How much to bush hog 20 acres costs 779 dollars at the page example rate for a 20 acre pasture cut with a 6 ft cutter at 4 mph and 75 percent efficiency. That figure is an example figure only, not a market price. It takes 9.2 hours at 2.18 acres per hour.
What the 20 Acre Example Uses
The example on the Bush Hogging Cost Calculator uses one named field and one named setup. The field is a 20 acre pasture. The cutter is 6 ft wide. The speed is 4 mph. The efficiency is 75 percent, which is the average conditions figure on the live page. The rate is 85 dollars per hour, and the live page states that this rate is an example rate only. The live guide on bush hogging cost per acre gives the general method.
Efficiency is the part of cutting time that cuts fresh ground at full width, once turns, overlap and stops are taken out. The site bands are 55 to 65 percent for small or irregular fields, 70 to 75 percent for average fields, 80 to 85 percent for large rectangular fields, and 85 to 90 percent for ideal fields with GPS guidance.
Step 1 Work Out 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. Width, speed and efficiency all raise the rate when they rise, and lower it when they fall.
For the 20 acre example, the working is 6 times 4 times 0.75 divided by 8.25. First, 6 times 4 times 0.75 equals 18. Second, 18 divided by 8.25 equals 2.181818, shown on the page as 2.18 acres per hour. Keep the unrounded rate of 2.181818 for the next steps, and use the rounded display of 2.18 acres per hour only when you write the rate down for a reader.
Step 2 Work Out Hours
Hours equal acres divided by acres per hour. For the 20 acre example, the working is 20 divided by 2.181818, which equals 9.166667 hours, shown on the page as 9.2 hours. That is the cutting time for the whole field at the stated setup, before any travel time or any time spent walking the field.
Use unrounded hours for the money step. The page uses 9.17 hours, which is 9.166667 hours rounded to two places. The display figure of 9.2 hours must not be used to work out the price.
Step 3 Work Out the Total Price
Total price equals hours times hourly rate. For the 20 acre example, the working is 9.17 hours times 85 dollars, which equals 779 dollars as shown on the page. That total is an example figure at the page example rate, explicitly not a market price. It is the price for cutting time only, at the stated rate, before any travel fee or minimum charge is added.
Quote 779 dollars, never 782 dollars. The 782 dollar figure comes from 9.2 hours times 85 dollars. That is a correct multiplication of a rounded number, but it is not the page figure. The exact working from unrounded hours gives 779.17 dollars, and the page rounds that total to 779 dollars.
Step 4 Work Out Cost Per Acre
Cost per acre equals hourly rate divided by acres per hour. It can also be worked out as total price divided by acres, and both routes give the same answer when unrounded figures are used. For the 20 acre example, the working is 779 dollars divided by 20, which equals 38.95 dollars, shown on the page as about 39 dollars per acre. The other route gives the same result, because 85 dollars divided by 2.181818 equals 38.96 dollars per acre.
A per acre figure hides the total, so quote both figures together. The cost to bush hog per acre for this job is about 39 dollars at the page example rate, and the bush hog cost per acre for the same job is the same 39 dollar figure.
How Much to Bush Hog 20 Acres With a Different Cutter
The same 20 acres cost less with a wider cutter, because it covers more ground in each hour and needs fewer hours at the same hourly rate. The table below gives the same 20 acre job at the other four cutter widths, all at 4 mph, 75 percent and the 85 dollar per hour rate. All totals are example figures at the page example rate.
| Cutter | Acres per hour | Hours for 20 acres | Total for 20 acres | Cost per acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft | 1.82 | 11.00 | 935.00 dollars | 47 dollars |
| 6 ft | 2.18 | 9.17 | 779 dollars | 39 dollars |
| 7 ft | 2.55 | 7.86 | 667.86 dollars | 33 dollars |
| 10 ft | 3.64 | 5.50 | 467.50 dollars | 23 dollars |
| 15 ft | 5.45 | 3.67 | 311.67 dollars | 16 dollars |
A 5 ft cutter needs 11.00 hours and costs 935.00 dollars. A 7 ft cutter needs 7.86 hours and costs 667.86 dollars. A 10 ft cutter needs 5.50 hours and costs 467.50 dollars. A 15 ft cutter needs 3.67 hours and costs 311.67 dollars. All are example figures at the page example rate. The gap between the narrowest and the widest cutter is 623.33 dollars. For the rate behind each cutter row, see the guide on how many acres can a 6 foot bush hog cut per hour, the guide on how many acres can a 10 foot bush hog cut per hour and the guide on 15 foot bush hog acres per hour.
A wider cutter is not free to use on every field. The verified facts give no tractor power figure and no cutter price figure for a wider cutter, so no such figure is stated here. The companion cutter size table in Blog 03 of this cluster gives the same five cutters across 5, 10 and 20 acres.
