Forestry Mulcher Rental in Burnet, TX
Burnet County runs on ranching, and cedar is the enemy of grass. Pasture recovery projects here run from forty acres to four hundred.
Pasture the cedar took
- Pasture recovery from cedar encroachment
- Spring and creek recharge clearing
- Hunting ranch senderos and food plots
- Ranch road and fence line clearing
Burnet County is grazing country losing ground to juniper, and the arithmetic is why people finally clear. Mature cedar draws a great deal of water and shades out the grass beneath it, so a pasture that carried cattle two generations ago now carries brush instead. Stems here run larger than in the growth-corridor counties because the encroachment has gone unchecked for longer — 8 to 12 inches is common, and the breaks are dense enough that stem counts per acre routinely surprise people who priced the job off a satellite image. Booking early pays off, because Burnet fall and winter dates fill as soon as nesting restrictions lift on September 1. See cedar clearing season in Texas.
Solar builds are their own category of clearing. Cedar and regrowth come off the array footprint and the access corridors in a set order, on a construction calendar rather than a landowner timeline, and on monthly machine time. The solar site clearing page covers how those projects are scoped.
Bigger stems than the corridor counties
Multi-hundred-acre cedar eradication is the textbook Barko 930B project: the per-acre math beats everything else in the fleet. Smaller pasture jobs and senderos suit the CMI 175 on a weekly rate.
Not sure where your project lands? The machine finder applies the same logic in seven questions, or read the full decision guide.
Rent the machine, or hire it done
Burnet County jobs are acreage jobs, and acreage jobs reward the monthly rate. A high-HP dedicated machine working full days is what turns a reclamation project into a sensible cost per acre, and most ranch owners here rent for a month and work through the block. Hunting ranch senderos, food plots and fence line work are smaller and often better turnkey at $3,000 a day with transport included. The rent vs hire guide covers the trade.
Pricing a Burnet job? The forestry mulching cost guide explains what moves the per-acre number, and the rate sheet shows what a Weiler M860A runs with and without an operator.
| Option | Rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| High HP dedicated rental | $14,000/wk · $34,000/mo | Most popular: 25+ acres, heavy stems, deadlines |
| Mid-size dedicated rental | $11,000/wk · $32,000/mo | Lighter brush, 10–25 acre projects |
| CAT 275 XE rental | $1,750/day · $8,000/wk | Under 15 acres, tight access |
| Turnkey, high-HP with operator | $4,000/day + transport | Big acreage, no operator |
| Turnkey, skid steer with operator | $3,000/day incl. transport | Small projects, hands-off |
Rates are the same in every market we serve. See the full rate card for what the rate excludes and how transport is quoted.
Machines we send into Burnet County
Ashe juniper over limestone is hard on teeth and hard on hydraulics. These are the machines we send to Burnet projects, and what each one is for.
- Barko 930B — high-horsepower dedicated mulcher
- Tigercat M726G — high-horsepower dedicated mulcher
- Weiler M860A — high-horsepower dedicated mulcher
- CAT 275 XE + FAE forestry mulcher — skid steer, tight access
- Primetech PT-175 — mid-size dedicated mulcher
- CMI 175 — mid-size dedicated mulcher
- Fecon 150 — mid-size dedicated mulcher
Insurance for Burnet rentals
Dedicated machines: $500,000 inland marine + $2,000,000 general liability. CAT 275 XE: $250,000 inland marine + $2,000,000 general liability. Turnkey service requires none of it. Full requirements →
Burnet County and ranch clearing questions
On ground that carried grass within living memory, usually yes and often faster than owners expect, because the seed bank is still there and you have removed the shade and the competition. On ground that has been closed canopy for forty or fifty years the topsoil may be thin and you should plan on seeding rather than assuming recovery. Your AgriLife Extension office can look at a specific pasture and tell you which of the two you have — that is worth doing before you spend on clearing.
This is the claim you will hear most often around here and it deserves an honest answer: the research is mixed. Ashe juniper does intercept a real amount of rainfall in its canopy and does use water, so removing it returns some of that to the ground. But whether that shows up as more spring flow or well recharge depends heavily on soil depth, geology and rainfall pattern, and studies across the Hill Country have not found a consistent effect. Clear cedar because it is taking your grass and your access, and treat any water benefit as a possible bonus rather than the reason.
Yes. Encroachment has gone unchecked longer in Burnet County than in the growth-corridor counties, so stems run larger and a mid-size machine will slow down noticeably in them. On mature breaks a high-HP dedicated mulcher is not a preference, it is the difference between finishing and grinding. Tell us the stem sizes you are seeing and we will match it rather than sending something that struggles.
Yes, and it is common work on the hunting ranches here. Lanes come out with clean edges and no slash lying in them, and the operator can feather the sides rather than cutting a hard wall. Decide the width and the direction relative to prevailing wind and morning sun before the first pass — that is a hunting decision and it is far easier to get right at the start than to correct later.
Burnet County and the Highland Lakes — Marble Falls, Johnson City, Liberty Hill, Leander, Georgetown, Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Llano country and San Angelo beyond.
Nearby service areas
Clearing land near Burnet? Let's talk.
Acreage, vegetation, dates. One call gets you a machine recommendation and a delivered quote.