Forestry Mulching
& Land Clearing
Columbia · Boone County · Mid-Missouri

Mulching cuts vegetation at or just above ground level, so a low stump remains where larger stems were. On most jobs that stump is mulched flat enough to walk, mow and drive over. Where the ground has to be completely clean — a building pad, or ground you intend to till — small tree pulling takes the root ball out instead.

It depends almost entirely on stem size and density. Light brush and saplings move fast; a thick cedar or honeysuckle stand with mature stems in it takes considerably longer per acre. A walk of the property is what turns that into a real number, and we give you that estimate before any work starts.

Late fall through early spring is the easiest window. Leaves are down so the operator can see what he's cutting, the ground is firmer, there are no ticks or snakes to work around, and the mulch layer settles over winter. Summer clearing works too — it just takes longer to see through the canopy.

Cutting it knocks it down and buys back the use of the ground, but bush honeysuckle and multiflora rose resprout from the stump and will come back without follow-up. Cedar does not resprout — once it is cut, it is done. Plan on either a follow-up visit or a herbicide program with your local MU Extension office if you want honeysuckle gone permanently.

Boone County and the surrounding mid-Missouri counties, working out of the Columbia area. If your property is near the edge of that radius, call and ask — travel time is part of the quote, so it is worth a two-minute conversation before you assume you are too far out.

For most private rural acreage in mid-Missouri, no permit is required to clear your own property. That changes near creeks, wetlands and levee districts, inside city limits, and on ground under a CRP contract or a conservation easement. Check with your county and, if there is a federal program on the ground, with your local NRCS office before work starts.