The best way (least expensive) to clean land for pasture

[hillbilly beef man]

I forgot to add that you will spend more time and money getting rid of stumps than anything else, but bite the bullet and get them out. We have a field that we did not remove them and I kick myself everytime I bush hog it.

 

[M5farm]

500 head of goats.

 

[Jogeephus]

If you want a hayfield today it will cost you about $1500/acre, if you will be patient and work with nature you can have a hayfield in 5 years with increasingly better grazing every year for about $300/acre. It all depends on what you want and how soon you want it.

 

[greybeard]

It would help a lot if you posted a picture and would take some time to put your location in your profile. Lots of difference in clearing land on the side of the Himalayan mountains and here in the Peruvian Alps.

ok I am i east central Mississippi about 10 minutes from alabama i dont have pics but it is almost too thick in there to walk through ie briars vines,and some volunteer pines /flat ground

Sounds like its a lot of fine fluff to me. A drum chopper followed by a match followed by an offset harrow should get things off to a good start. Soil sample, lime then followed by plantings of summer and winter annuals is all I'd do. Stumps should be nearly rotted as mentioned and the small stumps from the new growth can be handled with the offset and left to rot on site during the period you plant annuals.

Yes-yes-YES!

This is the way to go. btdi and it's affordable. It's not quick but it's doable.

Another option:
You said it's been 12 years since it was last logged. Probably now got some pine around 4-6 inches diameter and a lot of hardwood saplings about the same size. Around here, the mills take hardwood pulpwood about 2 times/year, and they aain't picky about what they buy. Gum, elm, ironwood, even Chinese tallow--straight, crooked--whatever. If it's 5" on the big end and (I think) 20 feet long, the mill will take it. (they don't short stick pulpwood here anymore--haven't in years) I had a lot of it left standing 2 years after my big stuff was harvested. A neighbor of mine has a little log operation and asked me if I wanted to sell off the hardwood pulpwood. He told me what the mill was paying and what he could give me. I told him, if he would push all the leftovers into a pile and clean up his limbs and tops, he could have it "for free". I got that area all cleaned up of the scrub and didn't cost me anything. Some of those loads looked like nothing more than long bundled up sticks.

 

[Phil in Tupelo]

Being in Northeast Mississippi, your description of being very thick, implies to me that it should burn very well, if timed properly. I don't think I ever saw what your plans for the 18 nor the 70 acres was. Are they close or several tracts apart. All the advice given has potential based on what you hope to do. Also could be programs in your area to help, so continue with forestry, extension staff and local farmers, loggers and cattlemen. A lot of good suggestions have been made but lack of detail as to what your plans are keep some advice general rather than detailed. Good Luck.

 

[uscott]

the plan is to put some cows on it. we have several smaller tracts near with cow and we want to be able to rotate them between the pastures.

 

[Farmerjon]

You say it will be for cows. So, fence it in, and above someone posted 500 goats. That is not being a smart aleck. They are browsers and will gain weight and clean up all that underbrush and make it park like. For the stumps after, a good bunch of hogs will root the rotten stumps and you can level it with a harrow. Let the cows eat around some of the stumps. But a good rotation of animals that eat different groups of plants will clean this up and keep it cleaned for a lot less money and effort than dozers and such.

 

[Orerancher]

Highlands would be better then goats...

Wish I woulda thought to take 'Befor an After' pictures of this place.

 

[igrowgrass]

There are a lot of things to consider before you just go throwing goats on your land.

It sounds to me like this land is not yet fenced. Some of it is probably pretty hard to fence because of all of the undergrowth and garbage. If you've never tried to keep goats on one side of a fence this is not the property to try to learn on LOL. It sounds to me like you would have to do a great deal of work just to clear a lane for fencing.

Also, there is some stuff that goats can't eat. If you don't know what those plants are and if you have them on your property or how to get rid of them if you do, you may end up with sick or dead goats.

Also, goats are meandering browsers. Unless they find something absolutely delicious, they will eat a few bites here, a few bites there, and then wander on to something else. They really don't obliterate plant material until you stock them at a very high density. You have to pack them in there, but you have to be ready to move them on quickly because once you reeeeeeally pack them in someplace they will literally eat everything.

So, 500 goats may not be your answer.

 

[Randy66]

I used a double drum Lawson for our reclaiming project – worked great. It was a good way to clear brush/trees while leveling. They might be called Ranchworx now.