How much to charge bush hogging per acre

[TSO]

Just don't bring those ridiculously low prices to Michigan... You'd gain multiple enemies real quick.

 

[namesray]

Are you typically doing larger jobs? 10+ acres? And how do you factor in your travel time?

Job I just did 2 nights ago was 3.2 acres. Located 35 miles (45 minutes away). Took 1.5 hours from the time I pulled in til the time I rolled out.

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IF I charged $25/acre That would have been $80. No way to make money on that. I charge $200 for that job, and have done it twice a year for the last 3 years. So thats over $60/acre

Now I have done some 10-15 acre jobs in the past that werent too overgrown (get cut a few times a year) and closer to home That I get down close to $30/acre. But I think my average job size is around 3 acres. And my minimum for loading equipment is $175. Which the minimum covers most 3 acre and smaller jobs that are a reasonable driving distance away

Maybe I wasn't clear with my price description. $100 miminimum with drop gate fee. So $100 + 70 miles total x .75/mile = $152.50. Or I guess $47.66/acre or minus actual costs of $12 x 1.5hours=$18 + .65 x 70total miles=$45.50==$63.50 total expenses which is $89.00 for 3.2 acres after expenses, so figure around $80 pocketed in 3 hours or $26.67/hourpocketed money if i did that same job. Now if I worked an 8 hour day, that would be $213.33 pocketed for driving truck locally and sitting on my tractor mowing, 2 things I enjoy doing. $213 a day proffit is pretty darn good money where I come from considering I only make $16.77/ hour plus benefits at my state equipment operators job, and then take out drivetime to and from work and taxes, that is less then $134.16 per day, but add benefits, so I feel I am doing pretty good at my lil tractor business. I think most people would be happy with $213 of spendable money after an 8 hour work day. That is how I compare.

Now for a job that has more acres, that offsets some of the transportation costs as the efficency gets better the more I mow at location. I can also raise my drop gate fee if I wanted to, to cover some costs of say the 4 to 8 acre plots, and I can also give my said $35/acre estimate, so I have numbers to play with if I choose, but I usually keep the same. About the only time I raise rates to the higher prices is if terrain is rough, lots of obstacles, or if I am booked and don't care if I get the job.

Most of my jobs are more then 12 acres.

I pulled the approx $41/hour i previously mentioned off 2.3 acres per hour average @ $25/acre=$57.50/hour minus $12/ hour cost of tractor /bushhog = $45.50 then minus the $4.50 for variables and taxes=around $41/hour. The .75cents per mile total drop gate fee took care of the .65cent per mile actual cost of truck/trailer to get equipment on site and back home. I don't usually compute drive time in the per hour figure, poor businessman on my part I guess, but most my jobs are 20 miles or less away, so I don't get too concerned about it. Like I said above, my mowing business is every bit as good as my "real" job at the state, so I feel ok with what I make. I carry all proper insurances and file on my taxes, so I feel I am playing by the rules. Better then alot of people here do. Lot of them do it all under the table, and with no insurance. I have never heard of any one of them having a big problem either, but I won't do it without insurances. I do get jealous sometimes they pockt more then me, but I am ok with how I am doing.

My fees may upset some contractors in michigan, but a good business man has to be able to compete in the area he is operating in, so my rates compare with others in my area.

If you can get more money per whatever unit, then by all means take it! I have learned so much more about actual cost of running a business in the 9 years I have been doing this. It's a big pita in so many ways, that if I didn't enjoy doing it, I wouldn't be doing it, so by all means take what you can get for all the hassles of running a business. If I didn't live in a poor area, I would also be charging more.

 

[Fawken]

What's you're going to find is that most jobs are 1-3 acres. The biggest regular I had was 5.3 acres that belonged to the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. Acreage works like this: If it's more than 10 they put cows or goats on it or put it in hay. 5-10 is usually an individual and they will do the math and buy their own mowing rig for a couple of grand or less. You can get old 2wd fords and a used hog cheaper if you shop. Less than 5 they won't bother with the equipment, but at the same time they won't call until it's pretty bad. That's why I charged $45 which in 1985 was equal to about $85-$95 now.

 

[namesray]

My jobs seem to be camps with fields that they don't want to store or truck a tractor or people with pastures, mostly horses.

A few of the other customers don't seem to be the tractor type.

 

[MESSMAKER]

You are getting some good info. I get $50 per hour for most mowing and up to $75 if it is tough. I charge $2 per mile but usually waive the hauling charge if it is just a few miles from the house(5 or less). You have to keep in mind that mowing is tough on equipment. It is better to pass on some jobs than it is to do them for a low rate. Once you get the job, you will get a lot of return business if you just return phone calls, show up on time and be pleasant to deal with. You will find that you will have to bill most customers as they are not at the site you will mow especially the larger or builder jobs. I have had almost no problem with non pmt. Just make sure you know where they live,work and what they look like.

 

[LD1]

Once you get the job, you will get a lot of return business if you just return phone calls, show up on time and be pleasant to deal with.

I agree 100%

While I dont do alot of mowing, I do a fair amount.

I have mowed 9 times and 38.5 acres thus far this year for $2450

6 jobs, 28.2 acres, and $1525 was repeat business from last year.

In 2014, which was only my 2nd year being serious about mowing, I did 255 acres. Of that, 118 acres was repeat either from previous year or earlier in the year. Some of the places I do 3 or 4 times a season.

A lot of the new jobs I acquire are cause the previous mower failed to show up, isnt reliable, excuses about broken equipment, keep pushing off the job, etc. Even though usually I charge a bit more then their previous guy, most of the time they turn out to be a repeat customer because they know they can call, I can usually be there within the same week, and barring weather, I show up when I say.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I agree 100%

While I dont do alot of mowing, I do a fair amount.

I have mowed 9 times and 38.5 acres thus far this year for $2450

6 jobs, 28.2 acres, and $1525 was repeat business from last year.

In 2014, which was only my 2nd year being serious about mowing, I did 255 acres. Of that, 118 acres was repeat either from previous year or earlier in the year. Some of the places I do 3 or 4 times a season.

A lot of the new jobs I acquire are cause the previous mower failed to show up, isnt reliable, excuses about broken equipment, keep pushing off the job, etc. Even though usually I charge a bit more then their previous guy, most of the time they turn out to be a repeat customer because they know they can call, I can usually be there within the same week, and barring weather, I show up when I say.

Where do you advertise? That's a lot of mowing for a side gig. CL or word of mouth?

Brett

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I NEVER charge by the acre... I charge by the hour...

SR

 

[ovrszd]

LD1, that website is slicker than sliced bread (findlotsize.com). Am I the only one that picked up on that??? Thank you very much for sharing that!!!

 

[ovrszd]

I NEVER charge by the acre... I charge by the hour...

SR

I agree Rob. But, let's just say I want to hire you to cut for me. I say how much? You say XXX dollars per hour. I say how many hours will it take you??? What's your response?? It must be specific or I'm looking for someone else. Unless I know you personally and trust your honesty. So if your response is a specific amount of money, didn't you just figure out how much an acre you are going to charge??

This is like bidding a job. If dealing with an honest vendor, a bid price is always going to be higher than if you just turned the guy loose and he billed you when he's done. If he's going to be held to a "bid" price, he's going to "pad" that price. And so would I.

I'm like you, I'll just tell you how much an hour, keep track of my time, and bill you when I'm done. But the person spending the money probably isn't going to go for that.