Clearing forest for pasture

[Wollett]

We have ten acres and mostly wooded hilly with the occasional flat spots. I've just started raising sheep, just a three to start and get the management practices under control. Back to the question at hand, what are some of the major challenges besides the given of stumps and clean up of branches that are an issue when trying to convert wooded property to pasture. Thx


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[Doktori]

I'm curious about this too after reading another thread on how many acres do you need.

Seems like it would take a lot of work. Recently helped a buddy clear out a few trees for a house. I can't imagine doing more than that by yourself in any reasonable amount of time.

[secuono]

No idea. People around here clear cut, haul the large trunks and leave everything else alone. Next year they mow and remove more stuff, shrubs, new trees, leftovers. Third year they start fencing, planting and maybe add some animals....
Never seen any remove stumps. Looks like they just cut as close to the ground as they can and leave them be.

[Gray Wolf]

What equipment do you have access to?

Are the slopes too steep for trucks / tractors?

Will you need to put in an irrigation system?

A drainage system?

Already fenced and cross-fenced?

Already have drinking water for animals to each cross-fenced area?

Assuming that someday you will run a brush mower over the area(s), leave the stumps tall so you can see them when surrounded by brush and grass. Or cut them flush. Stumps only 4"-6" tall will keep breaking shear bolts in your mower and beat it up every time you hit one.

Cutting flush or leaving tall will be needed if you plan to snowmobile in logged the area. (I learned the hard way.)

[DEKE01]

for pasture that will not be mowed or otherwise driven on, you can just wait it out and let the stumps rot. If they are hardwoods, they may re-sprout which can be good if you have goats or bad if they are poisonous. I do mow a stumpy cattle pasture, but I set the deck high and go very slow.

I had to get one pasture ready for horses so I used my backhoe to dig out 20 acres of stumps. BIG JOB, very time consuming, lots of debris to stack, burn, or compost, also lots of diesel, broken hydra lines, 3 broken rams, etc.

If you have a good bushhog that will chew up 2 - 3 inch branches, that saves a lot of clean up work. Just mow till the limb debris has been chopped up. But the tree trunks and stumps still have to be dealt with in some way.

[jwal10]

I like trees in the sheep pastures, just clear the brush and bad trees and plant grasses and clover. Here we use subterannean clover, seed grows on the ground so sheep don't eat it, always self perpetuating. Dries in the heat but sheep stay fat on it. Work on the flatter spots first and spread out from there. You will be surprised how much pasture will grow when you open it up to let the sun in. Depending on what trees were growing depends on how acid the soil is. Watch out clear cutting as newly opened soil washes away badly. Pasture can be on the acidic side....James

[Wollett]

Thank you that is what's nice about this site it helps think out of the box- Steve


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[Lookin4GoodLife]

I read somewhere that you could drill a few holes in a stump, pour buttermilk on it, cover it with a black trashbag and that would eat the stump up pretty quick. I don't know how long it would take, how much buttermilk you'd need, or if it actually works, though.

[jetrolee]

Really good question. I have 14 acres and only 2.5 or so open for pasture at this time and I want to clear out more. I have nothing but lob lolly pines where I want to clear. I was thinking about buying a sawmill and using the timber for my barn and other buildings. I know the soil is going to be acidic and will take some time getting it ready for pasture. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

[greenacresusa]

If you need to cut/brushhog a field/pasture do NOT cut the trees down, get a dozer/dozer operator to push the trees over. We just did it for about 6/8 acres in Arkansas in the Ozarks. Even in the fall this worked great but it's best if it's down in the spring time while the ground is soft from wintertime.

[crazytenn]

I have the same delimma. I want some acreage in grass (pasture type, not the yard type) for sheep and turkeys. Most of the 10+ acres I have is wooded and quite beautiful. My plan is to slowly cut the trees that are less than perfect and all of the small trees and brush. Next spring I am purchasing a small breeding herd of American Guinea Hogs. I will be setting up an electric fence in the woods that I want cleared for pasture. The pigs will go in that area and be occasionaly moved after they've satisfactorily torn up the ground. This will continue until I have the area cleared and torn up. Then comes seed and a cover of straw/hay after the hogs are moved to their new spot. Hopefully I can vet done in 2 years and a lot cheaper than paying several grand for dozer work which at its cheapest is $600 a day here.

