Overgrown
New member
Hello everyone, this is my first post. I am new to land ownership and just bought 90 acres in West Central Illinois. I have a Yanmar LX490 tractor along with some attachments and have been working on cleaning up the land. The property consists of about 8 acres of pasture and yard around the house, while the rest is an overgrown thick almost impenetrable mess.
The property has a lot of Black Locust (I have had many flat tires on my tractor and utility vehicle from the thorns) and Osage Orange, Buckthorn, Multiflora and other obnoxious thorny brush. The forest has some nice Walnut trees and some Cottonwoods and Sycamore trees which I would like to clean up around these trees so that I can hike around and enjoy the forest. Right now I have to get on my hands and knees in many places to go through the forest, and get all cut up from all the thorns. There are also a lot of downed trees and the creek beds are full of downed trees and brush.
I have been cleaning the land with a chainsaw and the FEL and Root Grapple on the tractor, but it is slow as molasses and I have stumps everywhere. I am burning up all this brush, which can't be all that great for the environment.
I have been looking at the Track Loader Mulchers and they are impressive, but they are expensive.
Would it make sense to buy a Track Loader and Mulcher, use it and then try to sell it. I found some places in Chicago that rent them for about 8-9 thousand bucks a month, which is also expensive. Some people have suggested using goats. Basically I am looking for a little guidance and suggestions on how best to clean up the land so that I can enjoy it.
Is there anyone in the area that does this kind of work?
Thanks
The property has a lot of Black Locust (I have had many flat tires on my tractor and utility vehicle from the thorns) and Osage Orange, Buckthorn, Multiflora and other obnoxious thorny brush. The forest has some nice Walnut trees and some Cottonwoods and Sycamore trees which I would like to clean up around these trees so that I can hike around and enjoy the forest. Right now I have to get on my hands and knees in many places to go through the forest, and get all cut up from all the thorns. There are also a lot of downed trees and the creek beds are full of downed trees and brush.
I have been cleaning the land with a chainsaw and the FEL and Root Grapple on the tractor, but it is slow as molasses and I have stumps everywhere. I am burning up all this brush, which can't be all that great for the environment.
I have been looking at the Track Loader Mulchers and they are impressive, but they are expensive.
Would it make sense to buy a Track Loader and Mulcher, use it and then try to sell it. I found some places in Chicago that rent them for about 8-9 thousand bucks a month, which is also expensive. Some people have suggested using goats. Basically I am looking for a little guidance and suggestions on how best to clean up the land so that I can enjoy it.
Is there anyone in the area that does this kind of work?
Thanks