Got a price of going 1/2 acre last night and was quoted $1300 dollars to have it contracted out

 

He must be using a sling blade.

 

$1,300 for a 1/2 acre?

 

That is what he told me. It is fairly thick/dense/tall - I also thought the price was fairly steep as he was guessing 6-8 hours worth of work

I would suggest be competitive with your prices at the beginning and as your referrals increase, you can slowly increase what you charge, but don’t over charge where you bid yourself out of jobs

 

This comes up fairly often, and think there are a couple threads about this that are active right now. To cover your time, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, repairs and fuel you need to charge a lot. As you know, new or used equipment isn’t cheap.

 

University Extension in your area might have published rates. In the past, they would survey, sometimes in cooperation with USDA for agricultural custom rates. They may also have other data.

This sounds similar to cutting CRP/Set Aside acres.

 

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/pdf/a3-10.pdf

88.15/hr avg for mowing road ditches

 

I was thinking $75 but after looking at it . I really don’t want to do it. It’s a wooded area lots of heavy brush. Think it’s actual an acre of the 5 that is cutable. Lots of branch’s down uneven ground. . I’d probably have to have the bucket dragging on the ground. Low range low gear. I’m personally thinking I’d want $3k

 

I’ll go take pictures tomorrow and post here. Just to get your thoughts.

 

Figure about $500... That'll cover the cost of a new rear tire for a 4300

You might be further ahead if YOU pay the landowner $50 to NOT mow the land.

 

At least $100 per hour if not more. How tall and thick it is would definitely be a factor as well. Don’t forget to factor in fuel cost for tractor and if you’re towing your machine.

 

May I add, the individual gave me a quote and said “I have a fairly new cutter, let me see if I can borrow someone’s first” after he looked at the tall thick brush

Excellent info in all posts to take into account

 

May I add, the individual gave me a quote and said “I have a fairly new cutter, let me see if I can borrow someone’s first” after he looked at the tall thick brush

Excellent info in all posts to take into account

Hence, I very rarely lend equipment ...

 

looking at it would need a tracked skid steer with a track and a barrel type cutter. So if i g that route I’d have to rent one.

 

I have a 4300 with a brush hog its a 5’ brush hog for my own use. Now people want me to brush hog for them. What should I charge per acre. Or per hr. Thinking since I’m new to it by the hr wouldn’t be fair.
the first place I’m looking at hasn’t been done in 5 years.

I mow by the hour, some areas are thin, some thick and changes mowing speed. If you do in charge enough to make it worth it.

 

Just say "No", I can't do it.

 

Turned doing it down. Not worth wreaking my machine.

 

If you still want to come back to this align your rates with the market, considering equipment, labor, and terrain complexity. You can always negotiate the price if people really appreciate your work.

 

My neighbor (he has since passed) ALWAYS found someone to pay to bush hog his ~20 acres of pastures.

He owned a tractor, and a mower, but, he still paid.

Why? the fields were filled with "stuff"

Everybody that mowed for him usually tore up something.

There were rocks everywhere,, car parts, ready to tear up tires,,

How do you factor that in to a quote??
Another neighbor asked me to mow his fields, he was gonna host a wedding,,
The 5 acres is next to a creek, each year, branches wash into the fields.

I told him $2,000,, to mow it,,
He got another neighbor to do it, That guy damaged a rear tire,,

 

I charge a 180 an hour for me and machine plus $200 fuel charge.

 

How many horse tractor and what size of mower are you using?

 

I have 7.28 acres. I'm guessing the house and yard is about 1.5 to 2 acres leaving about 5.28 to 5.78 acres of pasture. I had about 3 acres of it mowed twice. The first guy charged $300. The second guy charged $200 but said next time it will be $300. Both guys left small areas unmowed. This is flat Florida land with the occasional dip or mound and no large piles etc. Then I bought my 3025e with 60" bush hog and started mowing it myself. I found they were mowing around small piles of old fence posts and other small debris. I spent a day removing the fence posts etc. Now I mow the entire 5.78 acres in about 3-4 hours and get some therapeutic time on my tractor. Don't know what I'd charge to mow someone else property.

 

Where I live in SC there are many 5 to 10 acre lots in my community that are owned but not yet built on. They were all cleared as the horse farm community was developed starting some 20 years ago. These owned but vacant lots are required to be mowed (brush hogged) twice a year to prevent them being overgrown with brush. The current rate, with probably a dozen or more listed mowing providers to chose from, is $100 per acre. Owners can look for lower rates themselves outside the list but I think almost all choose someone from the list because it is convenient and there is no haggling or surprises.