[ELNFarmer]

Originally Posted by Lookin4GoodLife

I read somewhere that you could drill a few holes in a stump, pour buttermilk on it, cover it with a black trashbag and that would eat the stump up pretty quick. I don't know how long it would take, how much buttermilk you'd need, or if it actually works, though.

This does work. Don't think you need the trash bag. Drill a hole as deep as you can. Fill it with buttermilk. Takes a week or so. Bigger stump - drill more holes. I would say one hole for every six inches.

[Wollett]

Originally Posted by crazytenn

I have the same delimma. I want some acreage in grass (pasture type, not the yard type) for sheep and turkeys. Most of the 10+ acres I have is wooded and quite beautiful. My plan is to slowly cut the trees that are less than perfect and all of the small trees and brush. Next spring I am purchasing a small breeding herd of American Guinea Hogs. I will be setting up an electric fence in the woods that I want cleared for pasture. The pigs will go in that area and be occasionaly moved after they've satisfactorily torn up the ground. This will continue until I have the area cleared and torn up. Then comes seed and a cover of straw/hay after the hogs are moved to their new spot. Hopefully I can vet done in 2 years and a lot cheaper than paying several grand for dozer work which at its cheapest is $600 a day here.

What type of fencing will you be using with the hogs, also how mush upkeep is needed for the hogs once they are doing the dirty work? I'm in the same boat of not having the extra cash for the dozer work.


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[plowhand]

Anybody getting hogs needs a hog-tight pen, in case the need to shut their hogs up. No matter what kind of fence you build, and it's nice to feed any grain in said pen....makes it a lot easier to catch'em when they get out....if they are looking forward to a nice snack at a certain area!

[95bravo]

There is a whole lot of depends in this situation. Trees add alot of fertility to the ground every fall. I have seen my sheep eating away on fall leaves. Sheep will start clearing out all the saplings and undergrowth pretty fast. Rams with horns will naturally get rid of cedar tree's. They love to polish and ram them for some reason. I'd leave any fruit trees. I have two huge crab apple trees, when those apples are falling my sheep will not eat anything else. Is there any timber that can be sold? If you could sell some timber, and have your timber guys chip everything they don't take. The pasture on the the downslope side of my back to eden garden grows super fast. I don't do any mowing in my pastures, so I would leave the stumps. Pushing up stumps is really going to disturb the soil, and cost money. I have read that the old timers planted squash around stumps to get rid of them. I tried this, but my sheep ate the plants. Next year i'll put a cage around it. Back to not mowing, grass they don't eat in summer, they will get to in the winter. I know that mowing it makes it more productive in the growing season, but mowing cost time and money. By my figures I saved around 350 $ this year in bushhogging cost and lawnmower gas. That will buy my winter hay bill 4 times over.

[MtnRob]

As others have listed there are alot of considerations, alot depends on what your land offers, such as the types of trees, soil types, stones, ect ect. Ive been working on close to what your doing, raising hogs, chickens and gardens/pasture on what was once woods. If you wanted to try to grow mushrooms you can grow in your stumps, also can use your stumps as fence posts or for hogs scratching posts, we have also secured logs to stumps and goats would love to climb up and over them, could use some of your logs for mushroom growing, lumber, fire wood, fencing, waterbars ect. Some of the stumps will grow shoots, some growing huge bushes which can be nice sometimes and provide browse. All depends on the species of tree. Think about the summer sun and shading too for the critters too, Its nice to leave a good couple healthy trees. Could tap maples for sap, good even to drink straight, treat for animals. We also burn softwood in the wood stove, mostly for kindling but season well, split small and leave vents and damper fully open. We also clean drop chain down pipe and clean out every couple months in winter to keep clean.

