How much is it worth to brushhog 10 ac?

[buckeyefarmer]

I used to do a church lot, 10 acres for $20 hr (machine hr). It probably barely covered my expenses, but I was doing it as a service to them. This was with a 5' hog and my 20HP MF. The first time I mowed it, it had not been mowed in a couple years and had many locust trees sprouting up. Took me 13 hrs to mow it. Every pass around I had to stop and clean the dust out of the radiator screen, or the tractor would overheat. After the initial mowing, it still took about 10 hours (only did it once or twice a yr). If it was not the church, I would have charged at least $40 an hour, as the ground was really rough, and had to be careful of ditches and holes and rocks.
Recently a friend asked me how much to mow his neighbors 80+ acres, I said he couldn't afford me to do it with my 5' mower. The field in this case is light weeds in most places, but I still want nothing of the job, even with my new kubota. Unless I charge about $2000, it's not worth the hours it would puton the tractor. I researched that commercial mowers, mowing along state roads, charge anywhere from $50 - 150 per acre for mowing. This was based on various states that were publishing their mowing contracts on the web. Very seldom were there any lower than $50 per acre. I had a neighbor that did this as a side job. (was a state trooper) He made good money at it, had 2 or 3 big tractors with batwing mowers, etc... just couldn't find decent help to drive them. his workers kept running the tractors into his trucks, etc.

 

[N80]

The going rate around here is about $60 per hour. I would advise that you set your price based on time, not acres. Let them know that your mower is small, give them a rough estimate on time and whatever hourly rate you've set and then let them decide.

 

[flusher]

Last April-May I was getting bids of $50-60 PER ACRE to brush hog my 10 acres that I had recently purchased in the North Sacramento Valley. Admittedly it was mowing season then and the guys in that business were pretty busy, but these prices seemed a trifle excessive to me. Maybe they sensed that I was new to this area and gave me the introductory screw the newby price.

That's when I high-tailed it to my local tractor dealers and finally cut a deal with the nearest Kubota guy for a B7510 HST w/FEL.

Don't even want to think what these guys will be charging when mowing season starts again next month now that #2 diesel is $3.09/gal at Arco.

 

[Deerlope]

If its just grass and weeds I would think that $30 an hour work be fair. If it has any small saplings bump that up to $45.

 

[hrlyeagle]

Just charge by the hour as I do, $50/hr.

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

Don't dwell on the idea of the locals giving you the business as far as the $60 per hour rate. That's about the going rate for smaller to mid-sized jobs back here in Kentucky/Indiana.... ("Small jobs" is anything under 8 hours continuous work to me)

Look at the price of a tractor, mower, fuel, insurance, labor, parts and upkeep, truck/trailer, and all the insurance, license, and upkeep associated with that. Throw in the need to "make a buck" for their time, and $60 starts looking mighty thin....

I've been at it (mowing commercially) for 32 years. I started at $35 per hour (WAAAAAAAAAY back when....) Prices were in the $50/hr range by the late '80's. In that light, $60/hr in 2005 doesn't look so high either.

(Consider that's with 60 HP tractor/7' mower. Able to cut 3 to 4 acres an hour under SOME conditions)

All in all, you're still better off with a tractor of your own, if you plan on continuous upkeep of your property.

 

[Soundguy]

Ditto... 45$ gets you a rickety old ford /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif 3000 and a 5' or 6' mower.. going price is more like 50-60$ per hour for tractor work.. doesn't matter whether it is plowing or mowing.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[rfawkes]

I just quit in the middle of the job mowing brush on 22 acres of steep up and and down hills on a pasture(?) that hasn't been touched in years. My friend was not happy with the time it was taking, and I don't know why I agreed to help him in the first place. I put in 17 hours and got about 2/3 of the job finished. It is hot(100%) dirty dangerous work on those steep hills when you don't know what is the the brush. I hit stumps, rocks, tires, sheet metal, concrete blocks, and whole trees laying under the lush green bushes. I charged $27.00 per hour, and would not do it again for less than $40.00. That doesn't count the new underwear, after almost tipping a time or two.

 

[flusher]

A friend of a friend has called me about brushhogging 10 acres for them. The land is grown up about 3 foot tall. I have a B series Kubota and a 4 ft. hog. I'm sure it will take quite a bit of time. I've kindly mentioned to them they might want to hire someone with a bigger tractor/hog. The insist they'd like me to do it because "they know I do good work."

Anyways... any idea what I should charge to cut 10 acres with a 4' hog?

Thanks.

I have a B7510HST/LA302 FEL and I mow my 7-8 acres of weeds with a 4-ft KK brush hog. For 3-4 foot growth, takes me about 11 hours. I mow slow because my place is flat, but not smooth. And there's always new gopher and fox holes to possibly mess up my front end.

Before I got the tractor, I was quoted $50/acre (not per hour) to mow my weeds. Hence, the decision to buy the tractor.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I just quit in the middle of the job mowing brush on 22 acres of steep up and and down hills on a pasture(?) that hasn't been touched in years. My friend was not happy with the time it was taking, and I don't know why I agreed to help him in the first place. I put in 17 hours and got about 2/3 of the job finished. It is hot(100%) dirty dangerous work on those steep hills when you don't know what is the the brush. I hit stumps, rocks, tires, sheet metal, concrete blocks, and whole trees laying under the lush green bushes. I charged $27.00 per hour, and would not do it again for less than $40.00. That doesn't count the new underwear, after almost tipping a time or two.

You just can't please some people. Conditions like you described are nerve racking. There's a strong possibility that you'll destroy a mower or cut down a rear tire. That's $100 an hour sort of work.

