What bush hogging costs in Clarksville
Planning ranges compiled from published sources, what pushes a quote up or down, and the questions that make two bids actually comparable. These are budgeting figures for Clarksville, not a quote for your property.
Budgeting
Typical ranges
The most consistently cited benchmark is around $100 per acre for relatively open pasture, within a published band of $60 to $250, dropping to $75 to $80 on larger tracts and as low as $18 to $25 per acre on very large competitively bid acreage. Hourly is the more common basis on small or unknown jobs, at $85 to $120 per hour for a tractor with a six-foot cutter. Sources for this trade lean on contractor forums and small operator sites rather than major cost databases, so treat these as directional.
| Scope | Typical range | Most common |
|---|---|---|
| Open pasture, routine annual cut | $60 – $120 | $90 |
| Multi-year growth with saplings | $100 – $250 | $150 |
| Small acreage or heavy trim work | $150 – $250 | $200 |
| Large tract, competitively bid | $25 – $80 | $50 |
Ranges compiled from GreenPal, Ricky's Bobcat Service, LawnStarter. Reviewed 2026-07-18.
Variables
What moves the price
Two quotes on the same property can differ by a wide margin and both be honest. These are usually why.
Acreage
The dominant factor. Mobilisation is fixed, so per-acre rates fall substantially with size. Small jobs are often quoted at an effective minimum regardless of the stated per-acre rate.
Growth height and stem thickness
Routine annual growth cuts quickly. Two or three years of neglect with saplings coming through requires slower passes, sometimes multiple passes, and risks more machine wear.
Terrain
Slopes, ditches, wet spots and rock all slow the tractor and raise the risk of damage or of getting stuck. Steep ground may be refused outright on safety grounds.
Hidden debris
Stumps, wire, fence posts, dumped rubbish and old machinery destroy cutter blades and gearboxes. Contractors either surcharge for unknown ground or exclude liability for it.
Obstacles and trim work
Trees, ponds, fence lines and structures all require slow careful work. A field with many scattered obstacles costs considerably more per acre than open ground of the same size.
Equipment available
Cutter width and tractor size determine how quickly the job goes. A larger machine is faster on open ground but cannot get into tight areas, which sometimes means two setups.
Comparing quotes
Questions worth asking anyone who bids
Ask every bidder the same list. The differences in the answers are the real difference between the numbers.
- What is the maximum stem diameter your cutter will handle?
- Is this priced per acre or hourly, and which works out better for my site?
- What happens if you hit hidden metal or a stump, and who bears that cost?
- How many passes are you allowing for this growth?
- Will you trim around trees, ponds and fence lines, or is that extra?
- What per-acre rate applies if I have you do all the areas in one visit?
- Are you insured for damage to buried infrastructure if something is unmarked?
Pitfalls
Where people lose money
Not marking hazards
Wire, posts, stumps and dumped metal destroy blades and gearboxes and can injure the operator. Unmarked hazards are also where liability disputes come from, and marking costs nothing but an afternoon.
Letting ground go too long
Once saplings exceed a rotary cutter's capacity, the job moves from bush hogging to forestry mulching at several times the cost per acre. An annual cut is dramatically cheaper than clearing every four years.
Splitting the work into multiple visits
Mobilisation is a large fixed cost. Having a contractor return three times for three fields costs far more than one visit covering all three, and per-acre rates improve with total area anyway.
Cutting saturated ground
Working wet fields ruts the ground badly, damages the sward and can bog the tractor. The damage often takes longer to recover from than simply waiting for the ground to dry.
Get a quote for your actual project
What this site is
Clarksville Bush Hogging is a referral site, not a contractor. We do not hold a license, own a truck, or send a crew. We research bush hogging pricing and practice, publish what we find, and hand your request to a vetted local company in Clarksville.
That company quotes, schedules, and stands behind its own work, and it contracts with you directly. We do not mark up the price, and you pay us nothing.
More questions
How much does bush hogging cost per acre?
The most consistently cited benchmark is around $100 per acre for relatively open pasture, within a published range of $60 to $250. Larger tracts commonly come down to $75 to $80, and very large competitively bid acreage can reach $18 to $25. Hourly pricing at $85 to $120 for a tractor with a six-foot cutter is more common on small or unknown jobs. Published sourcing for this trade is thinner than for most, so treat these as directional.
What is the difference between bush hogging and forestry mulching?
Bush hogging is rotary cutting of grass, weeds, briars and light saplings, typically to a couple of inches in stem diameter, leaving cut material lying to break down. Forestry mulching uses a much heavier machine to grind standing woody growth including substantial trees into a mulch mat, handles far larger stems, and costs several times more per acre. The stem diameter on your ground decides which one you need.
How often should pasture be bush hogged?
For maintenance, typically once or twice a growing season depending on rainfall and how the ground is used, timed to knock back weeds before they set seed. The economic argument for keeping to a schedule is strong: annual cutting stays firmly in bush hogging territory, whereas letting ground go for several years allows saplings through and pushes the job into much more expensive clearing work.
Will they remove the cut material?
Normally no. Standard practice is to leave cut material lying to break down and return nutrients to the ground, and per-acre pricing assumes this. Removal is a separate service with separate cost, involving raking, collection and haulage, and is generally only worth it where the cut material would smother regrowth or where the area needs to look tidy.
What happens if the cutter hits something hidden?
This is worth agreeing before work starts rather than after. Hidden wire, stumps, posts and dumped metal can damage blades, spindles and gearboxes, and repairs are not trivial. Most contractors either exclude liability for unmarked hazards or apply a surcharge for ground of unknown history. Walking the site and marking what you know about protects both sides.
Can bush hogging be done on slopes?
Up to a point, and the limit is a safety judgment the operator has to make rather than a negotiation. Tractors with mounted cutters have a real rollover risk on side slopes, and a contractor declining steep ground is exercising professional judgment rather than being difficult. Steep areas may need different equipment, such as a remote-controlled slope mower, at a different price.