Bush Hogging rates for 2010

[fieldman12]

In your areas have prices on Bush Hogging dropped? Around here people want it done but they wait to call until it is 4' tall or more and in some cases has set for years and small saplings are growing on it. I have around a 60hp tractor and 6' Bush Hog. People in the area could make better money doing this ten year ago than they are today around here. I know charging by the hour is best. What are you guys charging for a field that is very tall per hour? How much can you expect to cut acre wise per hour in a tall field over 4' but other wise no obstacles to worry about? I'm figuring about a half to three quarters an acre an hour. On stuff no tall than 18" about 1.5 acres per hour.

 

[Heavyduty]

I have a 10ft rotary mower-120hp tractor and I deal mainly with once a year maintance mowings on large plots.

I charge $65/ hr for any small stuff. For small trees and anywhere that has a lot of nails or other sharp objects I get $85/hr. One flat tire costs a min. of $150 for a tube replacement, up to $1000 if the tires gets a bad side wall cut.

Working for the general public is tuff. They usually call when its way past due and only cutting a couple ac at a time. If you can find some work thats once a year / every year would be your best bet.:thumbsup:

 

[DennisH]

I have 7 AC of which i'm guessing 4.5 to 5 is being cut. I paid $150 a few months ago.

 

[flyingcow]

i got a 7ft bush hog and usually charge $45 an hour. Average an acre per hour, i don't advertise. If i have small trees, might add some $$$'s.

 

[atgreene]

I mow with a heavy duty 6' Woods that I have mowed commercially with for years (like 15) and a 45 hp Kubota. I figure in good going I can do 3+ acres an hour and charge $100 per hour plus a delivery fee. If the going is rough I have to downshift which lowers my coverage rate but of course takes longer so I make more.

In the worst going I still manage to do 2 acres an hour, it's not about speed, it's about efficiency. No backing up and keep moving in a fluid motion. It's amazing how much time you can knock off a field if you lay it out and plan your moves so you don't double back or have to use reverse.

 

[sweettractors]

I know the rate you can charge will vary a lot depending on how close you are to a large city, where there are not many custom cutters available for service. In the country, every farmer has a brush hog and the guys that don't have cutters, have friends that do. I would venture to guess that rates in Ca, Ma, NY,Wa, Or, Etc. probably are triple what they are here in rural Ky. Ken Sweet

 

[beppington]

Friends of mine own a 5-acre grass field, no trees at all, 3.5'-4' high grass, & paid a relative $200 to mow it.

The friends thought they paid too much, but I bet their relative was sorry he agreed to do it for $200.

 

[atgreene]

I know the rate you can charge will vary a lot depending on how close you are to a large city, where there are not many custom cutters available for service. In the country, every farmer has a brush hog and the guys that don't have cutters, have friends that do. I would venture to guess that rates in Ca, Ma, NY,Wa, Or, Etc. probably are triple what they are here in rural Ky. Ken Sweet

Actually, everyone and their brother around here has a tractor and will work for bird feed. I carry full insurance and have been doing it for so long that if they want it done clean and neat they call me, they want it done cheap and want to look for someone new each year they call someone else.

I can't tell you the number of jobs I have walked away from because they refused to pay my price, then they call me back the following year and ask if I will do it any cheaper 'cause the guy they hired last year is broken down or did a crappy job. I tell them the price, most of the time they hire me for what I quote after they have learned their lesson.

The problem here is the rocks. Most 4' mower get destroyed within a year or so. You really need a heavy duty mower to handle the terrain here.

I have hobbies, I don't need to mow for free.

 

[trook]

My standard rate is $100 for the first acre and $65 for every additional acre if I am cutting a small (1-5 acre) spot. Anything larger, and I try to get $65/acre, but I have gone as low as $40 per acre. A lot has to do with height and thickness of grass, distance from my home, obstacles, etc. I'm not interested if someone doesn't want to pay me for my time. :thumbsup:

 

[jjcc246]

I have a 30hp tractor and 5' brush hog. It takes about an hour an acre on perfect fied. when the grass is tall or the terrain is lumpy i just slow it down so me and the machine don't take to much of a beating. I charge $30 per hour from the time i leave my house to the time i get home. I do tell them a time estimate but explain that conditions determine the outcome. If i quote them $300, I stop at 10 hours and ask if they want me to keep going, From that point we can usally determine how much lomger it will take. When I talk to people on the phone they tell me it's a golf course, when I get there it looks like a war zone with the holes, rocks and metal fencing laying all over the place. I say charge by the hour and take your time, these machines are expensive.

 

[flyingcow]

I mow with a heavy duty 6' Woods that I have mowed commercially with for years (like 15) and a 45 hp Kubota. I figure in good going I can do 3+ acres an hour and charge $100 per hour plus a delivery fee. If the going is rough I have to downshift which lowers my coverage rate but of course takes longer so I make more.

In the worst going I still manage to do 2 acres an hour, it's not about speed, it's about efficiency. No backing up and keep moving in a fluid motion. It's amazing how much time you can knock off a field if you lay it out and plan your moves so you don't double back or have to use reverse.

i know I'm starting something, but 3 acres an hour? An acre is 210ft square, I think. Thats doing some serious rolling. If everything is right, i might push 1.5 acres an hour, with my 7ft hog. if conditions are right. And my hog has had a 145hp tractor, or as i have now, a 75hp tractor. Haven't seen much of a change per hour/per acre. if you're doing 3 acres per hour@$100. Thats about $33 an acre. I do a little more than an acre an hour and charge $45 an hour. And I'm not beating the crap out of myslef or my equipment.

Sorry, but thats mt 2 cents worth.

