Why Forestry Mulching is The Best Way to Clear Land Fast
Decades ago, we never knew about forestry mulching so some landowners prefer to hire people for their properties to cut and burn trees along with the vegetation and dump the waste to rot. Some landowners, on the other hand, just abandon their properties because hiring people to clear vegetated lands was costly and takes a lot of time. So there were only two things that were happening on forested lots during those years. Those who clear their lands of the unwanted vegetation are making their forest lands infertile and unsuitable for animals to live. 
Yet, those lands that were abandoned have become more concentrated with vegetation including invasive tree species that have grown along with the forest trees. So during those years, it’s either you tend to your properties but will create havoc to the soil or letting the unwanted vegetation and claim your properties. Today, this has totally changed, thanks to the invention of the forestry mulching machines. 
Forestry mulching is the process of using forestry mulching machines that can cut, grind, and shred all types of vegetation including small unwanted trees so that instead of wasting these away these can serve as mulch to enrich the soil while leaving the good trees to thrive. Forestry mulching is the best way to preserve the ecology of the forest while keeping the animals safe in their natural habitat. It is the perfect method in creating a very neat and clean forest environment down to the ground.
Advantages of Forestry Mulching
There are a lot of reasons why people want to try forestry mulching and here are just a few.
Forestry mulching is the fastest method of clearing up acres of vegetation so that these areas can be used in the construction of roads, highways, commercial establishments, laying of pipelines or power lines, controlling invasive species, wildfire prevention and vegetation management. 
Residential and commercial areas will always be expanding and the use of forestry mulchers could speed up the clearing of the forested areas while preventing soil erosion due to mulch.
It is used in maintaining habitats for wildlife both for land and flying animals by providing them a wider, open space to live and reproduce freely.
Forestry mulchers can be reliable tools for extending agricultural plantations from forested areas while leaving the soil organically rich with shredded vegetation.
Can restore water sources for animals and plants that have been blocked by overgrowth, undergrowth and tree saplings. 
The use of brush mowers and brush cutters can prevent the growth of grasses and weeds that wildlife doesn’t need while these can be used in maintaining a clean and natural landscape in the forest.
It is used in the control of invasive plant and tree species that are useless both to man and animals. These species also derived a large amount of water and nutrients from the ground which should only be used by the preserved trees.
It can reduce the population of overcrowding trees by removing some of them including the overgrowth that grows between the desired trees. 
It can aerate the forest land once the undesirable vegetation has been removed allowing wind and sunlight to penetrate the interior of the forest as well as the soil underneath the trees. This also prevents the growth of plant pathogens and can control the population of damaging insects.
It can prevent wildfires from spreading by providing space in between tree plantations which we call fire breaks. 
Lastly, not only that forestry mulching is the best way to restore the health of the forest soils but it also creates a clearer and refreshing ambiance that is safe both to humans and wildlife.
If you look at the benefits of forestry mulching. It’s like when you use your lawn mower or brush cutter at home once grass, weeds and undergrowth begin to overtake your yard.
Buy Your Own Mulchers or Go for Rental?
Forestry mulchers are large tank-like machines that use rotary drums that are equipped with teeth which they call steel chippers. Other types are loaded with blades for shredding vegetation. Most of these machines are independently driven meaning their mulchers are part of the vehicles. Some mulchers, however, are made for specific applications and should be attached to a variety of tracked and rubber-tired farm and land moving equipment such as tractors, skid steers, excavators, or ATVs (all-terrain vehicles). 
Heavy-duty forestry mulchers can clear up acres of land full of vegetation and the time it takes depends on the terrain, slopes, density of vegetation and types of outgrowth present in the area. These machines are also used in clearing lands for reserve parks, making right-of-ways and in the prevention of forest fires. They are also utilized in managing trees that are intended for lumber and in controlling invasive tree species that can outgrow significant trees. 
Forestry mulchers are quite expensive. The cheapest we’ve found as attachments for tractor-like machines cost around $23,000 and these are used units but in good condition. The individual mulching heavy-duty vehicles complete with grinders can cost around $135 thousand to $250,000 or it depends on the number of hours used. The larger the hours used, the cheaper the mulcher.
