Clear Cut Land

[jyoutz]

I'd have to rent the skid steer and mulching attachment. That seems to be the best way to go.

Better to contract with an experienced woods operator who has mastication equipment and knows how to do this effectively and efficiently. Contact your state forestry or NRCS office for assistance. There may even be cost/sharing funds available for this. One important piece of free advice: pay the contractor by the completed acre, not by the hour or any other method. No payment until the acre is inspected and approved. Also inspect as they go to make sure that they aren’t doing unacceptable damage to your plantation. But don’t get within 50 yards of those masticators while they’re operating. They can throw chunks that will take your head off.

 

[jyoutz]

I asked several of our state forestry guys (over the years prior to cutting, they changed)
about their recommendation as to replanting.

I was ALWAYS told the same answer,, do not replant.
The land will selectively grow the type tree best suited for the land.
pH, nutrients, water,, on and on,, will cause a natural selection.

Planting goes against the natural selection.
The trees that were there at the clear cut seeded the land at a rate of thousands of seeds per acre.
That is pretty stiff competition.

Also, water sprouts, or whatever they are called, grow off of the old stumps.
THOSE trees have the best chance to reforest the land, because they have a HUGE established root system.

I was told to wait so many years (I think about 10) and walk the land and spray any tree not wanted.

I know the OP planted pines, that may be what is the perfect tree for the land.

Our research, as well as what the foresters told us, was that South America sends finished dimensional lumber to east coat ports,, for less $$ than the cost of removing the USA grown pine type trees from the land, not including saw mill costs.

There was several articles around 2016 that were written about people that were growing forests.

ALL of the people growing softwoods were finding ZERO market for the trees.
I am sure that will change,, but, South America is tough to compete with.

That’s not true today. There is a good market for softwood sawlogs in the US, especially in the Southeast. Very little Pinus radiata from South America makes its way to US markets anymore. Transportation costs killed that business and most South American timber is used in south and Central America. Canadian timber imports into the US has also greatly declined due to massive bug kill events in the Canadian Rockies during the past decade and also higher US tariffs.

 

[RollTide1974]

Better to contract with an experienced woods operator who has mastication equipment and knows how to do this effectively and efficiently. Contact your state forestry or NRCS office for assistance. There may even be cost/sharing funds available for this. One important piece of free advice: pay the contractor by the completed acre, not by the hour or any other method. No payment until the acre is inspected and approved. Also inspect as they go to make sure that they aren’t doing unacceptable damage to your plantation. But don’t get within 50 yards of those masticators while they’re operating. They can throw chunks that will take your head off.

Any idea what they usually charge per acre?

 

[ranger danger]

I'm having 15 acres of dense forest masticated in the next 4-6 weeks depending on snow. Its costing around $18k. They said it will take 5-6 days. They are removing everything 8" and smaller.

 

[jyoutz]

Any idea what they usually charge per acre?

It really varies by geographic location and the type of equipment they have with the masticator heads. Also the amount of slash you have per acre to masticate. Any professional contractor won’t price the job until they see your land. Your state forestry or NRCS people know who the reputable contractors are and what the average cost range is. And as I said previously, there may be cost/share funding available to defray the cost.

 

[RollTide1974]

I'm having 15 acres of dense forest masticated in the next 4-6 weeks depending on snow. Its costing around $18k. They said it will take 5-6 days. They are removing everything 8" and smaller.View attachment 728081

That was my guess...around 1k an acre. I will have to check once I get to tha tpoint. Hoping it will be much les since mine is mostly just sage, thorns, and some stumps.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Oof that would be a tough pill to swallow.

 

[jyoutz]

Oof that would be a tough pill to swallow.

But there’s a possible cost/share opportunity though NRCS or local soil and water conservation district.

 

[jyoutz]

That was my guess...around 1k an acre. I will have to check once I get to tha tpoint. Hoping it will be much les since mine is mostly just sage, thorns, and some stumps.

That type of work goes faster than masticating trees and heavy slash.

 

[jk96]

That type of work goes faster than masticating trees and heavy slash.

A few pics of a job I just finished up for a friend with something similar. Mostly softwood and a lot of smaller overgrowth in the 1 to 3" range. Everything around 5" and under was cut. 6" to 8" laid over and piled to burn. About 2 acres and took 12 hours to finish. The small stuff goes pretty fast.