Forestry mulching turns brush, cedar, privet and saplings into a mulch layer in a single pass. No burn piles, no hauling, no torn-up ground, and usually no grading permit. We work only in Rutherford County, so we're close when you call.
Estimate from your phone with a few photos. Final price after a free walk-through.
All shot from the air on jobs in Lascassas and Murfreesboro. Brush hog first, then the disc mulcher, then the drum mulcher taking trees down and grinding them to mulch where they stand.
More photos and job write-ups on the blog. Want your place to look like the after shots? Get a price range in 60 seconds.
Every one of these is a one- or two-day job for the right machine, and none of them needs a burn pile, a dumpster, or a dozer.
Homesite prep, view clearing, clearing around a barn or shop pad, opening up an overgrown lot before the builder shows up.
Usual attachment: drum mulcher for homesites, disc mulcher for view clearing or land the builder will scrape.
Underbrush, cedar thickets, privet and honeysuckle, saplings, storm-downed limbs. Selective: we take out what you point at and leave the hardwoods.
Usual attachment: disc mulcher for a fast clear, drum mulcher for a clean finish.
Fields that went to cedar and briar over ten years, brought back to something you can bush hog and fence.
Usual attachment: disc mulcher to reclaim it, brush hog for upkeep after.
Clean fence rows so a fence can actually go in, walking and ATV trails through the woods, lanes and food plots on hunting land.
Usual attachment: brush hog for fence rows, drum mulcher for trails.
Privet, bush honeysuckle, and autumn olive taken to the ground so you can treat the stumps and win the property back.
Usual attachment: disc mulcher or drum mulcher, depending on the finish you pick.
Driveway and utility easements, ditch lines, pond banks, and access cuts for other trades.
Usual attachment: depends on what's growing. The estimate picks the right one for the finish you want.
The same machine that clears the land runs a grading blade, a bucket, and a rake, and we bring a dump trailer. Small enough to add to a clearing job, priced on site during the walk-through.
Same tracked loader every time; what changes is what's bolted to the front. The estimator asks which finish you want and prices the right tool for it.
Grass gone to weeds, briars, saplings under 2 inches
Heavy-duty rotary cutter. Fastest and cheapest way to open up light growth so you can see what you've got. Cuts it off and leaves it lying; it will come back and want a second pass or regular bush-hogging.
Best for: pasture upkeep, fence rows, opening a lot before you decide what to do with it.
Privet, cedar, thickets, stems to 8 inches
A spinning disc with carbide teeth that throws material and eats acreage. The quickest way to reclaim serious ground. The mulch is chunkier and stumps are left an inch or two proud.
Best for: big pasture reclamation, view clearing, land the builder is going to scrape anyway.
Same material, ground fine, stumps to the dirt
The drum grinds everything into a fine, even layer and takes stumps flush with the ground. Slower, so it costs more per acre, but you can walk it, mow it, or seed it the next day.
Best for: homesites, around the house, trails, anywhere you'll look at it every day.
Most companies make you call for a quote. Here is the range we work from. What moves a job inside the range is how thick it is, how big the stems are, how easy it is to get a machine to it, and how rough the ground is. Small jobs carry a minimum because setup and travel are the same whether it's a half acre or five.
| What's growing | Knock downbrush hog | Fast cleardisc mulcher | Clean finishdrum mulcher |
|---|---|---|---|
| LightGrass gone to weeds, briars, saplings under 2 inches | $450 | $1,000 | $1,200 |
| MediumBrush, privet, cedar and stems up to 4 inches. Most Rutherford County jobs. | — | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| HeavyDense thicket, stems to 8 inches, storm debris, cedar glades untouched for 15+ years | — | $2,100 | $2,500 |
| Mature timberTrees over 8 inches | — | Free walk-through. Usually a mix of mulching and tree work; priced on site. | |
Per acre. Minimum job $1,500 for mulching, $600 for brush hog only. Tight access, steep or rocky ground, and jobs under an acre add 10–25%. Every estimate shows the math.
We don't drive in from Franklin or Lebanon. Staying inside the county means we can walk your property this week, come back for the small second pass without charging a mobilization fee, and we know which roads a trailer fits down.
Local pages: Land clearing in Murfreesboro · Land clearing in Lascassas
Rutherford Land Clearing is a small, locally owned outfit, owned and run by John Leyhew. The person you talk to on the phone is the person on the machine. We're insured, we show up when we say we will, and we send the estimate in writing before we start.
If you just bought acreage here and don't know who to call, start with us. We'll tell you plainly whether your job is a mulching job, a tree job, or a dirt job, even if that means sending you to someone else.
Locally owned. Rutherford County only. Get a price range in 60 seconds.
Rutherford County requires a land disturbance permit for clearing, grading or excavation over one acre, and the state requires coverage above the same threshold. Forestry mulching leaves the root mat and soil in place, which is not grading, and agricultural work is exempt. We'll confirm what applies to your parcel before we start and tell you if you need to call Planning and Engineering.
The mulcher grinds them flush with or slightly below the ground and leaves the roots. That's what keeps the soil from washing. If you need stumps pulled for a foundation or a septic field, that's excavation work, and we'll say so up front.
Roughly one to three acres, depending on how thick it is. Light brush goes fast; a cedar thicket that hasn't been touched in twenty years is closer to an acre a day.
Mulching takes it to the ground and sets it back hard, but privet and bush honeysuckle will resprout from the stump unless the cut stumps are treated. We'll show you how, or do a follow-up pass.
Yes. That's the point of mulching over bulldozing. Flag the ones you want kept, or walk it with us, and we clear around them.
You pick the finish and that picks the attachment. Brush hog for light growth you just want knocked down, disc mulcher when speed and price matter more than a fine finish, drum mulcher when you'll be living with the result. If the photos say 4-inch cedar, the estimator won't offer the brush hog; it isn't the right tool.
Not on a mulching job; that's the point. Everything is ground where it stood and left as a mulch layer that breaks down over a season or two. If there's an old fence, a trash pile, or a fallen barn in the way, we bring the dump trailer and price the haul-off separately.
Tracked machine, so rolling ground, rocky glades, and moderate slopes are normal work. Genuinely steep banks and soft creek bottoms are a judgment call we make on the walk-through, and they add to the price because they slow us down.
Rutherford County, Tennessee only: Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Lascassas, Christiana, Rockvale, Eagleville, Readyville, Milton, Walter Hill, Kittrell, Fosterville, Blackman and Almaville. We're based in Lascassas. Staying inside the county means we can walk your property this week and come back for a small second pass without a mobilization fee.
Yes. Rutherford Land Clearing LLC is insured. It's owned and run by John Leyhew, and we send the estimate in writing before we start.
It's a range from your photos and the area you mark, and on most jobs the final price lands inside it. The walk-through is free and is where we give you the firm number.
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How referrals workRun the estimate from your phone, or call and text photos to (615) 439-5260.