Generating ideas for land clearing contractors
SIOUX FALLS, SD – As the days get shorter and the seasons cycle, opportunities for revenue change. While peak growing and mowing season may be winding down, there are numerous ways to keep your skid-steer running and profits coming in. Following are four revenue-generating ideas for fall:
- Maintaining Fence Lines
Diamond Mowers’ Brush Cutter Pro boasts an exclusive oval blade carrier with two hardened steel blades that maintain a 72-inch cutting width to cut tall or thick grass, clear large-scale brush and small trees, and maintain fence lines.
Overgrown fence lines not only look bad, but they can contribute to the spread of invasive species, and cause damage to or decrease the effectiveness of electric fences.
“Birds constantly land on fences and ‘plant’ tree seeds, causing them to grow up in the fence. These trees can damage fencing over time and will grow around electrical fence wires if not controlled, making maintenance virtually impossible,” said Matt Nelson, director of development at Diamond Mowers, the leading manufacturer of industrial mowing, mulching, and brush cutting equipment for the municipal, skid-steer, and excavator markets. “Similarly, grass and trees that grow up and touch the wires can cause a fence to ground out, reducing the power of the electric fence. Cutting this vegetation often will keep your stock where you want them.”
Increase the life of a fence by controlling trees early and managing overgrowth. Diamond Mowers offers several attachments to help get the job done. The Brush Cutter Pro, for instance, features a lower push bar that reaches under most existing fences for quick maintenance, but a drum mulcher may be the best option for jobs involving considerable mulch and brush management or heavy ground engagement. Depth control and open drum mulching attachments are great for agricultural applications and roadside maintenance. Their discharge geometry is specifically designed to send material down toward the ground, limiting the amount of thrown material and making them ideal for preparing fence lines along busy roads or near buildings.
- Tree Removal
Fusing open drum versatility with depth control precision, Diamond’s Drum Mulcher OD Pro X utilizes an optimized infeed system ideal for users requiring power and flexibility for harsh mulching needs that reduces the need for back-dragging and produces a uniform mulch.
Fall is an excellent time for tree removal in areas where temperatures drop considerably. Frozen ground does not get torn up by equipment as quickly, and hardened sap in trees provides perfect conditions for cutting and mulching.
“A depth control mulcher can turn trees into fine mulch for quick decomposition, while our open drum unit has an optimized infeed system that produces a smaller end product than conventional open drum models and allows ground contact for maximum productivity,” noted Nelson. “Both machines can clear trees up to 9” in diameter.”
To completely eliminate trees below ground level, use a stump grinder.
- Cutting Shooting Lanes
The Miller Stump Grinder features a 26-inch, six-way grinding wheel with swing, lift, and telescoping functions that allows operators to process tree stumps while the loader is parked in one position, reducing the risk of soil or turf damage and making it an ideal solution for contractors with discerning customers.
Depending on the timing of hunting seasons in your area, hunters and landowners may be in the market for cutting new shooting lanes or maintaining existing ones. This is a great time to break out your arsenal of skid-steer attachments. A brush cutter can handle everything from clearing sightlines and shooting lanes to maintaining trails and removing overgrown vegetation. It is also ideal for mowing long grass, knocking down and mulching small trees, plowing through dense brush, and cleaning up forest under or overgrowth that perennially propagates over the spring and summer months.
- Pasture Maintenance
Post-harvest is a great time to cut down trees and brush surrounding agricultural fields and prepare for the next growing season. Mowing pastures at regular intervals also enhances forage quality, produces a uniform pasture, prevents weeds from sprouting, and reduces grazing patterns. Employing a brush cutter, disc, or drum mulcher for these tasks will allow you to prevent weeds and keep grass in a vegetative or growing state to increase its digestibility and palatability.
“A decrease in temperature doesn’t have to mean a decrease in work or revenue,” Nelson emphasized. Consider these fall revenue generating ideas to optimize performance and profits this season. For more information about the attachments mentioned above, visit www.diamondmowers.com.