Bush Hogging 8 acres - pricing?

[charles todd]

I’d add $10 more for a 1/2 gallon of iced tea and a “sharing size” pack of Goldbergs Peanut Chews.
20 miles would be a roading tractor/mower for me.
I’ll probably go 30 before loading up the trailer.

To the OP: “city mowing” can be a BIG mess. I usually turn down those jobs. I walked a few before mowing and found piles of discarded concrete, rocks, trash, mattresses, etc.

Better add X$/Hour for clean-up. You could lose your shirt fast if you end up spending gobs of time cleaning up. Also, where’s the trash going? Is customer providing a dumpster?

I do not do any mowing jobs more than about 10 mile out. I also road the equipment. Enough to keep me busy.

CT

 

[motormike]

I have a JD 1023 tractor with a frontier RC2048 cutter and it takes me after the water goes down 3 hrs to mow the 5ft. Grass on a 1 acre. Have to do 2 passes. First pass looks like crap. Have to shut down a least 3 times to clean the intake screen due to seeds.

 

[charles todd]

Glad you got a quote accepted and hope everything works out for you. Now I'll give you my input for things going forward, but bear in mind every region is different.

I do custom mowing/bushhogging And I mow ~400-500 acres per year, with jobs ranging from really small to 30+acres each.

First, dont charge by the hour. Several reasons:

1. I have a 8' twin spindle mower and can cover alot more ground than someone with a small tractor and a 4-5' mower. So obviously I would charge more by the hour. But the customer doesnt understand the difference in capability of equipment. IE: if I charge $100/hr, and someone with a old ford tractor and 5' mower charges $70/hour...I can guarentee you I can do the job chceaper....but all the customer sees is the fact that it looks like I am charging more. Likewise if someone has a 15' batwing and charging $150/hr they are probably cheaper than me on a large acreage job.

2. If you charge by the hour.....you are gonna get watched like a hawk. Be prepared to answer questions like "why were you going so slow" or "why did you go over that area twice" or "you stopped for 15min to clean the radiator and refuel and Im not paying for that"

3.Customers tend to flip out when you start thowing around hourly figures that are easily 2x-3x what they make at their day job. Tell a customer $100/hour (and they think this is unskilled service labor) and they think thats just crazy because they are a white collar managment type that barley makes $30-$40/hr. But they have no idea the cost of doing business.

4. And lastly......if someone calls and asks "how much do you charge to mow_________________" and your reply is "I charge $xx/hr".....you can bet their next question is gonna be "how long do you think it will take". This is the customer baiting you to try and give a hard quote instead of a blank check. And if you answer "probably 3-4hrs" you for damn sure better not go over because they aint gonna be happy. You take 6hrs for some unforseen reason....they gonna be like "I thought you said 3-4 hours....I only have $XX to pay you with"

Second, Dont charge by the acre. Again, several reasons:

1. Every acre is different. An acre of smooth flat field that was just mowed two months ago is a whole lot different than an acre of CRP ground that hasnt been touched in 5 years.

2. Location. I used to advertise with a line in my advertisement that said something like "prices typically $50-$60 per acre, minimums apply, call for free quote". And trust me, I had no shortage of calls from people wanting 1/2 acre cut, 45-min drive one way. Id simply say my minimum for loading equipment is $175 (its $200now). And They'd reply "I thought your ad said $50/acre" Like seriously, did they think I was gonna mow it for $25?

Save yourself all these headaches and simply bid it by the JOB. Sounds like you did that on this one. A flat price....for better or worse. They agreed to it and you need to honor it. IF it takes you 2 hours or 10 hours doesnt matter......

Once you get a few under your belt, you get a good feel for your equipment and its limitations. Its okay to have a target per/hr price in your head....ask relevant questions when quoting:
1. Location so you can factor drive time
2. Location also allows me to look up satellite image of property as I am speaking with them so I can already be assessing the property.
3. Size/acreage. Can confirm this with satellite image and make sure I am looking at the right property. (like is your place the one with the pond in the back? and is it the field to the north of the house you want cut?)
4. When was it last mowed....(helps gauge just what I am in for. Again....something just cut "last fall" or just this spring is gonna be pretty smooth sailing as opposed to "it hasnt been mowed in several years".

Armed with all of that information....I am figuring in my head how many hours I think its is gonna take from the time I leave my house til the time I return to my house. Multiply that by my target hourly rate and I arrive at a hard flat price to quote the customer.

For a job like you describe....my price would be more in line with what haydude said. 8-acres knee to waist high I'd be figuring ~3hours to mow. 2 hours drive, and MY target is $100/hr. MY price would probably be in the $500 ballpark.


IF this is something you plan on continuing to do....you need a GOOD cutter. Not a cheap POS from tractor supply. And you NEED to get liability insurance anytime you are working off your property.

This.

I run a 72 hp tractor and a 10 foot cutter. I use Google Earth to draw out the area to get acreage. Estimate how many trees and such to trim around. The shape of the area. Is it square or many point rows. Then knowing my acre/hr/overhead, bid flat rate.

Fresh or sharpened blades will make or break your time estimates.