So with these rates, it will depend on you if you have the budget for a start-up business or go for the rentals. Nonetheless, many people see that the forestry mulching rental option is the more practical approach for a seasonal business like forestry mulching. Or if you want to have your personal flail type mower for tractor attachment and have the budget, this can also provide you a good option.
How Much Is the Rental for Forestry Mulching Machines
The business of forestry mulching has boomed about the year 2013 and it became popular by the term “bush hogging”. Once it was launched, lots of people and companies who own forested lands want to avail of its services. They want to convert their unusable forested properties into more productive and more suitable lots for personal and commercial purposes. But their usual question was, how much is the forestry mulching rental and can we get our money’s worth with it? These questions are still haunting us today. 
Take note that rental is different from contracting. Rental is renting a unit or units for certain jobs while contracting is letting a group of people with the machines to do all the clearing and maintenance jobs. With renting, the rental companies will talk to you about per day, per week, or for month’s rent based on your needs for the machines. Rental rates can also be influenced by the capacities, size, power and capabilities of the machines while each rental company can have its rental standard rates. So there’s no absolute price for renting certain machines used for forestry mulching. 
Normally, companies will want you to call them up for the specs of the machines that you need which comes down to the rental price. But if you are interested to know the average rental rates for certain attachment or machines, here are the examples
For a skid steer mulcher with high flow and auxiliary hydraulics, this could have a daily rent ranging from $700 to $800. Or you could rent it from $3,200 to $3,500/week (5 days/week).
For truck mulchers, because these have varying sizes and capacities, the large trucks could be rented for about $10,000/week while the smaller ones could be up to $24,000/month. 
Forestry mulcher attachments may range from $800 to $1,200 daily rate while the heavy-duty brush cutters could have $650 to $800 daily rate.
Again, these costs were derived from different rental companies and therefore do not represent standard rates. The rates still depend on rental companies.
Importance of Wearing Forestry Clothing
We have to stress that wearing forestry clothing when working on forestry mulching is very essential because not all the workers here are machine operators that are being protected by their heavy-duty cabins. There are times that workers who do the clearing will have to cut larger trees using chainsaws when the need to fell large trees arises. Some landowners may also request workers to use chainsaws on fallen trees to be used for firewood. 
If the property owner and the contractor agree that the big fallen trees would be good lumber you can use chainsaw mills to produce lumber right on the field. Using brush cutters is also normal with forestry mulching operations wherein workers will clear out edges along the fence or go deep down the hills that cannot be approached by the forestry mulching machines.
The use of brush mowers is also needed as part of the maintenance tasks for the contractors. So with all the tasks involved in the forestry mulching including the maintenance, it is important that forestry clothing should always be worn.
These can include logging apparel, safety gears for sawmill jobs, hard hats, heavy-duty gloves, eyes, face and hearing protection, and all other personal protective equipment to protect oneself from flying and falling debris and from accidents during machine operations.
Other Machines That are Equally Important
As we have said, it is not only the huge, powerful machines that are involved in forestry mulching but also smaller machines and tools for use to remove grass, and weeds. Logs must also be converted into more usable forms. Contractors will usually opt to utilize logs instead of throwing them out because using hauling equipment is not only labor-intensive but also costly. 
So here are the usual tools you will see among forestry mulching rental companies and which you might also need for your forestry management .
Chainsaws.
These small handy cutting tools are essential part of forestry mulching because mulchers have limitations when it comes to cutting down unwanted trees. The most that the regular mulchers can cut and shred are stems and branches of about 6 inches in diameter. Thicker than these, the chainsaws should deal with it. Chainsaws are also used to cut logs for milling or for producing logs and which can later be dealt with log splitters in producing firewood for homes. Chainsaws are used to cut logs so that millers can have an easier and quicker time processing these into timbers with the use of chainsaw mills. 
