Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture

[TractorGuy]

That M7060 should have no problem pushing over and digging out 6 inch diameter trees however the Bradford Pear thorns may necessitate a metal tracked bulldozer.

Here is a video of a much smaller Kubota pushing over and digging out cedars. Jump ahead to the 8:30 mark.

 

[bikerdib]

The soil in that video must have been sandy or at least a sandy mix. I guarantee you wouldn't be able to do that in the black gumbo/clay I have.

 

[Ed27]

 

[Ed27]

Above are two pics. The area below the first pic is all pasture. As you move north through the two pics, those pear trees get denser. I am guesstimating 1000 trees, but most are 6" diameter or less, maybe 20-30' tall. At the very north is dense woods, but this will not be cleared.d

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
A picture really is worth a thousand words. You've gotten many opinions here including mine; and I haven't really seen a bad one yet. Just because you did try to do it yourself wouldn't mean that you're committed; if it doesn't work out you can still hire somebody to finish the job.
Keep us posted whatever you decide; along with more pics once the work starts progressing.

 

[Ed27]

Thanks for all your feedback! I appreciate it. So, excavator it is.

1. Buy M7060 (the fun part) and bush hog the pasture parts.
2. Use Land Pride SGC1560 grapple to snatch up the littlest trees by the roots.
3. Rent a Bobcat E50 and dig up other trees by roots. The reason I think I will not go with a giant excavator is because it seems like it will dig up more ground than necessary. Tell me if I'm wrong. I may hire someone else to run an excavator, but I doubt anyone else will care more about my property than me. ...but they sure as heck will be faster!
4. Use excavator and grapple to stack trees in multiple piles. Small enough that the whole pile can be set on fire.

 

[Ed27]

This pic is in the opposite direction, looking from north to south. The south part is the only part that is clear pasture. The woods in the upper right will stay.

 

[searcyfarms]

i have dug them up with excavators, bradfords, western red cedar, elm, wild plum, oak, hickory, locust and they will all pull up dirt no matter what size machine you use the dirt will be wherever you leave the tree/stump - no way you can remove those size trees w/out making holes that will need to be filled to keep your horses from getting injured or you from bouncing off the seat when mowing or going across the ground with anything, i get it, now one will be as conscientious as you but it will be much less headache - i cant even begin to tell you how many pieces of equipment i have tried and how much i have spent doing it, the word frustrating comes to mind, its like eating an elephant and you will have flats galore if you dont go with tracks, you want to get rid of those for your tractor also when you are maintaining what you have. I admire your tenacity and desire, maybe you soil will be easier to work with, we have some topsoil here but where the trees grow it seems its more clay and tough digging!!! i burned up a skid steer literally the last time i cleared a bunch of black locust

 

[Ed27]

Oh my goodness, that was a seriously bad day! I'm glad you weren't hurt and I hope the skid steer was insured!

 

[searcyfarms]

bad day yes, no i did not have an inland marine policy on it, my homeowners did cover a good portion of it, im not sure why as my agent told me i wasnt covered but the claims person found a way, i was not on my property i was helping out a friend on his place. A true blessing regarding the costs/loss.

the biggest blessing was getting out, it burst into an inferno instantly - a hydraulic hose in the engine compartment burst and was spraying on the hot engine manifold is my guess, it sounded like a blow torch - the black smoke was so thick i couldnt breathe within 30 seconds, i had the side windows out as my SS has heat, i had the front door on to keep flying debris from coming into the cab from the tree cutter

I had been running my machine for about 9 hours w/out stopping in 90+degree heat so it was HOT - I had just finished and was cleaning out that little spot on the way back to the barn - the wind was at my back so when it burst into flames the smoke came into the cab by the side windows and so i reached up and shut off the engine - MISTAKE, the mower was still up in the air i couldnt open the front door, i decided i had about one short period of time to get out, i launched arms first through the front door taking it out and landing on the tree cutter and rolling off to the side.

It was quite an experience glad im here to tell about it - and no i would not recommend the roll up type door on a SS - my neighbor got trapped in his and had to take out the back window and climb up/out of that which i could not have done with the fire in the rear, i would much rather kick out the front door and go thru it, i forgot about kicking mine first lol i just went thru it. My neighbors door got stuck in the track and he couldnt get out over the top or under it, BAD deal.