To Bushhog or not to Bushhog!

I am often asked about bushhogging and the difference between bushhogging and forestry mulching. Bushhogging is for grass and bushes, and forestry mulching is for thick overgrowth and small trees… but a question remains, why is some bushhogging cheaper than others?

Bushhogging is really two types of cutting. There is the basic grass bushhogging. This is what you see on farms and along highways such as I-4, I-75, or I-95. This will always be done by a farm tractor pulling a light or medium duty bushhog. Heavy duty bushhogging is the gray area between grass bushhogging and forestry mulching. This would entail some bushes, tall grass, and thick weeds.

Why the difference? Grass bushhogging is simple, low risk cutting. Generally it is done on maintained properties (farms, side of roads, etc) and offers little chance of damaging the equipment. This is relatively cheap to accomplish. Medium/Heavy duty bushhogging generally is not performed by a farm tractor due to the nature of how they operate. If the farm tractor is pulling the bushhog through tall grass and bushes, they are likely to damage their fuel lines, brake lines, etc due to the brush scrapping against the machine before it is cut. Enter the compact track loader such as ShadowCat’s Cat289D. This style of machine pushes the bushhog in front so all brush is cut prior to the machine moving over it. As these machines and bushhogs cost much more than a farm tractor and a light duty bushhog, the cost to use them is of course higher.

At ShadowCat, I will always tell you if you should use a farm tractor bushhog (ShadowCat does not offer light duty bushhog services) vs my heavy duty bushhog, or of course my forestry mulcher which would be overkill for only tall grass. Use the machine that is right for the job! Do not use a forestry mulcher or heavy duty bushhog for cutting just grass, but conversely do not be fooled by someone using a heavy duty bushhog that states they can cut your small trees down and mulch them.

See pictures below for what type of bushhog or forestry mulcher you would use: