Brush hog mowing that keeps it from becoming a clearing job

Shredding is not clearing, and that is the point

A rotary cutter cuts material off at mowing height. It is fast, cheap per acre, and the right tool for grass, weeds, briars and small saplings. Done on a regular cycle it will hold a pasture in grass more or less indefinitely, because young woody plants never get established enough to take over.

What it will not do is kill mesquite. Cut mesquite at mowing height and the root crown answers by sending up more stems. Shred the same mesquite pasture for ten years with nothing else and you can end up with a denser stand than you started with. Shorter, but thicker.

So shred to maintain ground that is already in reasonable shape. If mesquite is established and you want it gone rather than managed, that is mesquite grubbing or land clearing, and shredding afterward is what keeps it from coming back. Using a brush hog as a substitute for clearing is the most common money-wasting mistake we see on rural property around here.

How often and when to shred

How often. Once a year keeps most North Texas pasture from going backward. Twice a year, late spring and again in late summer, will actively improve it, particularly for weeds. Places shredded every three or four years are usually already losing ground to brush.

When. For weed control, cut before the weeds set seed. For brush suppression, later in the growing season hits woody plants harder. For appearance ahead of a sale, whenever it looks worst.