Clearing Eastern Red Cedar Trees from 12 acres

[wngsprd]

They can be great Christmas trees. but you have so many.
If you cut them at ground level you will have tiny stumps for many years since they are rot resistant. In the fields I bush hog every year, they come back from the smallest of green branches left low against the ground. Around here, they can grow 1 to 2 feet in a year. If you can get the stump/roots out, the better for you.

 

[jdjdjd]

Hire a good attorney and then buy one of these...

 

[wroughtn_harv]

You didn't mention your soil. Here in our clay soils I've found they push over fairly easy. As Western said, they are shallow roots. You could make some of them into fence posts but consider your time in cutting them to length, shaving off the limbs, etc. I'm sure you will decide that is a bad idea unless you have nothing but time on your hands.

They are an invasive species and have will suck up all the water which can kill the trees we like such as oaks.

 

[dave1949]

Hire a good attorney and then buy one of these...

That would be more fun than work. :laughing:

 

[DT86]

What happens when you run that stupid DR thing into a tree with a hornets nest in it? Or drop the front tires in a dip and run it aground?

 

[Xfaxman]

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I have 12 acres of Eastern red cedar trees that need to be removed to create a cattle pasture. My thought is to attach a tree pincher to my skid steer (which I have available to borrow) and go through the pasture, clip the trees, pile them and then burn them.

I see this as somewhat of a waste. I figure there has to be some use for these trees.

Cutting them down and milling them into lumber is not an option because they are not large enough. I estimate their age to be between eight and 12 years old.

I am very interested in suggestions on what to do with these trees. Or, if the only option is to cut them down and burned them, any suggestions on how to make that as quick and easy of a process as possible.

Thank you for watching and for your suggestions. Remember, mow your pastures so the eastern red Cedar tree does not take them over!

Here in central Oklahoma, many years ago, I started cutting them with a 3 point cedar tree cutter on my tractor. Notice how it is made to reach under the low branches and cut the trunk at ground level. After I sold the tractor 4 years ago, I made an adapter, and put the cutter on the Versahandler. So much better out front.


Another useful tool is the long narrow stump bucket.


Pops them out quickly


My favorite tool for trees up to 4 inches is the Buckthorn Long Arm Tree Puller.


The view from the seat.

The big cedar: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/277824-tree-puller.html#post3444397

 

[Larro Darro]

If you can cut a good fire break, I would try burning them first. That won't cost you anything. You can bush hog the dead trees after that. We have always used red cedar for posts and lumber here in NW Florida. But ours grow in the woods, so they are straight and tall, without all the side limbs. I think your trees are too small to be of any use. I used to raise cedar from seeds, and made a little money selling them for landscaping. If a bird can plant them, I figured I could too.

Larro

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Heres a video of a tree "spade" on a tractor bucket. Might be worth checking into for a skid steer. Pretty similar sized tree in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_49xSP_SYuk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my Motorola Moto X using TractorByNet

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yep, one utube skid steer video leads to pruning videos, before you know it, your watching cops arresting cops and getting into fights. :laughing:

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Wow. You watch the same videos I do. A little off topic but still related to trees, have you seen helicopter tree trimming? Talk about a wild contraption...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECxlCSlNHXM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

We will probably see this next season on the discovery channel as a drama reality series.

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