Big Difference in Land and Tasks

[foggy]

I was just looking at some pics of Big Jerry's land and what he does to create habitat. Thought how different my situation is. He plants trees......and I gotta get "rid" of trees to create more openings for edge and food. My last years have been spent on creating openings and staying ahead of the regen of the pine forest.

To do that, my stump grinder has proven invaluable. I've now ground over 2000 stumps out of my land and a few hundred at my BIL's land. I've created a few miles of trails and about 8 open acres in my 110 acre deer property. Not sure how I could have done it without my stump grinder.

Here is a pic before taking it off for the season.

 

[foggy]

Doing the math......I paid $2600 for the grinder.....and added a few hundred in hose and fittings in order to operate the grinder with my "joystick". Nearly $3000 invested to remove 2000 stumps from my land.....and no disposal or hauling away. Poof!....they are gone.

So....that comes to about $1.33 per stump....plus my time and fuel.....and wear and tear on my tractor. (still the original teeth - mostly pine stumps) My stump work is nearly done now....but I always have a few stumps to take out each year. I figure I got good value out of this machine. Not sure I would say the same thing if I had all hardwood stumps. May want a bigger grinder wheel......and more HP?

Thought I would again post this if anyone has similar issues to manage. I've only got 25 PTO HP.....and more would be better.....but also could be hard on your equipment if you operate it like I do mine. :D

 

[BJE80]

Same thing for me Foggy. I need to get rid of trees and replace with better trees or shrubs for deer. Luckily the logger will remove a lot of what I need out of the way.

 

[j-bird]

Each place is different.

Pine stump? What's a pine stump?:D

I was flipping thru some pics and thought this pretty much summed up my area. In general we have 2 types of land - farm land, and then everything else! The only way you don't have row crops is if it's too wet, too steep, or you are willing to throw away money! And the ratio of farm to non-farm is about 4 or 5 : 1. The "buffer" area is CRP - thankfully they pay at least decent and allow me to expand my cover - otherwise it would be back to farming right up against the woods - which is an all to common practice in my area.

Pine - I'm lucky I even know what that is!

 

[Satchmo]

I was just looking at some pics of Big Jerry's land and what he does to create habitat. Thought how different my situation is. He plants trees......and I gotta get "rid" of trees to create more openings for edge and food. My last years have been spent on creating openings and staying ahead of the regen of the pine forest.
View attachment 5004

So true Foggy, we each have our own burdens to bear. Trees, I've got. Trails, I've got. My two biggest challenges are improving the mile long driveway, and improving the poor sandy soil. And fruit trees.......there is a reason I don't eat fruits & vegetables. I can't grow 'em!

 

[Freeborn]

Doing the math......I paid $2600 for the grinder.....and added a few hundred in hose and fittings in order to operate the grinder with my "joystick". Nearly $3000 invested to remove 2000 stumps from my land.....and no disposal or hauling away. Poof!....they are gone.

So....that comes to about $1.33 per stump....plus my time and fuel.....and wear and tear on my tractor. (still the original teeth - mostly pine stumps) My stump work is nearly done now....but I always have a few stumps to take out each year. I figure I got good value out of this machine. Not sure I would say the same thing if I had all hardwood stumps. May want a bigger grinder wheel......and more HP?

Thought I would again post this if anyone has similar issues to manage. I've only got 25 PTO HP.....and more would be better.....but also could be hard on your equipment if you operate it like I do mine. :D

Tom, based on my calculations you are getting a very good return on your investment. I see tractors and other assets like capital purchases that if taken care of will last for the lifetime of the owner. The tiller I just purchased if cared for will last my lifetime, produce great results and when looked at over many years a wise purchase.

I have two more items on my short list, flail mower and Disc harrow. I'll add them over time so its reasonable but when I do buy them I'll buy quality so I purchase them once and I am done.

 

[sandbur]

We have had some various land tours in central Minnesota and there is a large variety of land we try to manage for deer. This variety has helped all of us to learn things.

Each piece of land has it weak points.

 

[Freeborn]

Agree Art, you can have diversity between properties and within a property. My pictures are of my foodplot adjacent to my prairie grass and neighbors field. I also have 50 acres with a mix of Oak hardwoods, swamp and poplar. The mix makes for diverse habitat and for diverse wildlife. I was discussing this with BLB this weekend and in Ottertail County where the prairie meets the north woods we have a wonderful mix of wildlife. I purchased my property in this area for this reason, pheasants, turkey, grouse and deer, great diversity.

 

[chummer]

I thought about digging out the stumps on my new land but 4-5 acres of mature hardwoods seemed like it was above my pay grade. I didn't want to loose the topsoil but a dozer is the only way to go. That stump grinder is a nice setup though.

 

[sandbur]

Agree Art, you can have diversity between properties and within a property. My pictures are of my foodplot adjacent to my prairie grass and neighbors field. I also have 50 acres with a mix of Oak hardwoods, swamp and poplar. The mix makes for diverse habitat and for diverse wildlife. I was discussing this with BLB this weekend and in Ottertail County where the prairie meets the north woods we have a wonderful mix of wildlife. I purchased my property in this area for this reason, pheasants, turkey, grouse and deer, great diversity.

Where I live has some of the same diversity as we must have had some of the same mix of prairie and woodlands in the past. At present, ag has replaced nearly all of the prairie.

Jerry-do you have a specific thread on your place?

 

[Freeborn]

Where I live has some of the same diversity as we must have had some of the same mix of prairie and woodlands in the past. At present, ag has replaced nearly all of the prairie.

Jerry-do you have a specific thread on your place?

Art, I don't have my own thread. I'm not very good at taking the time to take photos as i am usually busy and just trying to get my work done. I might have to work on that.

 

[Catscratch]

It is interesting to watch what everybody around the country is doing with there land. This website really demonstrates the differences with what we have to work with!
I live in a place with a huge amount of diversity and it's very productive for wildlife with no help from us. About the only things I "need" to do is throw out some winter green (wheat, etc...) and try to add some soft mast. Really I don't need to do anything, but it's fun.

 

[BJE80]

It is interesting to watch what everybody around the country is doing with there land. This website really demonstrates the differences with what we have to work with!
I live in a place with a huge amount of diversity and it's very productive for wildlife with no help from us. About the only things I "need" to do is throw out some winter green (wheat, etc...) and try to add some soft mast. Really I don't need to do anything, but it's fun.

Where are you and how much is land? :)

 

[Catscratch]

Where are you and how much is land? :)

Lol, Kansas and it's been selling locally for around $1800 and higher per acre.

 

[j-bird]

Lol, Kansas and it's been selling locally for around $1800 and higher per acre.

Sounds like a migration to the jayhawk state may just be in order!!!!

I'll get the "for sale" sign up tonight!:D

 

[huntall]

Yep....I like to see all the different improvements from around the country. My place is close to 90 acres most being big timber.
20 acres of it is old clear-cut regrowth and have my fruit orchard ,and my sawtooth orchard in this area. Real easy to make it how u want it at this stage except I want to also have all the bedding area on my property i can get. This is a lane I made last weekend.
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