A pasture that stops being grazed or a hay field that misses two cuttings goes to brush faster than most owners expect. Autumn olive and multiflora rose come in from the fence line, box elder and honeysuckle fill the hedgerows until they are forty feet wide, and the woodlot at the back takes a few more feet of field every summer. Within five years the usable acreage is half what the tax bill says.
Reclaiming it is what the mulcher was built for. Brush, saplings and the old fence-row trees are ground into a chip layer where they stand, the roots stay and rot, and the field can be mowed, grazed or planted to the edge the next season. On horse farms in Highland, Metamora, Ray Township and Salem we plan the work paddock by paddock around turnout. On crop ground in Armada, Capac, Saline and Fowlerville we take the hedgerows on frozen ground so the field carries the machine without a mark.
A brush hog handles the grass and light brush on open ground; the mulcher takes the saplings and the rows. Most pasture jobs use both, and both are covered by one project price. The brush hogging page and the invasive growth removal page cover the two halves of the job.
What we clear
- Pasture and paddocks gone to autumn olive, multiflora rose, hawthorn and honeysuckle.
- Hedgerows and fence rows between fields, ground back to the survey line.
- Woodlot edges that have crept into hay or crop ground.
- Old orchard blocks and Christmas-tree plantings that were never cut.
- Fence lines opened for new board or wire, with the old line cleared to the post holes.
- Windbreaks and volunteer trees around barns and outbuildings.
What you get
- A field at full width that can be mowed, grazed or planted to the edge.
- A chip layer that grass grows through by the second summer.
- Paddocks with nothing in them that could end up in a hoof.
- A clean line where the woods are supposed to stop.
How the Job Goes
Walk the fence lines
We walk the field with you, agree on the lines, and note the wet corners that need frozen ground.
Plan around the animals
On a horse farm we take one paddock at a time and keep the machine out of any field with horses in it.
Grind the brush and the rows
The mulcher takes the pasture brush and the hedgerows to a chip layer; the brush hog follows on the open ground.
Keep it
A mowing or spot follow-up plan in the first two summers keeps autumn olive and rose from coming back to seed. We lay it out with you before we leave.
When to do it
Pasture and upland fields in any season. Hedgerows and wet corners on frozen ground or in the dry weeks of late summer. Late winter clearing is ready to seed or graze by May.
How it is priced
By the project: acres, density and how many fence rows. Walk it with us or send photos of the worst corner and the fence line. The pricing guide explains what moves the number.
The Ground This Work Happens On
Where We Do This Work
Counties and townships where this job comes up most. Every page covers the local ground and the common jobs.
Questions About This Work
Will autumn olive and multiflora rose come back?
Mulching grinds them to the ground and shreds the root crowns, which sets them back hard. A mowing or spot follow-up in the first two summers keeps the regrowth from reaching seed, and our invasive plants guide covers each species.
Can horses go back on the pasture afterward?
Once the grass is through the chips, yes. Nothing sharp is left in the field, and the chip layer breaks down into the soil over the first season.
How do you take out a hedgerow without wrecking the field?
On frozen ground or dry late summer, when the field carries the machine. The row is ground to a chip strip at the survey line, the roots stay put, and the planter can run to the edge.
Do you brush hog the open part too?
Yes. Most reclamation jobs are a brush hog pass on the open ground and the mulcher on the rows and saplings, priced together. See brush hogging.
Other jobs we do
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Read the guide →Ready to Get This Done?
Send the address and a few photos through the quote form, or call. You will get one project price for the whole job.