How Much Does Forestry Mulching Cost per Acre in Tennessee?
National cost guides put forestry mulching at about $400 to $2,500 per acre. Light brush sits near the low end. Thick growth full of saplings pushes the price toward the top. By the hour, the guides list $125 to $300 for the machine and the labor.
Those are national numbers. A Tennessee quote turns on brush density, tree size, slope and access. For forestry mulching, we run a mulcher head on a compact track loader. It grinds brush and trees up to about 6 to 7 inches across where they stand. The mulch stays on the ground, which skips the burn pile and the haul-off.
What do national cost guides say forestry mulching costs?
Hourly and daily rates include the person running the machine.
| How it is priced | Published range |
|---|---|
| Per hour, machine and labor | $125 to $300 |
| Per acre, average growth | $400 to $800 |
| Per acre, dense overgrowth | Up to $2,000 |
| Per acre, a second guide | $1,000 to $2,500 |
| Per day, skid steer mulcher | $1,000 to $1,600 |
| Minimum charge on a small job | $400 to $600 |
| Setup or mobilization fee | $150 to $300 |
The guides do not agree. Two of them break the price out by job size.
| Job size | One national guide | A second national guide |
|---|---|---|
| Half acre | $200 to $400 | $1,000 to $1,400 |
| 1 acre | $400 to $800 | $1,200 to $2,500 |
| 5 acres | $2,000 to $4,000 | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| About 10 acres | $4,000 to $8,000 | $9,000 to $20,000 |
The second guide puts most projects at $1,000 to $4,000. It notes that a half acre can cost more per acre than five acres. Hauling in the machine and setting up cost about the same either way.
What makes one acre cost more than another?
Time on the machine drives the price, so anything that slows the work raises it. A USDA Forest Service bulletin ties mulching costs to the equipment and the terrain. Site conditions and skill at the controls matter too.
How thick is the brush?
Open brush and briars mulch fast. A thicket of privet or bush honeysuckle takes longer. The Tennessee Division of Forestry says both form dense thickets. One national guide lists $125 to $200 an hour for underbrush and small trees. Heavy brush with large mature trees runs $300 to $400 an hour.
How big are the trees?
Bigger stems take longer to grind, even inside our 6 to 7 inch limit. In the Forest Service bulletin, one contractor sets his rates by tree size. His rate rises a little in 8-inch trees and jumps a couple hundred dollars an acre past 12 inches. Trees bigger than about 7 inches go to a tree service.
How steep and rocky is the ground?
The bulletin says mechanical treatment is limited to slopes under 40 percent unless a machine is built for steep ground. In the federal soil survey, the most common soil around Pleasant View is a gravelly silt loam. It holds chunks of chert and sits on slopes up to 60 percent. Steep wooded hollows are rockier still. One national guide warns that even small rocks can damage equipment and slow progress.
Can the machine get to the work?
The machine arrives on a trailer, then it has to reach the brush. One national guide lists extra fees when fences must come down. It also lists travel fees outside a company’s usual area.
How fine should the finish be?
More passes make finer mulch, and every pass adds machine time. Working around many trees you want to keep adds cost too, one guide says.
Does mulching cost less than a dozer and a burn pile?
Often, yes. One national guide lists lower labor and equipment costs among mulching’s benefits. The same guide prices full land clearing at $1,200 to $8,000 per acre, with heavy growth at the top.
That guide notes that dozer clearing removes everything above and below ground, and it disturbs the soil heavily. It lists a dozer or an excavator, with labor, at $1,200 to $2,500 a day. The brush and logs usually end up in piles that get burned or hauled away.
What does burning take in Tennessee?
From October 15 through May 15, a debris pile fire takes a permit from the Tennessee Division of Forestry. Each permit is good for one day, and the division pauses permits when fire danger runs high.
Local rules can be stricter. The division’s list shows no outdoor burning allowed in Davidson County. Clarksville, Springfield, Dickson, Ashland City and White House set their own burning rules.
State law also limits wood-waste burns within 200 feet of an occupied building, when the burner does not live there. Someone has to stay with the fire the whole time. Each burn can run 48 hours at most, and only twice in any 30 days.
What does hauling it off take?
One national guide lists debris hauling at $300 to $1,000 per load. Cheatham County’s solid waste page says none of its sites can accept brush. In Dickson, the city’s brush guidelines make a hired contractor responsible for disposal.
Mulched brush stays on the land. A dozer still has its place, because a house pad or a road bed may need the roots out. Our guide to land clearing costs per acre in Tennessee compares the methods.
What does the mulch do for the ground?
The Forest Service bulletin found that mulching does not harm soil nutrition. It also found erosion and compaction stay low when machines drive over the mulch.
Colorado research found mulch over about 3 inches deep in one spot usually holds back new grass. Across whole mulched sites, though, plant cover matched or beat untreated ground.
Mulching leaves the roots in the soil, so some brush sprouts back. The Tennessee Division of Forestry says larger privet can be cut repeatedly or treated with herbicide. One national guide says most properties need follow-up mulching every one to three years. Another lists mowing the regrowth with a bush hog as a common next step.
Mulching cuts stumps at or near the ground. Grinding them below grade is work for a stump grinding company. One national guide lists that at $200 to $600 per stump.
What should a written forestry mulching quote cover?
A written quote should spell out:
- The area. The acres or flagged lines, and which trees stay.
- The tree size. The largest stem the price covers.
- The finish. How fine the mulch should be and how evenly it lies.
- Stumps and roots. Mulching leaves both in the ground.
- Access. How the machine gets in, plus any travel or setup fee.
- Utilities. Grading or digging needs a Tennessee 811 ticket at least three working days ahead. Utility locators may not mark private lines, such as a line to a barn or a well.
- Follow-up. When the regrowth gets cut back, and how.
For a yard-sized patch of briars and saplings, see our brush clearing for yards and fence rows.
How do you get a forestry mulching price for your land?
Pleasant View sits at the center of our service area. Phillips Land Services handles land clearing around Pleasant View, and forestry mulching is a big part of it. See how our forestry mulching works, then call or text (931) 265-1151. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.