Feed Lot Magazine Online, Brush Shredder Leaves Pastures Smooth, Clear

Controlling brush is an important part of range management. Brush competes with forage for water, and can ultimately decrease stocking rates due to the density of the brush and the decrease in forage. Common brush control methods include grubbing, chaining, root plowing, aerial spraying and fire, to name a few.

Recently, the Brown Bear Corporation of Corning, Iowa, developed a new way to control brush. Their forestry shredder reduces trees and shrubs up to eight to ten inches in diameter down to mulch.

By shredding the trees into mulch, the land owner does not have to deal with piles of dead trees and a rough pasture. Only smooth ground is left behind. "Nothing is left standing," said Stan Brown, president of Brown Bear. "Just the smooth pasture remains." With traditional mechanical methods of removing brush, large piles are left behind to burn. "With the widespread drought across much of the country, burning is not an option," said Brown. Additionally, traditional clearing leaves large holes and sharp stumps. "You certainly can't drive across the pasture without risking a ruined tire, and the rough ground is dangerous for a horse to lope across."

However, the mul-ching method reduces tire punctures and leaves stumps smooth, without any sharp points. Montey Sneed of Vernon, Texas, has used the Brown Bear.

"It leaves the pasture so smooth, I drove my pickup across it right after I cleared the mesquite trees," he said. "We didn't find any thorns in our tires."

Sneed explained how destructive mesquite trees can be to the forage growing underneath the trees. "In my local area in Texas, 200 mesquite trees on one acre of land will absorb 5000 gallons of water each day. That's a lot of moisture that the grass is not receiving."

Removing shrub using the forestry shredder is much faster than traditional methods. According to Brown, the forestry shredder can cut about three acres per hour, or 24 acres in an eight-hour work day. However, grubbing or chaining with a bulldozer in thick brush typically takes much longer. "In thick trees, most dozers can clear about three to four acres a day," Brown says.

According to information from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, shading from the brush over a long period of time can change the forage composition from warm-season grasses, valued for livestock production, to cool-season grasses that grow beneath the canopy.

By establishing some brush management, desirable forage plants are encouraged to grow, which results in an increase in livestock carrying capacities and stocking rates.