Same 20 Acres on Open Ground and Rough Ground
Ground changes the price through efficiency. Open ground uses 80 percent, average ground uses 75 percent, and rough ground uses 65 percent in the live price table. When efficiency falls, hours rise and the total rises at the same hourly rate. The table below gives the per acre price for each cutter on each ground type, taken exactly from the live page table at the 85 dollar example rate and 4 mph.
| Cutter | Open 80 percent | Average 75 percent | Rough 65 percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft | 44 dollars | 47 dollars | 54 dollars |
| 6 ft | 37 dollars | 39 dollars | 45 dollars |
| 7 ft | 31 dollars | 33 dollars | 39 dollars |
| 10 ft | 22 dollars | 23 dollars | 27 dollars |
| 15 ft | 15 dollars | 16 dollars | 18 dollars |
For the 6 ft cutter, on open ground at 80 percent, the rate is 2.3273 acres per hour, the hours are 8.59, and the total is 730.47 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate. On rough ground at 65 percent, the rate is 1.8909 acres per hour, the hours are 10.58, and the total is 899.04 dollars. The move from open to rough ground adds 168.57 dollars to the same 20 acre job.
A 15 ft cutter on rough ground costs 18 dollars per acre at the page example rate, while a 5 ft cutter on open ground costs 44 dollars per acre. Price a mixed field in parts where the ground changes, not at one average figure for the whole field.
How to Use the Calculator for Your Own Rate
The 85 dollar rate in this post is an example rate only, so the next step is to run the same working with your own rate. Enter the acreage, the cutter width, a realistic speed, the terrain and growth that match the field, and your hourly rate and any travel fee, then press Calculate on the cost calculator. The calculator gives total hours, job price and bush hogging cost per acre. The total rises or falls in direct proportion to your rate, while the hours do not change, because hours come from width, speed and efficiency only.
Use the Cost Per Acre Calculator to check a job total a second way, by dividing the total by the acres. Enter your own rate, and do not copy the 85 dollar example rate into a real quote. No survey figure is quoted in this post, because no survey figure was verified in the facts supplied for this cluster. 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, which rounds to 8.2 hours.
What to Walk Before You Quote
Walk the field first. Hidden stumps, wire and rocks are the biggest risk to time and equipment. Each hazard lowers efficiency, and a lower efficiency raises hours and raises the total at the same rate. Quote rough ground per hour when growth is unknown, because an hourly rate protects you when the time cannot be fixed in advance. Add travel and minimums to the quote. No travel fee or minimum charge figure is given in the verified facts, so no such figure is stated here. For job planning detail, see the guide on bush hog job time planning.
The 10 acre comparison in Blog 04 of this cluster gives the same working at half the size, with 5 ft at 467.50 dollars in 5.50 hours, 6 ft at 389.58 dollars in 4.58 hours, 7 ft at 333.93 dollars in 3.93 hours, 10 ft at 233.75 dollars in 2.75 hours and 15 ft at 155.83 dollars in 1.83 hours, all at 4 mph, 75 percent and the 85 dollar example rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much to bush hog 20 acres cost at the page example rate?
A: How much to bush hog 20 acres costs 779 dollars at the page example rate.
Q: How many hours does it take to bush hog 20 acres in the worked example?
A: It takes 9.2 hours, worked from 20 divided by 2.181818 acres per hour, which equals 9.166667 hours. Use 9.17 hours for the price.
Q: Why is the total 779 dollars and not 782 dollars?
A: The total is 779 dollars because the page uses 9.17 hours times 85 dollars. The 782 dollar figure comes from 9.2 hours times 85 dollars, and 9.2 hours is a rounded display only.
Q: What is the cost to bush hog per acre for the 20 acre example?
A: The cost to bush hog per acre is about 39 dollars at the page example rate, worked from 779 dollars divided by 20.
Q: How much does the same 20 acres cost with a 15 ft cutter?
A: With a 15 ft cutter, the same 20 acres take 3.67 hours and cost 311.67 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate.
Q: How much does the same 20 acres cost on rough ground with a 6 ft cutter?
A: On rough ground at 65 percent, the same 20 acres with a 6 ft cutter take 10.58 hours and cost 899.04 dollars as an example figure at the page example rate.
Plan Your 20 Acre Quote From the Calculator
How much to bush hog 20 acres comes down to four lines and one warning. Work out acres per hour from width, speed and efficiency. Work out hours from acres divided by acres per hour. Work out the total from hours times your rate. Work out cost per acre from the total divided by acres. Then check the rounding, because the total must be worked from unrounded hours and rounded only at the end. For the page example, those four lines give 2.18 acres per hour, 9.2 hours, 779 dollars and about 39 dollars per acre. Run the same four lines with your own rate on the Bush Hogging Cost Calculator.
