Cost to bush hog per acre is the hourly rate divided by acres per hour. A 20 acre pasture cut with a 6 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent efficiency at the page example rate of $85 per hour works out at about $39 per acre as an example figure at the page example rate.
Cost to Bush Hog Per Acre: What the Calculator Output Means
The Bush Hogging Cost Calculator answers one question, how much does it cost to bush hog a field. Enter the area, cutter width, terrain and your hourly rate, and it gives total hours, job price and bush hogging cost per acre. For the general method, use the live guide on bush hogging cost per acre. This post stays with the calculator itself. Cost per acre is a time question. A wide cutter covers more ground in an hour, so the price per acre falls. Rough ground slows the cutter, so the price per acre rises.
What to Enter in the Calculator
Enter the acreage to cut first, using the area that will actually be cut, not the whole property. Enter the rotary cutter width in feet, and enter a realistic speed in miles per hour for the ground in front of you. Enter the terrain and growth that match the field, because terrain sets the efficiency the calculator uses. Enter your hourly rate last, plus any travel fee, then press Calculate. The $85 rate used in the page examples is an example rate only, explicitly not a market rate. A market average rate for bush hogging is unavailable in the verified facts for this post, so use your own rate here.
How the Calculator Works Out Cost to Bush Hog Per Acre
Cost per acre equals hourly rate divided by acres per hour. Acres per hour equals cutter width in feet times speed in miles per hour times efficiency divided by 8.25. The number 8.25 equals 43560 divided by 5280. Work the rate first, then work the price. Use unrounded rates for every second calculation and round only the final value. The page shows 2.18 acres per hour, but the calculator keeps 2.181818 in its working. Quote $779 for the page worked example, never $782, because $782 comes from multiplying the rounded 9.2 hours by $85, while $779 uses 9.17 hours times $85.
Efficiency is where most wrong entries happen. Small or irregular fields use 55 to 65 percent. Average fields use 70 to 75 percent. Large rectangular fields use 80 to 85 percent. Ideal fields with GPS guidance use 85 to 90 percent. The ideal band is 85 to 90 percent, never 88 to 90 percent. For more detail, use the guide on understanding field efficiency. When you are unsure, use the lower end of the band for your field shape.
The Worked Example Line by Line
The field is a 20 acre pasture, the cutter is 6 ft wide, the speed is 4 mph, the conditions are average at 75 percent, and the rate is $85 per hour as an example rate only. First, multiply 6 times 4 times 0.75, which equals 18, and divide 18 by 8.25, which equals 2.181818, shown as 2.18 acres per hour. Second, divide 20 by 2.181818, which equals 9.166667 hours, shown as 9.2 hours. Third, the page uses 9.17 times $85, which equals $779.45, shown as $779 as an example figure at the page example rate. Fourth, divide $779 by 20, which equals $38.95, shown as about $39 per acre as an example figure at the page example rate.
The Full Price Table at the Page Example Rate
The page price table shows the per acre price for five cutter widths on three kinds of ground, all at the page example rate of $85 per hour and 4 mph. All prices below are example figures at the page example rate, explicitly not market prices. Open ground uses 80 percent, average ground uses 75 percent, and rough ground uses 65 percent. Quote the table values exactly as shown, because every cell is the page $85 example rate divided by the unrounded acres per hour, rounded to the nearest dollar.
| Cutter | Open 80 percent | Average 75 percent | Rough 65 percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft | $44 per acre | $47 per acre | $54 per acre |
| 6 ft | $37 per acre | $39 per acre | $45 per acre |
| 7 ft | $31 per acre | $33 per acre | $39 per acre |
| 10 ft | $22 per acre | $23 per acre | $27 per acre |
| 15 ft | $15 per acre | $16 per acre | $18 per acre |
Read the table across a row to see what terrain does, and down a column to see what cutter width does. Rough ground always costs more per acre than open ground for the same cutter. A wider cutter always costs less per acre than a narrow cutter on the same ground. The widest cutter on rough ground still beats the narrowest cutter on open ground, at $18 per acre against $44 per acre as example figures at the page example rate. For the minutes per acre behind these prices, use the per acre guide, which gives the minutes table that this post does not repeat.