 

[doall]

My standard rate is $100 for the first acre and $65 for every additional acre if I am cutting a small (1-5 acre) spot. Anything larger, and I try to get $65/acre, but I have gone as low as $40 per acre. A lot has to do with height and thickness of grass, distance from my home, obstacles, etc. I'm not interested if someone doesn't want to pay me for my time. :thumbsup:

You are the 2nd person from Ms. that I've seen similar rates from. People around here would call the looney farm if I quoted that.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Most of you guys (Atgreene excluded) are working for free.
You should rethink what you're doing.

Average COST of any tractor is about $30/hour (maint, tires, depreciation, more tires, equipment, etc). Little more for bigger, but not much more. bigger tractors have much lower maintenance requirements. (longer intervals, etc and they don't cost that much initially)
You still have to get it there, unload it, load it, get it back.
You still have to pay insurance, registration, advertising, etc, etc, etc

I can sit at home and watch TV and not make any money, I don't need to go out and work hard all day to not make any money.

 

[LoneCowboy]

i know I'm starting something, but 3 acres an hour? An acre is 210ft square, I think. Thats doing some serious rolling. If everything is right, i might push 1.5 acres an hour, with my 7ft hog. if conditions are right. And my hog has had a 145hp tractor, or as i have now, a 75hp tractor. Haven't seen much of a change per hour/per acre. if you're doing 3 acres per hour@$100. Thats about $33 an acre. I do a little more than an acre an hour and charge $45 an hour. And I'm not beating the crap out of myslef or my equipment.

Sorry, but thats mt 2 cents worth.

6' wide mower, equals about 5' effective cut. Times about 5mph is 26,400 linear feet, x 5 = 132,000 square feet per hour is 3 acres per hour.

But, having said that.

In my experience as a commercial mower, we figure about 1.5 acres/hour with a 6' mower. (1ac/hour with a 5' mower, 7 acres/hour with a 15' mower) Your experience may vary.


Unless it's ridiculously tall (5 to 6' or more), the times don't vary much. Times are changed more by strangely shaped lots, which leads to lots of turning and strange cutting patterns.

 

[radman1]

An acre is 210ft square,

An acre is 43,560 sq ft or 4,840 sq yards. You probably think of something else?

 

[RickB]

An acre is 43,560 sq ft or 4,840 sq yards. You probably think of something else?

He's close enough for arguement's sake. Only off by 540 sq ft. He said 210 feet square, not 210 square feet. Big difference.

 

[flyingcow]

6' wide mower, equals about 5' effective cut. Times about 5mph is 26,400 linear feet, x 5 = 132,000 square feet per hour is 3 acres per hour.

But, having said that.

In my experience as a commercial mower, we figure about 1.5 acres/hour with a 6' mower. (1ac/hour with a 5' mower, 7 acres/hour with a 15' mower) Your experience may vary.


Unless it's ridiculously tall (5 to 6' or more), the times don't vary much. Times are changed more by strangely shaped lots, which leads to lots of turning and strange cutting patterns.

I very seldom can do 5mph. 4mph is about all I can do, and mow it good. Grass was pretty heavy, fields are not very smooth, the few jobs i do are guys only want it done when it pretty high and thick. i just did about 13 acres and it took a little under 11 hours. Bill at $45 an hour plus travel time. And i do pay attention, and not waste any time when turning. This was one big field. Keep in mind, I have to go by what the landowner says it is for acres, but it did look about right.

 

[flyingcow]

Most of you guys (Atgreene excluded) are working for free.
You should rethink what you're doing.

Average COST of any tractor is about $30/hour (maint, tires, depreciation, more tires, equipment, etc). Little more for bigger, but not much more. bigger tractors have much lower maintenance requirements. (longer intervals, etc and they don't cost that much initially)
You still have to get it there, unload it, load it, get it back.
You still have to pay insurance, registration, advertising, etc, etc, etc

I can sit at home and watch TV and not make any money, I don't need to go out and work hard all day to not make any money.

I don't advertise or register the tractor. i do have it insured under my commercial policy, under the trucking business.

And i agree on the $30 per hour. i do a couple of small jobs for friends, thats what i charge. just cover the costs, they do me favors on other stuff.

I was told that the state of Maine pays $40 an hour for roadside mowing.

 

[atgreene]

Like I said, I charge for delivery and mosey along at whatever pace is easy on the tractor. The mower I am using is a modified B106 Woods with a custom steel flywheel. The previous T bar with stump jumper wasn't holding up due to rocks etc... so I had a piece of 1/2" plate made up and welded it to the t bar. It now has lots of flywheel effect and runs smooth as silk.

As for width, if your only mowing 5' with a 6' mower, you need to set over 6-8". It's all about efficency. I only hit the 4 acres per hour mark on the best going and smoothest fields, not on every one, and not on the entire field. Low hanging branches, rocks and debris will slow you down in any field. That is why per hour works until you have mowed the field and can have enough info to do it for a set price.

I usually mow in 5 gear, 6th where it is real smooth, by never using reverse and looping all my turns I manage to hit 4 acres per hour.

W/o delivery that is $25 per acre. How is that doing it for free? The tractor is 25 years old, I've been doing this for 15+ years and have had few issues. If I were beating the heck out of the tractor it would be stove all to heck by now.

On edit: miss understood what was being said, I think I'm clear now.

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[LoneCowboy]

W/o delivery that is $25 per acre. How is that doing it for free? The tractor is 25 years old, I've been doing this for 15+ years and have had few issues. If I were beating the heck out of the tractor it would be stove all to heck by now.

On edit: miss understood what was being said, I think I'm clear now.

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yeah, you're about the only guy (besides me) on this thread who is NOT working for free.