Bulk pushing
Trees and brush pushed out and stacked. The quickest way to open up acreage for access, a fence line or a building site.
- Fastest per acre
- Stacks as it goes
- Rough grade behind
Dozer work · Large-acreage clearing
Dozer land clearing and root plowing for big acreage
When there are a lot of acres to open up, a dozer is the economical answer. Push it, rake it, stack it, and on the worst mesquite, root plow it.
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Free on-site estimates · Jack, Wise, Young, Palo Pinto & Parker counties
How much does dozer land clearing cost per acre?
Dozer land clearing around Jacksboro generally runs $1,200 to $3,500 per acre in 2026. Scattered brush on open pasture is at the low end. Continuous mesquite that needs root raking, or root plowing with stacking and reseeding prep, sits toward the top. Access, rock and debris handling move the number. We quote after walking the ground.
What dozer work covers
A crawler dozer is the machine for moving a lot of brush over a lot of ground. Our Case 1150B pushes trees over and out, rolls brush into windrows, stacks debris, and pulls a rough grade behind itself when the clearing is done.
It is fast over open acreage and it handles several trees at once where an excavator takes them one at a time. That is why a dozer is usually the sensible choice for opening up a big pasture, clearing a building site to the tree line, or cutting in a fence line or road across a place.
The trade-off is precision. A blade snaps some mesquite off above the root crown, and those trees resprout. On ground you intend to keep clean, that is where root raking, root plowing or excavator grubbing comes in.
Three ways we clear with a dozer
Which one depends on what is growing and how clean you need it.
Root raking
A dozer with a root rake instead of a solid blade. The tines go into the soil, drag out roots and stumps, and pile them while leaving most of the dirt behind.
- Pulls roots, not topsoil
- Good for pasture reclamation
- Cleaner piles to burn
Root plowing
A V-shaped horizontal blade pulled underground by a crawler, cutting every root it passes through below the mesquite bud zone.
- Kills resprouting brush across whole acres
- Heavy soil disturbance
- Needs reseeding
Root plowing, explained honestly
A root plow is a heavy V-shaped blade, often 10 to 16 feet wide, pulled horizontally through the ground behind a large crawler tractor at a depth of around 12 to 14 inches. It shears mesquite and other brush off below the bud zone across the whole width of the pass, including the small stuff you cannot see.
It works. Texas A&M research in the Rolling Plains found root plowing killed 80 to 99 percent of many-stemmed mesquite in moderate to dense stands. It also destroys most of the perennial grass, so reseeding is part of the job unless there is plenty of seed already in the soil. The same research found grass seeded after root plowing did best in winter or early spring.
Root plowing is usually followed by root raking to pull the severed roots and stumps into piles. Put together, it is the heavy-duty version of pasture reclamation: expensive in soil disturbance and time out of production, and very effective on ground that has gone completely to brush.
It is not the answer for everything. On scattered brush it is overkill, and on rocky ground or slopes that will wash it can do more harm than good. We will tell you which you have.
Dozer clearing cost per acre
2026 ranges, not quotes.
| Job | What that looks like | Typical cost per acre |
|---|---|---|
| Light pushing | Scattered mesquite and brush on open pasture | $1,200 – $2,000 |
| Moderate, root raked | Continuous mesquite or cedar, raked and stacked | $2,000 – $3,000 |
| Heavy or root plowed | Thick brush, root plowed and raked, stacked for burning | $3,000 – $3,500 |
Add for haul-off, rock, slope, creeks and draws, and finish grading. Subtract for larger acreage and easy access. Dozer work sits inside our overall clearing range of $1,200 to $5,000 per acre.
Questions people ask us
What is root plowing?
Pulling a horizontal V-shaped blade through the ground behind a large crawler at around 12 to 14 inches deep, cutting brush roots below the bud zone across the whole pass. It kills resprouting brush like mesquite but also most of the grass, so the ground is reseeded afterward.
What is the difference between root raking and root plowing?
A root plow cuts roots underground. A root rake has tines that work about 6 to 10 inches into the soil to drag roots and stumps out and pile them. They are often used together, plow first, then rake.
Will mesquite come back after dozer clearing?
Trees pushed out with the crown attached will not. Trees snapped off above the crown will resprout. Root plowing gets nearly all of them. Where the ground has to stay clean, we pick the method to match.
Do I have to reseed after root plowing?
Usually, yes. Root plowing destroys most perennial grass, and without seed the ground can wash or come back in weeds. Texas A&M research found winter or early spring seeding after plowing did best.
How many acres a day can a dozer clear?
On light scattered brush, several acres a day. Heavy brush, root raking and careful stacking slow that down considerably. We give you a timeline with the estimate.
Do I need a permit to clear land with a dozer?
Texas does not require a state permit to clear your own private land. Work in or near a creek, wetland or mapped floodplain can bring in county floodplain rules or federal Clean Water Act permitting, and burning is subject to county burn bans and TCEQ rules. We flag anything that needs a call first.
Where we work
We are based in Jacksboro and work out from there across Jack, Wise, Young, Palo Pinto and Parker counties. If you are close to the edge of that circle, call and ask — we will tell you straight whether it is worth the drive for both of us.
- Jacksboro
- Bryson
- Perrin
- Cundiff
- Jermyn
- Post Oak
- Graham
- Olney
- Mineral Wells
- Graford
- Bridgeport
- Runaway Bay
- Chico
- Bowie
- Whitt
- Salesville
- Decatur
- Weatherford
- Springtown
- Possum Kingdom Lake
A lot of acres gone to brush?
Tell us how many acres and what is on them. We will walk it free and tell you whether it wants pushing, raking or root plowing.