 

[JerryG]

The only way to work for friends or relatives is to do it for free. Last fall I did a job for a cousin of mine. It was a bid job that I did for another company. This company sells equipment and normally does the install, but if their men are behind they will contract subs. I had bid on the job as a sub. Everything was spelled out in explicit detail. It was an alarm system that was to be installed connecting five different buildings. The lines had to be to be ungrounded between all the buildings with sensors in each building. These had to be connected at a central control unit in one of the buildings. Nothing I did was right, on time, fast enough, or anywhere close to the way she wanted it. She didn't want to look back at the contract for anything to see what it said. No matter what the contract said, she wanted it different. When I finished, I told her that I would never do another job for a relative for pay again. I did tell her that if she needed anything to let me know and when I had time I might do it for free. There were a lot of hard feelings. We have thankfully put it behind us now. Something like this could very well cause a person to lose a friend.

 

[Grant1]

I mowed 20 acres for a landowner last March. I figured an hour per acre at $50.00 per hour.. By the time I was through it was exactly that. I use a 5ft Woods bushhog. Looked good and the owner was more than pleased to pay it. My machine uses 1 gal diesel per hour. If you are not charging at least $50.00 per hour your giving your labor away.

 

[Gatorboy]

If you are not charging at least $50.00 per hour your giving your labor away.

You should have used a 21" pushmower, you would have made more money. You can't just charge by the hour when you are not using the right tool for the job.

 

[suttles]

Could he just burn it?

Your tractor or life is not worth getting hurt for anybody.

Could he hire a dozer?

sandy

 

[Dargo]

I mowed 20 acres for a landowner last March. I figured an hour per acre at $50.00 per hour.. By the time I was through it was exactly that. I use a 5ft Woods bushhog. Looked good and the owner was more than pleased to pay it. My machine uses 1 gal diesel per hour. If you are not charging at least $50.00 per hour your giving your labor away.

Holy smokes!! I guess if the land was on the side of a mountain or had thousands of obsticles to clear I could see it. Otherwise, in my area, you would be under bid by about everyone around if you tried to charge any more than $250 or so. That's amazing. Half the mowing crews around here ought to head to your area. You are getting 4 to 5 times the amount that is charged around here.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Holy smokes!! I guess if the land was on the side of a mountain or had thousands of obsticles to clear I could see it. Otherwise, in my area, you would be under bid by about everyone around if you tried to charge any more than $250 or so. That's amazing. Half the mowing crews around here ought to head to your area. You are getting 4 to 5 times the amount that is charged around here.

Just got a bid on mowing the acreage wifes clan has in a family trust. I WAS going to buy a new 10' or 12' mower and trailer my tractor there to cut the place and let the trust pay for the mower.

$16.75 an acre X 112 acres.

I can't haul the tractor back and forth for that sort of money.

It pains me to let someone else cut the place, but whatta you gonna do.......

Contractor will use 150 HP tractor and 20' batwing.

 

[Ford960]

It must be nice to mow a bunch of grass or weeds in a nice square or circular pattern!

The mowing that I do is pretty hard as there are trees and saplings in the way. The saplings range from 1" to 4" and I knock them down and cut them up. My Bush Hog 305 really does a number on them. I also run into downed trees that make it hard to get over or around. Sometimes they are rotted and I can chop them up too. Then you ain't lived till you've hit a sleeping bag or a tent buried under the leaves. Tent poles really suck too, as do aluminum chairs, pipes, and the worst...carpet. Don't even get me started on the Yellow Jackets.

The lots are 50'X80' or 60'X100' and it takes me anywhere from 1 to 2 hours for each one. I have to keep a chainsaw handy because I've had the tractor stuck in between trees several times and had to cut down a couple of trees to get it out. I have to work forward and backwards constantly and use a lot of differential braking to get in and around the lots. Also have to stay in the property lines as much as possible.

I get paid a flat rate of $100/lot and since the beginning of June I've done 23 lots.
Did one this morning that was one of the harder ones with downed trees and a downed electric pole plus I found a concrete block foundation with the blades. Took me 2 hours for that one but when I got home I had 3 more lots in my e-mail box, I'll do 2 in the morning. The 3rd has a hold on it till the lot next to it is ready in a day or two and then I'll catch both at once.

My old Ford 960 gets quite a work out and I have trouble bending or breaking the right lower lift arm. I carry 2 spares and when I get back to the house I always have to weld one back together or straighten one. I also pull the blades once a week, check them for cracks, and resharpen them. That's a pretty simple deal with the big impact now.

So that's it, I make between $50 and $100 an hour but I work pretty hard for it.

 

[sandman2234]

That Free work gets expensive from time to time. So far, several pins, two hydraulic steering cylinders (seals getting torn up from trees), one nice rear tire and a lot of green paint.
I have been clearing a piece of property for the church and it is getting more expensive than I expected.
David from jax

 

[Dargo]

That Free work gets expensive from time to time. So far, several pins, two hydraulic steering cylinders (seals getting torn up from trees), one nice rear tire and a lot of green paint.
I have been clearing a piece of property for the church and it is getting more expensive than I expected.
David from jax

Boy, don't I know that! I was hogging a small 6 acre lot for a church and 'found' a 3' section of railroad track hidden in the weeds. That's besides the dozens of large rocks, concrete blocks (they simply exploded when I hit them) and other crap. The railroad track destroyed one of my blades. The church said "sorry", and that they'd forgotten that there may have been some "junk" in the lot.

That pro bono work cost me a couple hundred bucks and about 10 hours of work. Oh well...what can you do?

 

[brandon07]

I charge 35 an hour minimum, with a 3 hour minimum, and 50 bucks to load up and show up depending on how long im going to be there and how far away it is. For family I don't charge to load up or my fuel going there just how many hours the tractor ran at 35 an hour.