The Life of a Custom Mowing contractor

[LouNY]

Today was a whopper in terms of Field Mowing acreage & time.
This is a messy one-time/year cut, but this year their Bradford Pear really exploded because they waited too long. Should have been cut in March or April. About 45 acres. There’s about 30 trees to cut around-most with low branches.

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This stuff is 5 to 10 feet tall. The BP is 1.5” at the base. Believe it or not, 20 years ago, this was a productive hay field.

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Here I am a few hours into the field.

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Some bucks just lost their cover….

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Man this is some of the thickest junk I’ve ever cut.

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Making some headway by early afternoon.

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Whoa! A real celebrity just joined me for lunch!!!

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Theres something about the size and majesty of the Bald Eagle

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Finishing up

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It doesn't take long for productive crop ground to get covered in brambles, briars and brush.

 

[EddieWalker]

Same thing happens here in East Texas. If you don't mow the fields a couple times of year, it becomes an impossible jungle!!!!!

My previous neighbor hired mulchers to clear part of his land, then didn't mow it, and hired them again five years later. He did this three times with the exact same results. Now I have a new neighbor, and he has a guy in there with a mulcher that is clearing openings and fence lines. Maybe he'll stay on top of it. I saw the neighbor on his 100hp Deere and 15 foot batwing over the weekend, so that's encouraging.

 

[Molalla1]

Very astute observation. I hate “1X” customers.
I charge them extra for it.

It could look beautiful with 3 cuts/year.

Or bring it back to hay . . . right HD .

 

[Hay Dude]

Well, I thought it might happen, and it did. I got a flat tire from yesterday’s mowing.
I kind of thought it felt like I might catch something with all that Pear stubble.

I got it changed myself. Kind of feels good to know you can still wrestle a 300 pound tire and rim.

 

[Hay Dude]

Headed out for a badly needed week of vacation.
You might like where I'm heading

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Headed out for a badly needed week of vacation.
You might like where I'm heading

Vacation??? What is a vacation?

Beach? Mountains? Lake? Big city?

 

[Rustyiron]

Back at it with Field Mowing today. Looks like some 5’ tall Johnson Grass. It’ll be 10’ tall in another month. It’s 98 degrees and humid, but the cab is pretty comfy with the AC blastin.

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Some nasty stuff….

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Done this part.

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That'll suck up some HP!

 

[Hay Dude]

Vacation??? What is a vacation?

Right!?!?

Beach? Mountains? Lake? Big city?

Ill give you a hint:
Beach and Mountains together

Mrs HD knows my work load goes down a little after 1st cutting and surprises me with a week vacation.

 

[ning]

Today was a whopper in terms of Field Mowing acreage & time.
This is a messy one-time/year cut, but this year their Bradford Pear really exploded because they waited too long. Should have been cut in March or April. About 45 acres. There’s about 30 trees to cut around-most with low branches.

Do you do those jobs fixed price bid or by time?

If you have a new customer with a mess like that, how do you handle the chance that you might hit hidden hazards / wire / tposts on the ground etc? I'd imagine taking over a reasonably well-kept area has low risk as someone else has already hit the worse of it, but if you're going into a really unkempt plot...

 

[Hay Dude]

I only bid jobs. Never by hour.
That is not a new customer, but I only do them 1x/yr. Problem is, they were last done 3/24
Its now 8/24, so lots of extra growth.
They were charged more this time.