Land Clearing for my neighbor

[JDeerekid]

Just thought I would share some pictuers of what I have been doing on my spare time.

My neighbor approached me last year about clearing off a large chunck of his property that had been overgrown with tall weeds and brush. At the time all I had was my ford 8n with the 5ft bush hog and I said I couldn't do it. He said no problem.

Well he saw that this year I got my new Montana 4340C with 6ft bush hog and asked me again if I would do it. We set a price and I said sure.

The land was cleared off around 8 years ago so stuff wasn't that bad in most spots. I am definately amazed at this tractors abilities. I for sure thougt the brush that was around 10-12ft tall I was not going to cut it but it did. Slow but it did. I am not sure how many acres it is but I know his whole property is 109 acres. I would assume I have mowed a little under half that. There are 3 other large fields that I dont have pictured.

I have a little over 60 hours into it all together. Thats real time hours not tractor hours. The tractor hours come out to be around 40 hours into it. There are a few parts in the middle of the field that I am going to wait till spring to mow as I think over the winter stuff will lie down more and it will be eaiser to mow. That and it is way to wet.

I didnt get any before pics because by the time I thought about it I was already into it. But here are some on the about 1/2 done pics and so on. You can see in most of the pics alot of the grass was as tall as the tractor and then some. The center had the most brush as around the outside I had mowed about 3 years ago so it wasnt that thick. The area is alot bigger than it looks in the pictures.

 

[LBrown59]

Does your insurance cover this?

I have a little over 60 hours into it all together. Thats real time hours not tractor hours. The tractor hours come out to be around 40 hours into it. There are a few parts in the middle of the field that I am going to wait till spring to mow as I think over the winter stuff will lie down more and it will be eaiser to mow. That and it is way to wet.
.

 

[JDeerekid]

Does your insurance cover this?

yes my insurance does cover this. As I had to get insurance to plow driveways and do work for other people.

 

[LBrown59]

yes my insurance does cover this. As I had to get insurance to plow driveways and do work for other people.

Glad to hear u r covered.

 

[tony123]

Good looking job!

With my little Yanmar and a 4' cutter, I did a half acre of what had grown from "brush" to "small trees". It was 2" caliper stuff and alot of it was over 12' tall! Yes, it was a bit of a beating on the little tractor, but it did the job. I was shocked at what I could cut.

 

[jinman]

The Montana's cab was surely your friend. When I see a field like that, I start sneezing just from thinking of all the pollen. Here in Texas, if it's wet, you'll get the pollen, and if it's dry you'll get the dust. Both are good reasons to have a cab. Nice work! I hope your neighbor is compensating you well for this first-time job and will let you redo it again before it gets so out of control. Did you find any surprises? Stumps, rocks, holes?

 

[cast_and_blast]

Smart man - keep that loader low (as I see it is in the pics) to detect any of the "major" suprises.

Looks great!

Scott

 

[JDeerekid]

Good looking job!

With my little Yanmar and a 4' cutter, I did a half acre of what had grown from "brush" to "small trees". It was 2" caliper stuff and alot of it was over 12' tall! Yes, it was a bit of a beating on the little tractor, but it did the job. I was shocked at what I could cut.

Thanks
I could have done it with my little 8n with the 5ft bush hog but didnt want to. I have abused the little ford more than I should but it has done the job. I was surprised at what it would cut. It is just hard without the live PTO that is why I am glad I got the new Montana.

 

[JDeerekid]

The Montana's cab was surely your friend. When I see a field like that, I start sneezing just from thinking of all the pollen. Here in Texas, if it's wet, you'll get the pollen, and if it's dry you'll get the dust. Both are good reasons to have a cab. Nice work! I hope your neighbor is compensating you well for this first-time job and will let you redo it again before it gets so out of control. Did you find any surprises? Stumps, rocks, holes?

You betcha that cab was a life saver. I dont get allerigies that bad but that stuff would definately had anyone going. I had to stop and clean the radiator everyother lap.
The neighbor has compensated me very well and for now on the field is getting mowed at least once every year.

About 10 years ago I had helped the previous owner clear most of the property along with is 6 kids, couple tractors, chainsaws, burn piles, chippers, etc. So I had a rough idea where the stumps were. There was no rocks just wet spots and holes where he had gotten his tractors stuck real bad many years ago. Most of the stumps were pretty well rotted.

Only thing that surprised me was a couple of brush piles and an old couch that someone must have burned up and dragged to the middle of the field. That got caught up in the and I had to stop and get some wire cutters to clear it took about 15 minutes.

I think once it starts to get mowed at least once a year the weeds wont get as tall and definately no brush coming back. I should get it done in half the time it has taken me so far.

 

[JDeerekid]

Smart man - keep that loader low (as I see it is in the pics) to detect any of the "major" suprises.

Looks great!

Scott

Thanks. Definately keep the loader low and go slow. I keep the loader low and the bucket tilted back so the bottom of the bucket hits the foreign object and kind of lifts the loader s oyou know something is there.
It also helps lay the brush forward so it doesnt stick into the tractor radiator and such.
With all the pollen and stuff I had to dump the bucket every lap because it would be full of pollen, seeds, leaves, and branches.