Fence rows
Land Clearing Springfield MO: Fence Line Clearing Near Springfield
A fence row grows in faster than the field beside it. Clearing a strip either side of the wire gets the fence back.
- Springfield and 10 nearby townsGreene and Christian County, all within 20 miles
- Licensed, insured local contractorsWe work with them; ask for proof before work starts
- Written price firstPer-acre ranges published on every service page
- Calls answeredMonday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm
Land Clearing Springfield MO arranges fence line clearing for farms and acreage around Springfield: cutting and mulching the trees, cedar and brush that grow up along a fence until the wire is buried, posts are pushed over and nobody can drive the line. It is usually done ahead of a fence repair or replacement, or to open a lane wide enough to check the fence from a UTV.
Clearing a fence row by machine runs $125 to $300 an hour; leave it until the trees have grown into the wire and the fence itself fails, and replacing farm fence becomes the bigger bill, with every tree in the row now $400 to $1,200 to take down by hand.
Typical price
$125 to $300 an hour
Fence line work is usually priced by time: a forestry mulcher with an operator runs $125 to $300 an hour, or $1,000 to $2,500 a day (HomeGuide, September 2023). How many feet that buys depends on the size of the trees in the row and whether the old wire stays up. Ask for an estimate per thousand feet after the contractor walks it.
Get a price: (417) 759-5914Signs a fence row has gotten away from you
- Trees growing through the wire or wrapped around it
- Posts leaning where roots have pushed them
- Cedar, hackberry and sumac in a solid wall along the line
- Livestock finding gaps you cannot see to fix
- No room to drive or walk along the fence
- A neighbor asking about a shared fence you cannot reach
Why fence rows grow in first
Birds perch on the wire and drop seeds, mowers cannot reach right up to it, and cattle cannot graze under it. So the strip under every fence becomes a nursery for cedar, hackberry, Osage orange, sumac and blackberry. Left alone for ten years, a fence row becomes a hedge, and the trees in it start lifting posts and stretching wire.
Saving the fence or replacing it
If the fence is staying, the mulcher works each side of the wire, and the trees actually grown into it are cut by hand so the wire is not torn. That is slower and the price reflects it. If the fence is being replaced, it is usually cheaper to pull the old wire first, then clear a clean strip with the machine and set new posts on open ground. A strip of about ten feet each side leaves room for a fence crew and a mower.
Clear the fence row with the field, if the field needs it too. The machine is already there, and cedar seed trees along the fence will reseed a cleared pasture within a few years.
Tell us the acreage and what is growing on it, and hear a typical price range before anyone drives out.
Call (417) 759-5914Boundary fences and neighbors
A boundary fence belongs to both sides in practice. Before clearing one, agree with the neighbor on how wide the strip is on each side and who pays for what. If the fence may not sit on the true line, a survey settles it before anyone cuts trees that might be on the other property. Fence rows around Rogersville and Strafford often follow old field lines rather than the surveyed boundary.
Questions people ask
How much does fence line clearing cost?
It is usually priced by time: $125 to $300 an hour or $1,000 to $2,500 a day for a forestry mulcher with an operator (HomeGuide). The cost per thousand feet depends on tree size and whether the wire stays.
What are the signs a fence row needs clearing?
Trees growing through the wire, leaning posts, a solid wall of cedar and brush, livestock finding hidden gaps, and no room to walk or drive the line.
Can you clear a fence row without damaging the fence?
Yes, but trees grown into the wire have to be cut by hand, which is slower. If the fence is being replaced anyway, pulling the wire first makes clearing faster and cheaper.
How wide should a cleared fence line be?
About ten feet each side of the wire gives room for a fence crew, a mower and a UTV, and keeps brush off the fence longer.
Who is responsible for clearing a boundary fence?
Agree it with the neighbor first, in writing if it is a big job. If the fence may not be on the true boundary, have it surveyed before clearing.
Often done together
- Pasture reclamationA hay field or pasture lost to brush can be grazed again within a season, if the clearing is followed by seed and a mower.
- Cedar tree removalCedar is the tree that takes Ozarks pasture back. It does not resprout from a stump, which makes it the most satisfying thing to clear.
- Forestry mulchingOne machine cuts, grinds and spreads brush and small trees as mulch. No piles, no burning, no bare dirt.
- Land Clearing Springfield MO: Land Clearing in RogersvilleA fast-growing town on the county line, with new houses going onto old farm ground and soils that pond in wet weather.
Tell us what is growing and how much of it
Say roughly how many acres, what has taken over (cedar, honeysuckle, brush, saplings, a grown-in fence row) and what you want the ground to become. You will hear which method usually fits and what it tends to cost per acre before anyone drives out.
Call (417) 759-5914