Per Acre Price Beside Hours for 20 Acres
The table below puts the per acre price beside the hours for the same 20 acre field, at average ground, 75 percent efficiency, 4 mph and the page example rate of $85 per hour. All figures below are example figures at the page example rate, explicitly not market prices. For the 6 ft row, quote $779, the page worked example total.
| Cutter | Acres per hour | Hours for 20 acres | Per acre average | Total for 20 acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft | 1.82 | 11.00 | $47 per acre | $935.00 |
| 6 ft | 2.18 | 9.17 | $39 per acre | $779 |
| 7 ft | 2.55 | 7.86 | $33 per acre | $667.86 |
| 10 ft | 3.64 | 5.50 | $23 per acre | $467.50 |
| 15 ft | 5.45 | 3.67 | $16 per acre | $311.67 |
Read the hours column first when you compare two cutters, because the hours explain the price gap. A 5 ft cutter needs 11.00 hours for 20 acres, while a 15 ft cutter needs 3.67 hours, so the job price falls from $935.00 to $311.67 as example figures at the page example rate, and the per acre price falls from $47 to $16.
How to Read the Table for Your Own Cutter
Find your cutter width in the table, then read across to the ground that matches your field. If your cutter is 6 ft wide and your field is average ground, your page example figure is $39 per acre, with 2.18 acres per hour and 9.17 hours for 20 acres. If your field is rough ground, move across the same row to $45 per acre as an example figure at the page example rate. For full cutter size detail, see the cutter size guide in this cluster. When your cutter width is not in the table, enter your width, speed and efficiency in the calculator, enter your own hourly rate, and read the per acre output.
How Terrain Moves Your Per Acre Figure
Terrain moves the per acre price through efficiency, and efficiency moves acres per hour. Open ground at 80 percent keeps the per acre price low. Average ground at 75 percent loses a little time to turns and overlap. Rough ground at 65 percent loses more time still. For a 6 ft cutter at the page example rate, that move is $37 per acre on open ground, $39 per acre on average ground and $45 per acre on rough ground, all as example figures at the page example rate. For full terrain detail, see the terrain guide in this cluster. For a mixed field, run the calculator once for the open acres and once for the rough acres, then add the two job prices and divide by the total acres.
How to Check a Quote With the Calculator Output
Take the quote apart with the calculator before you accept it or turn it down. Enter the acreage from the quote, the cutter width the operator will use, a realistic speed for the ground, and the terrain that matches the field. Enter the hourly rate behind the quote if you know it. Read the total hours first, then the job price, then the per acre price, and compare all three with the quote. If the quote per acre sits far from the calculator output, ask which input differs. Use the Bush Hog Acres Per Hour Calculator to check the acres per hour on its own, and use the Cost Per Acre Calculator to check a job total a second way by dividing the total by the acres.
What to Do When Your Cutter or Rate Is Different
When your cutter or your rate differs from the page example, do not copy the page example price. Enter your own cutter width, your own speed, your own efficiency and your own hourly rate in the calculator, and read your own per acre output. The page example uses a 6 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent at $85 per hour as an example rate only, and every dollar figure worked from it in this post is an example figure at the page example rate, explicitly not a market price. If you change the rate and nothing else, the per acre price moves in direct proportion to the rate. Use the unrounded acres per hour for every second calculation, and round only the final value. A 20 acre field at 2.45 acres per hour takes about 8.2 hours, never 8.1 hours, because 20 divided by 2.45 equals 8.163265.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is cost to bush hog per acre in the calculator?
A: It is the hourly rate divided by acres per hour. Acres per hour equals cutter width times speed times efficiency divided by 8.25.
Q: What does the worked example give for cost to bush hog per acre?
A: A 20 acre pasture with a 6 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent at $85 per hour as an example rate only gives 2.18 acres per hour, 9.2 hours, $779 total and about $39 per acre.
Q: Why is the worked example total $779 and not $782?
A: The page uses 9.17 hours times $85, which gives $779.45, shown as $779. The figure $782 comes from the rounded 9.2 hours times $85.
Q: How much does cutter width change cost to bush hog per acre?
A: On average ground at the page example rate, a 5 ft cutter gives $47 per acre, a 6 ft cutter gives $39 per acre, a 10 ft cutter gives $23 per acre and a 15 ft cutter gives $16 per acre, as example figures at the page example rate.
Q: How does terrain change cost to bush hog per acre?
A: For a 6 ft cutter at the page example rate, open ground gives $37 per acre, average ground gives $39 per acre and rough ground gives $45 per acre.
Q: How do I check a quote for cost to bush hog per acre?
A: Enter the acreage, cutter width, speed, terrain and hourly rate from the quote in the calculator, then compare the hours, job price and per acre price with the quote.
Work Your Own Per Acre Price From the Calculator
Cost to bush hog per acre comes from time, and time comes from cutter width, speed and efficiency. Enter your own acreage, your own cutter, a realistic speed and the terrain that matches your field, enter your own hourly rate, and read the per acre output beside the hours. Use the calculator for your own numbers, and use the general method guide for the general method that this post links to rather than repeats.
