Is $300 to much for mowing 20 acres?

lawn_king · Oct 1, 2006

That cut is worth $1000.00 here in the nations highest cost of living area.

JJT · Oct 1, 2006

It would be $500-$750+ delivery if I were doing it. $50/wall clock hour, L3710, 6' brushhog. I can easily do 2 acres an hour unless it's a rutted overgrown field.

BillyP · Oct 1, 2006

I have about 10 acres I get cut 2 to 3 times a year. They pay me anywhere from 500 to 800 bucks a year, depending on rainfall

Gatorboy · Oct 1, 2006

lawn_king said:
That cut is worth $1000.00 here in the nations highest cost of living area.

No way is someone, even where you live going to pay me $1000 for 3 hours of mowing weeds.

But if I could make $333/hour by you, maybe it's time for me to pickup and move the family and start a mowing business.

hosejockey2002 · Oct 1, 2006

Gatorboy said:
No way is someone, even where you live going to pay me $1000 for 3 hours of mowing weeds

They would not be paying you for 3 hours of mowing weeds. They are paying you for mowing 20 acres of weeds. The fact that you own equipment that allows you to mow it much faster than most does not diminish the value of the job. You've got a big machine that burns a lot of fuel, cost a lot to buy and costs a lot to maintain. You can't just throw it on a little flatbed and tow it on down the road behind an old pickup like some guys can. By time you factor in all that overhead, as well as the time it takes you to load the machine on a big truck and move it to the job, you've eaten heavily into that $333 per hour figure.

Charlesaf3 · Oct 1, 2006

Yep, tractor rates are $100 an hour up in my part of Massachusetts. People would have hysterics at what the OP charged

Gatorboy · Oct 2, 2006

hosejockey2002 said:
The fact that you own equipment that allows you to mow it much faster than most does not diminish the value of the job.

Jibberish. The whole point is to have the proper equipment for doing the job properly.

Farmwithjunk · Oct 2, 2006

Gatorboy said:
Jibberish. The whole point is to have the proper equipment for doing the job properly.

$1000 is more than double what anyone should expect to pay for mowing 20 acres.

But..... If you were to mow 20 acres for someone, UNLESS it was your next door neighbor, you would have to move equipment to and from the job. Moving a larger tractor and a batwing would require either road marching it to and from OR hauling it on a larger truck and trailer. There's cost and time associated with both.

Loading and unloading a rig of that size would require AT THE VERY LEAST, an additional couple hours total for load-transport-unload-3 hours of mowing-load-return home-unload. So let's say for arguements sake, 5 hours to do the job.

That would drive your "profit" down to about $200 an hour. Still WAY TOO MUCH for bush hogging weeds no matter what the timeframe.

No matter what equipment you'd use, the "customer" couldn't care less what sort of equipment you haul, what you haul it ON, and how you run your business. All they care about is "how much"?

lawn_king · Oct 2, 2006

That job is worth $1000. here. Would we get it, who knows? I wouldn't take it for less than $800. very bottom price for us on mowing 20 acres of weeds!

Farmwithjunk · Oct 2, 2006

lawn_king said:
That job is worth $1000. here. Would we get it, who knows? I wouldn't take it for less than $800. very bottom price for us on mowing 20 acres of weeds!

Can you suggest any good motels in your area? I'm loading up and heading that way. $1000 would get you 50 acres (or more) mowed here. Even in a high cost of living area, $1000 for less than a days work (and no medical degree) is incredable!