Price to brush hog/mow

[MDSteve]

Bartman,

Yes the $20 is just me doing manual labor. Some jobs don't require the tractor like helping people landscape around a house. Maybe I should up my rate?? I have found some stuff I won't do (electrical, plumbing, and drywall). Some of the jobs I am just labor. A guy decides to build a garage but needs a hand framing I help him out. I don't think I make a profit doing this but it helps pay for the tractor and some tools.

Steve

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Dave, one other thing... not sure how you are set with insuring your beast of burden but here's the scoop on mine... If anything happens to mine while it's on my property, it's covered by my insurance (unless I caused it). That would include a tree falling on it (acts of God), vandalism, theft, etc..

HOWEVER, if I take my tractor off my property, all bets are off on insurance coverage.

Suggestion... check w/your agent so you know what kind of risk you may be taking by leaving your property. I will still go off my property (on occasion) but at least I know where I'm at when I do so.
/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[SageBrush]

I carry a seperate policy for the newer tractors. It covers every thing including the implements. Theft, fire, tree, cliff, falling off trailer etc.. Less than $160 ($30k) per year. I didn't ask about "commercial" use. Going from tree farm to tree farm is what I do. I think the price goes up when the equipment is for hire and no renting. Under my policy you can't transport the tractor for a "fee", I persume they don't want you working the tractor for money under this policy.

But its nice to know I'm covered, the tractor is worth over 20K with the loader. If something goes wrong it will probably be trailer related. So, its worth the $160.

 

[SageBrush]

$20 seems like a good price with basic tools.

A tractor with operator starts at $45 for a small bush hog to $65 for a back hoe or big 60 + hp tractor in Georgia. I would charge about $45 for bush hogging with a 6 footer and a promissed speed of at least 4.5 to 5 mph on a "safe" field. On tough grass, I just say it will take a little longer /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But I would need a lot of work to make it worth it. The insurance can't be cheap. My guess, with 10k medical it would start at $100 per month. I know 2 million liabilty runs about $1000 per month in the food manufacturing buisness. The state of GA requires contractors to be insured.

Most city governments in my neck of the woods require you to get a liscense and a back ground check. After all the storms, the fly by night people ran away with peoples money. That gave the honest people more paperwork to do, more fees to pay and the liabilty insurance requirement. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[stmiller2]

Doane's surveys farmers to find the custom rates "they had paid, charged, or knew that a second party had charged." the reported average rates per acre for bush hogging pastures in 2002 are as follows:

Northeast -- $12
North Central -- $10
South -- $10
Plains -- $8
Mountain & Pacific -- $11

These averages obscure a lot of varaition within regions.

A survey of custom rates in Michigan, 2001 survey , shows an average rate of $30.20/acre with a range of $11 to $70/acre.

 

[Rowski]

I've been getting $45 per hr for field mowing, very easy going no rocks hidden. $55 per hr for rough, rocky, sapling infested fields. The one question I have for people is "Do you like to have a nice cut or are you just interested in getting the "stuff" down?" I explain the nicer cut requires more overlap and slower ground speed --> more time = more $$. I let them make the choice and do my work accordingly.

A few other things I have learned about charging people (for me and around my area). I do not give people a break, it take a long as it takes. I charge from when I leave my house/work. That includes delivery and pickup of tractor, in my case trailerless. The people that don't hassle me, pay prompt, get the service faster. If people have a limited amount to spend on a job I work with it. If they only have $100 to spend for field cutting I will do what I can for the $100. I do only the larger areas and leave the "trimmng" back and forth cutting under trees etc.

One thing I did. Find out how much the rental yard gets for a tractor and mower similar to yours. Add the rental plus pickup and delivery for a day. Divide that by 8 hours, that usually what rental places give you on the hour meter. Add that number and to it your personal hourly rate as operator, $15 to $25. Add the fuel, mainatance, etc. cost per hour. It will get you in the ballpark.

Boy have I learned a lot form moomlighting last summer and really getting into this summer. I have more work than I can handle. I don't advertise, word of mouth only. This is all with out a trailer! The only think I still have a little trouble with is guestimating jobs. I'm getting pretty good at cutting jobs, the other stuff I'm a little rusty /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

Best of luck.

 

[rsatter22]

Gee I guess times have changed. The last time I charged for bush-hogging was 20-25 years ago. I could average an acre an hour and got $7 an hour total. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
RDS

 

[Gatorboy]

Those prices seem about right. I would charge $75/hour to mow with my 15' flexwing, and I can cut about 5-6 acres in an hour. That would come to $12.50-$15.00 an acre.

 

[F350Lawman]

I paid $165 to have a 5 acre horse pasture brush hogged. This was very overgrown 4'-5' but the guy had done it before and knew there were no hidden "treasures". So it came out to $33 and acre. It took him about 5 hours to do the field twice and really mulch the stuff up so it was also about $30hr. He was nearby so he split it over 2 days and got the stuff the tires had squashed the next day when it stood back up.

I had some real rough stuff done by another guy using the fel and bush hog and he charged $50 hr flat rate. This was a much smaller area and real nasty stuff. Other guys charge $65 for such stuff.

Both were well worth the fees they charged. I ended up giving the 1st guy more than he charged because he did a great job.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Wow, 50 acres/5 ft mower! I wouldn\'t want the job

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I once did a job did a job for a neighbor/sub-contractor on a
$300 K + house. He needed a large pile of dirt rocks and construction )</font>

I agree with you.. I probably would have sent the stuff back.. after that much work.. sheesh.

I've got a friend that always wants me to go do tractor work at the drop of a hat.. he once even tried me to go mow a friends pasture... and thought it would be a quick job as it was only 2.5 acres. What he forgets is hitching the trailer up, getting the tractor fueled, attatching the mower, get it on the trailer and bound down, then the 45 minute drive, unbind, unload, actually do the small amount of work, then load, bind and drive, unbind, unload, drop the mower, park the tractor, and then unhitch the trailer.

They forget the stuf they don't see.

Anyway.. this friend even has a small tractor.. a ford 1210, that he has beat to death.. won't run half the time.. and a 4' mower.. he will let his pasture ( 5 acres ) get so high sometimes that his mower won't cut it.. then he starts beggin me to come over again... at some point he even offered money... but then my wife steps in and says " oh you can't charge him.. etc... Anyway... I declined any further 'jobs' from this guy and stated I was too busy...

some people......

Soundguy