Clearing 154 acres of woods in west Tennessee

[alpha&omega]

Actually farmland is disappearing rapidly thanks to the growing solar farms around here. Almost 20,000 acres of corn fields went to solar farms here in the last year. Farmers are getting paid $1,000/month to lease their land for solar panels.
Maybe the op is going to plant solar panels.

What kind of food do those panels produce? Do they need specific dedicated water systems or will a traditional pivot do the trick? Ha!

Fair point!

They are doing the same here in Michigan. Solar and Wind farms. People don’t realize how much of a negative investment wind farms actually are - terrible for livestock and local birds alike.

 

[paulsharvey]

Just curious...about what would this cost?

So, speaking North FLa, the hoe with operator, around $3k per 8-10 hr day. What I can't tell you is how many acres per day they can do. Could easily be 200-400k; but look at the price of in production ag land. Assuming OP bought it 'right' this might be worth it.

If this is pretty mild woods, it could be 2 or 3 acres per day, and significantly cheaper. If trees have a market value, maybe 30-70% of the 'trees' can me removed for profit; but they aren't going to remove stumps/roots/grade. So, even if it's almost all marketable wood (unlikely, and they won't take 'trash' down), there is still significant expense in stumping, raking, grading, ditches, tile, ect. That is not ment to scare anyone off; just have to go into it with open eyes.

 

[Torvy]

I don't remember seeing a thread that attracted so many "new members" to tell someone what they should do with their own land.

I have mostly loblolly pines and have no interest in removing them. However, it is none of y'all's business if the OP wants to take on a big project to raise food and be a farmer rather than a forester. He asked for advice how, not if he should do it.

My 2 cents would be to do it in chunks. Clear some acres for a pasture or two and see how it goes. Maybe leave some trees for shelter. I'd hire it out given the sheer volume of work to be done.

 

[big bubba]

My late brother in law sold pulp wood to paper mills. Depending on the type of trees you have you may be able to sell your 150 acres to a pulp wood harvester.

round here, after timber, pulp wood, some send whatever's left to the charcoal kilns, bottom of the food chain

 

[ksbrdmkr]

Didn't read all of posts but in e kansas 15 to 20 years of not mowing a pasture turn into a tree clearing project. 45 years ago dozer and rone now I see track hoes clearing the pastures

 

[dvcochran]

I had the same questions and assumed he got a heck of a deal on the property because it doesn't seem cost effective to clear that much land unless you're growing houses or Walmarts.

Where do some of you think cropland (and your food) comes from? By sweat and toil (and money) from the land owner.

 

[DrericDO]

Log it and make some money bro! Guaranteed there is some good timber there. contact a logging company

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I don't remember seeing a thread that attracted so many "new members" to tell someone what they should do with their own land.

I have mostly loblolly pines and have no interest in removing them. However, it is none of y'all's business if the OP wants to take on a big project to raise food and be a farmer rather than a forester. He asked for advice how, not if he should do it.

My 2 cents would be to do it in chunks. Clear some acres for a pasture or two and see how it goes. Maybe leave some trees for shelter. I'd hire it out given the sheer volume of work to be done.

I noticed that also. Loved the Canadian one telling someone in the US they shouldn’t cut down the trees, while half of Canada must be on fire with all the smoke they are sending us.

I gotta wonder if these tree huggers are really AI bots.

And the OP has only 2 posts on TBN.

 

[sequoyah101]

My wife and I just bought right at 300 acres in West Tennessee. Half is cleared with row crops planted and the other half is wooded areas.

I’d like to clear the remaining 150 acres of woods, including stumps and roots to eventually plant on it. What is the best way to go about this? I’ve runs tons of tractors and equipment before but I’ve never cleared woods/timber.

Thank you for taking the time to read and offer advice.

Why?

if you want to be a farmer go buy some farm land that is already cleared.

If it is not cleared already and it is in a farming area I suspect there is a reason.

Unless you have money to burn you're better off buying cleared and productive land.

Frankly, this is a multi-year project. I've seen it done and it takes a ton of work. Depending on the timber, one 12 to 15 ton or larger trackhoe with a stumping hook and thumb and a 30,000 lb or bigger dozer will take about a week per acre. Then you have stacks of stumps to burn and they don't burn. You have mountains of wood to burn and then pick up the charcoaled leavings because they won't burn either. The spread cost for just two pieces of equipment will be more than 3 grand a day and then there will be a lot of manual labor or a stick raker.

You asked for this. I usually don't comment but when I see a bad idea I speak up.

 

[sequoyah101]

Why?

if you want to be a farmer go buy some farm land that is already cleared.

If it is not cleared already and it is in a farming area I suspect there is a reason.

Unless you have money to burn you're better off buying cleared and productive land.

Frankly, this is a multi-year project. I've seen it done and it takes a ton of work. Depending on the timber, one 12 to 15 ton or larger trackhoe with a stumping hook and thumb and a 30,000 lb or bigger dozer will take about a week per acre. Then you have stacks of stumps to burn and they don't burn. You have mountains of wood to burn and then pick up the charcoaled leavings because they won't burn either. The spread cost for just two pieces of equipment will be more than 3 grand a day and then there will be a lot of manual labor or a stick raker.

You asked for this. I usually don't comment but when I see a bad idea I speak up.

PS, a guy I know here has some land up on the mountain. He bought a D6, then a D5 and then another D5. Wore them all out. About 80 to 100 acres of oak timber with hickory and so forth. What he ended up with was 80 to 100 acres of eroded rock strewn ground not fit for much. He tried to grow bermuda on it but what he got was bermuda and weeds with little oak sprouts everywhere which he spent years poisoning. I bought 30 acres of the mess for access to another place I own. I think the best thing it grows now is rattlesnakes and a bunch of scraggly little oak trees that I will never live to see return to forest. I got it too late to run over with a big brush cutter, the trees were thick, 3" and tough as nails. All you do is tear up equipment on something like that and leave a bunch of stobs. It is waste land I hunt on and spend an unreasonable amount of effort trying to keep people off of.

Think this over. Your circus of course.