresses some regrowth and breaks down into the soil over a year or two.
What does forestry mulching cost per acre?
$1,500 to $3,000 per acre is typical in west-central Missouri. The main variables are stem density and stem size. Scattered brush on open ground prices at the low end. A closed stand of 4-to-6-inch cedar prices at the high end or above it. Some jobs come out cheaper priced by the day instead of by the acre; both can be quoted. Quotes are free.
What does the ground look like afterward?
A layer of wood chips, usually a few inches deep, over undisturbed soil. It can be walked on immediately and mowed after the chips settle. Grass generally comes back through the mulch on its own. If the goal is pasture, see pasture reclamation for the follow-up steps that keep brush from returning.
When mulching is the wrong tool
Mulching does not remove stumps or roots. Stumps are cut flush, not pulled. Building pads, septic systems, and ponds need excavation, which is covered under land clearing. If that is what a project needs, the quote will say so.
Quotes
Use the form below. Acreage, photos, and a note on what you want the land for are enough to get a number.