Chainsaw mills. These portable apparatus are available in manual and gas-powered types. Their purpose is to cut logs into lumbers so these can be very useful tools when the owners of the land want their cut trees to be made into lumber. In short, the chainsaw mills are the larger counterparts of the chainsaws. As metal platforms with blades, the chainsaw mills are laid on flat grounds and can cut logs into different thicknesses and some of them can even be equipped with chainsaws. 
Log splitters.
We have seen that some forestry mulching contractors are not only using chainsaw mills but also log splitters. These mobile machines are also available in gasoline and electric type. As their name implies, these simple machines can split logs into 3 or 4 parts. They are made with raised metal platforms and equipped with motors or engines and heavy-duty wedges that when the log is pushed towards the wedge, it would split. Log splitters can easily produce wood for firewood right on the spot even if the logs are fresh. As long as there’s a chainsaw or a chainsaw mill around, they can easily turn logs into pieces of firewood.
Brush cutters. These tools are some of the handiest tools being used in forestry mulching. Those areas that cannot be touched by the large, heavy-duty teeth of the mulchers like near and under the fences, along the cliffs and vegetation that grow on tree roots are the areas that the brush cutters can significantly clear out. If you are used to using weed eaters on your lawn, the brush cutters are the best for clearing out hardy weeds, saplings, overgrowth, overgrown grasses and even for cutting tree branches. Brush cutters are also used as finishing tools after the areas have been cleared by large mulching machinery. 
Brush mowers. These machines are like the zero turn mowers we use on extensive lawns. However, brush mowers are larger, heavier, are packed with more power and are equipped with heavy-duty brush cutter blades so any small hardy plants that come on their paths will be cut and shredded. If there are the smaller versions of the forestry mulching machines, these are the brush mowers. Like we have said, the brush mowers are also the best riding machines when it comes to maintaining properties that have been cleared out by forestry mulchers. They can turn small branches, growing saplings, and any types of weed and grass into mulch thus what the forestry mulchers have left, the brush mowers will continue and maintain. 
Heavy-duty forestry axes.
Who would want to go to clear out a forested area without a reliable axe? An axe can always be the trusty, handy tool when it comes to chopping off large branches of trees during clearing and maintenance of forest lands. They can also be used when large stumps of wood get stuck between the blades of the mulchers. As long as you need an efficient handy tool to chop wood, the ax should always be there among the workers’ tools. Don’t forget your axe sharpeners?
Hatchets.
Why do you need a hatchet in forestry mulching? Hatchets are always a handy cutting tools for cutting off overhanging branches and twigs if you don’t want to use brush cutters or chainsaws. You can also use them to chop up vines that go up the trees and they always come in handy during machine repairs and can be used as hammers. 
These other tools for forestry mulching are just optional. So remember, don’t forget to put on forestry clothing during work because forestry mulching is a dangerous job that involves the use of heavy and light machinery including sharp tools so the risks will always be there.
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The point of this blog is that forestry mulching can have a lot of benefits not only to the landowners but also to the environment and the flora and fauna that live on and under the trees. Companies that own large tracts of forested areas are the first to benefit from forestry mulching. The machines cannot only turn messed forested lands into more open spaces but can also provide long-term benefits to the soil due to the process of mulching. 
If you are interested in forestry mulching rental, there are a lot of companies that offer this service but make sure that the company you choose has a good reputation for producing excellent work and they don’t hide any charges as renting forestry mulching machines is already expensive.
Our next stop is about Mulch Vs Rock which we will discuss on our next blog. Which of these would you choose? Mulch your soil to make it more fertile or put rocks on it to prevent the growth of weeds and wild grass? See you on this blog.
It was interesting when you explained that forestry mulching can be used to clear vegetation for highways and roadways. I would imagine that you would need to use some powerful machinery when trying to clear thick vegetation. It seems like you would only want properly trained professionals to operate this machinery.
Thanks so much for talking about the benefits of forestry mulching, like fire prevention and water source restoration. A cousin of mine recently bought some land with the intent to develop it. He wants to keep some land for a natural park so he’s been looking into forestry mulching and if that can help him achieve what he wants to be done with the land.