CT

 

[charles todd]

I am in East Texas, near Tyler. Saw an ad on Craigslist yesterday for mowing pasture for $65/hr. Equipment seems similar to yours. Don't know how the guy would bill for travel time.

When he starts his truck until he parks his truck. That's how I would charge if by the hour.

CT

 

[kyryder]

Hey guys. Sorry if this is the wrong forum to post this. I'm pricing out my first paid job with my tractor and rotary cutter. The customer wants 8 acres of knee/waist high fields mowed. It looks like it has been regularly maintained but not recently so there aren't any debris piles, wooded areas, briars or anything like that. Mostly grasses and some small wooded material. Slightly inclined and rolling but not steep. No large obstacles except a few large trees that have enough clearance around them to cut around. I live in Maine and am not new to landscaping or yard cutting but I've never priced this large of a cutting and not with a tractor.

I have my overhead and profit figured out on paper but I have no idea if I'm too high or low.
I'm assuming an hour an acre?
It's close to 40 miles (one hour) from my house.
Without knowing the market for bush hogging and going off my numbers (theoretical at this point) I would want to charge $750.

To me that seems outrageous for just mowing an 8 acre field but I do all of my own work around my property so I'm not accustomed to paying contractors. I've seen a few people on craigslist advertising $50 an hour but that seems way too low to stay afloat. Especially now.
Does this seem reasonable for anyone else?

First thing. Get liability insurance that covers you off your own property. If you don't get insurance stay on your porch. Just because the potential customer is nice doesn't mean they won't sue if something goes wrong.

 

[JWR]

Hey guys. Sorry if this is the wrong forum to post this. I'm pricing out my first paid job with my tractor and rotary cutter. The customer wants 8 acres of knee/waist high fields mowed. It looks like it has been regularly maintained but not recently so there aren't any debris piles, wooded areas, briars or anything like that. Mostly grasses and some small wooded material. Slightly inclined and rolling but not steep. No large obstacles except a few large trees that have enough clearance around them to cut around. I live in Maine and am not new to landscaping or yard cutting but I've never priced this large of a cutting and not with a tractor.

I have my overhead and profit figured out on paper but I have no idea if I'm too high or low.
I'm assuming an hour an acre?
It's close to 40 miles (one hour) from my house.
Without knowing the market for bush hogging and going off my numbers (theoretical at this point) I would want to charge $750.

To me that seems outrageous for just mowing an 8 acre field but I do all of my own work around my property so I'm not accustomed to paying contractors. I've seen a few people on craigslist advertising $50 an hour but that seems way too low to stay afloat. Especially now.
Does this seem reasonable for anyone else?

I say your estimate is about right, esp considering the 40 mile drive, hauling, fuel prices, and etc. Yes, it seems high as hell if you are paying to have it done BUT consider the alternatives of owning and paying for the equipment, etc. to do it yourself. Stick to your price.

 

[JWR]

Since you sold your tractor maybe take a long break from this forum if you get so bothered with people not putting in their location.

I respectfully disagree -- I say no matter what the topic and no matter the location, ALL of us who 'bother' to read this stuff benefit and are more comfortable if we know the context of where the case is. It is not being "bothered," it is making the TBN mechanism more effective and beneficial to all concerned.

 

[LD1]

I am in East Texas, near Tyler. Saw an ad on Craigslist yesterday for mowing pasture for $65/hr. Equipment seems similar to yours. Don't know how the guy would bill for travel time.

That was my ballpark when I had a gear drive ~30hp machine and 6' mower. (though I still didnt bid by the hour). But ~$60-$70/hr is about what the market would bear with a machine that size.

I upgraded to 50hp and 8' with HST. I ballpark 1.5-2x faster/more efficient. A job that once took 4 hours now only takes 2-2.5. (course drive time is still the same).

Bidding "by the job".....my established customers got charged the SAME AMOUNT. I got dont quicker so the end result was more $$$/hr.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Maine = rocks.
Mass. = Rocks where i live.
Rocks vs cutter = bad.
Inspect area very well before cutting = good.

 

[MHarryE]

Best place I've found is from each state's department of agriculture. I live in the midwest so I base my custom rates on an analysis of whatever info I can find in our region. When looking at these rates, notice tremendous differences. For example, consider Iowa - Mowing CRP or pasture, /acre. median is $20 per acre, range $10 to $28.

I find it hard to come out ahead, when charging what the customer will bear, unless you do a lot. Our township pays our person who mows our roadsides $75/hr. For this he supplies labor, equipment, fuel & oil, replacement parts, and insurance. Unless he's using a 50 year old tractor and other equipment that is depreciated out, he would do better at McDonald's or WalMart.

When I compared my custom farming prices (most think reasonable) with what I was making per hour when I retired (it was a salary so I estimated 40 hr per week for 52 weeks per year), what I get per hour without considering depreciation is so low its ridiculous. But if I weren't out in a field getting some money, I'd be pouring money in a hole in the water (boat). Where I do profit is raising crops. There is a lot more risk but the returns can be good, especially with all the taxpayers supporting us farmers.