What I had to used with great success was a 420cc 4wheeler, proper tools, 71cc saw for trees, 34cc saw for limbing and ol Yota (daily driver) for hauling out the logs. keep chain sharp and file rakers. Play it safe and use proper safety equipment, I now wear braces as well (kinda have too, sucks being all beat up and not even thirty yet). Back, knee, and wrist braces make a difference at the end of a weekend. If you can find a beater truck, put some chains on it and you have a skidder. The hauling of logs works great for prepping ground for planting, but also can cause easy erosion with heavy rains, make sure to make water bars, plant areas as soon as possible where logs were dragged and if no londer going to be dragged on. Try not to use the same path for dragging so can tear up the area evenly. My land is also very hilly and a tractor or large equipment was either too expensive to use or unsafe. Even with a 4wheeler alot of times ill be standing on one side balancing it while dragging a log. Also with a wheeler, you can get into tight spots, leaving trees you want. I got a sugar bush so its the only option to logging because of the sap lines and terrain. Make sure to have an area (landing) where you can drag your logs to and stack to store for whatever reason, if you going to cut any soft woods into lumber, make sure not to leave sitting because bugs ill invade and make nice holes through you wood, which is why I have a lumber pile with holy boards. Also some wood rots quicker and easier than others so for what ever reason your going to use your wood keep that in mind. the landing doesnt need to be very big, get a peavy and stack the logs, brace with log posts if need be. If you have ticks in your area they could move into this type of haven, guinea hens will clean em out. Were almost sub arctic (not really,but close) and I think the only good thing is no ticks...yet.

We used some of the limbs for bean poles, cuke trellaces, ect in main garden and burned the rest in piles. Make sure to have a base of highly flammable material for your bonfires, straight brush doesnt start too well sometimes. What I was able to do was take huge bags of paper, cut hole in it, pour in some gas and the flames would be reaching the heavens in seconds, allowing me to have 3 or so piles going in a minutes times, then rake out and plant. Make sure to use common sence with weather conditions and fire dangers, this is not an option for everyone. You may be able to barter with someone who has a woodchipper, they are pricey to rent but may also be an option.

It is key to plant as soon as possible after the logging. If the ground is left you will get natural pasture. We have planted with cover crops but some areas are thick with blackberries and now are a hassle because we dont need berries there. Depending on your terrain and equipment you may be limited on care options, were stuck with weedwacking and fires for now, but it works. Junk hay from large farms is a good mulch, we will lay it down thick with lime and it controls erosion, adds to soil and helps with planting cover crops, in some areas you could, lay out limbs then cover thick with hay to hold down the topsoil, but always build waterbars. Either way, you have lots of options, your going in the right direction for sure. Best of wishes and luck, Im in need of some more coffee and need to get out myself and drag out some more firewood.

[chuckhole]

This is not a good time of year to be removing trees and brush if you are cutting it. The reason is that the sap will be going down into the root systems as everything goes into dormancy for the winter. This means that they will not rot for many (many, many many) years. Using a brush hog to clear brush is quick but it leaves the roots and short sharp stems that will puncture tires. In the past couple of years, we have purchased three dump truck tires and one RTV tire because of this mistake.

I am doing the same on my place. We are clearing about 2 acres for a pond and 4-5 acres for a small pasture. All of my trees/brush are getting dug up. I purchased a John Deere 310G Backhoe for this purpose and my neighbor has a dump truck and John Deere 550G Dozer with a 6-way blade fitted with a root rake. So for us, this is a great time of year to be clearing and because of the rain, the ground is soft so the burn ban has been lifted here in Texas. And that makes it much easier to dig up the trees and push them over. If you are do this with equipment, you get much more leverage of you have the weight of the tree to help you out.

Then after you clear, you will need to take soil samples. We have a lot of pines and oaks, so the add a lot of acid to the soil.

[puttster]

Originally Posted by ELNFarmer

This does work. Don't think you need the trash bag. Drill a hole as deep as you can. Fill it with buttermilk. Takes a week or so. Bigger stump - drill more holes. I would say one hole for every six inches.

Curious about your experience. In mine, if you don't use the trash bag, rain fills the holes and waterlogs the stump. It will never rot down then.