Reclaiming an overgrown pasture typically costs $500 to $2,500 per acre for the clearing work, depending on how much brush and how many trees have moved in. Reseeding, soil fertility and fencing are usually priced on top of that. Treat every figure on this page as a starting point rather than a quote: these are realistic averages across the US and Canada, and rates vary by region, by acreage and by how long the pasture has been left.
Pasture reclamation is different from clearing land for crops. A pasture does not need every root and stone taken out below plow depth, because the ground will not be tilled every year. The goal is to remove the woody growth that has taken over, get grass established again and make the field usable for livestock. That usually means mulching brush and saplings where they stand, dealing with the larger trees, and then putting the ground back into grass.
Recommended Equipment
Skid steer with a forestry mulcher, a tractor with a rotary cutter for lighter regrowth, and an excavator where trees and stumps are too big to mulch. The mulcher clears brush and saplings in one pass; a tractor with a brush cutter handles tall weeds and young regrowth quickly and can do the reseeding afterward; the excavator removes larger trees and stumps.
Find operators by machine: Skid Steer operators · Excavator operators · Tractor operators
What actually drives the price
How long the pasture has been left is the biggest factor. A field that has gone five years without grazing or mowing may only need a heavy mowing and some sapling clearing. Twenty years without management often means small trees, thorny brush and woody species that need forestry mulching or an excavator.
What has moved in matters. Blackberry, multiflora rose, autumn olive, hawthorn, mesquite or cedar each behave differently, and some resprout aggressively from the root unless there is follow-up treatment.
Stumps and larger trees change the method. Mulching a stump off at ground level is fine for grazing ground and far cheaper than pulling it. Trees too big for the mulcher need to be felled, and the operator should confirm how the stumps will be left.
Reseeding and soil fertility are separate costs worth planning for. Cleared ground left bare invites weeds back. A soil test, lime or fertilizer where it is needed, and seeding with a pasture mix as soon as the clearing is done protect what you just paid for.
Fence lines are often the most overgrown part of an old pasture, and old wire hidden in the brush is hard on equipment. Point out known fence lines, and decide whether old fence is coming out before the machine goes in.
Scale helps. A single acre carries the same cost of getting equipment to the farm as twenty, so larger areas usually come in at a lower per-acre rate.
A short checklist before you book
Walk the pasture and note brush density, tree size and anything that is not vegetation, like old wire, posts or rock. Decide which trees stay for shade or windbreak and mark them. Ask how stumps will be finished. Get a soil test and plan reseeding right after clearing. Ask whether fence line clearing is included. Plan to mow or graze the regrowth in the first season to keep brush from coming back.
Costs vary by site conditions. Use the ranges here to sanity-check what you're quoted, then get a direct price for your own property.
Submit Your Project — Free, Direct Access to Operators on Pro Operator Network.
Get a direct price for your own property from an operator near you.