How much does fence line clearing cost in Illinois?
Published fence line clearing cost figures come per foot, per hour or per acre. Bear Claw Land Clearing, a Texas contractor, lists $1.50 to $4.00 per linear foot, depending on vegetation density. KNS LandWorx works in North Carolina and southern Virginia. Its 2026 guide lists $1.50 to $4.50 per foot for an 8 to 12 foot corridor.
By the hour, Iowa State University Extension’s 2026 survey of farm custom rates averages $161.65 for clearing land. University of Missouri Extension’s 2026 guide averages $208.33 an hour for land clearing. These are published ranges from other states, not our rate card.
The price of your own line turns on its length and how thick the growth is. Width matters, and so does what happens to the brush.
Is fence line clearing priced by the foot, the hour or the acre?
A per-foot price covers a measured length of line. An hourly rate pays for machine time, and a per-acre price covers ground. The KNS guide says a real quote comes from measuring the linear footage, then pricing by density and corridor width.
At Blackburn Land Service, we price each fence row after we see it. For our fence line clearing work, the estimate is free and comes before any work starts.
What do published fence line clearing rates look like?
The table gives each published figure with its region and source. Iowa State says its survey rates include fuel and operator labor. The Missouri guide says custom rates aim to cover machinery, fuel and labor.
| Pricing basis | Published figure | Region | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per linear foot, by vegetation density | $1.50 to $4.00 | Texas | Bear Claw Land Clearing guide |
| Quarter-mile fence row, 1,320 feet | $2,000 to $5,000 | Texas | Bear Claw Land Clearing guide |
| Per linear foot, forestry mulching an 8 to 12 foot corridor | $1.50 to $4.50 | North Carolina and southern Virginia | KNS LandWorx 2026 guide |
| Clearing land, per hour | $161.65 average, $100.00 to $225.00 range | Iowa | Iowa State University Extension, 2026 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey |
| Chopping brush, per acre | $105.55 average, $25.00 to $200.00 range | Iowa | Iowa State Extension, 2026 survey |
| Mowing fence rows and ditches, per hour | $103.20 average, $20.00 to $150.00 range | Iowa | Iowa State Extension, 2026 survey |
| Land clearing, per hour | $208.33 average, $120.00 to $300.00 range | Missouri | University of Missouri Extension, G302 (2025 rates, revised March 2026) |
| Skid loader with operator, per hour | $120.50 average, $100.00 to $150.00 range | Missouri | MU Extension, G302 |
| Mow brush or overgrown pasture, per hour | $125.71 average, $50.00 to $175.00 range | Missouri | MU Extension, G302 |
Missouri is next door. Union County, home to our Cobden base, sits on the Mississippi River across from Missouri.
Read the survey lines as guides, not quotes. Iowa State says its rate schedule is intended only as a guide. The Missouri guide gives no assurance you can hire a custom operator in your area at its rates. Samples are small, too: 15 responses for Iowa’s clearing land line and 6 for Missouri’s.
What makes one fence row cost more than another?
Length of the run. The Missouri guide says larger jobs will often cost less per unit than a similar small job. KNS says multi-mile farm runs can price under $1.50 per foot, since setup time is spread over more work.
How thick the growth is. KNS puts light overgrowth on a short run at the bottom of its range. Heavy rows decades old, with mature volunteer trees, push toward the top. Around here, the machine grinds bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, multiflora rose and wild vines most often.
Trees grown into the wire. Bear Claw says heavy brush or trees growing through the fence raise the cost. Our mulching head handles brush, vines, saplings and small trees. Large trees in the line are a job for a tree service.
Old wire, posts, gates and corners. A mulching head does not grind wire. Buried wire means stopping, pulling what comes out by hand and working around the rest. Posts, gates and corner braces get marked and worked around, and each one slows the machine.
One side or both. Bear Claw says its crews typically work from one side of the fence. They clear the second side where you control both sides.
Corridor width. KNS calls an 8 foot corridor, fence roughly centered, plenty for most residential and hobby farm lines. It calls 12 feet more realistic for working farms and larger cattle fences, and notes wider corridors mean more regrowth. Bear Claw recommends 10 to 15 feet on each side for property boundary fences.
Access and ground. Narrow gates, steep banks and creek crossings add machine time. Penn State Extension says driving on wet soil causes rutting, slipping and deep compaction.
What happens to the brush. Forestry mulching grinds the brush into chips that stay on the line as mulch, with no burn pile or hauling. A bid that hauls brush off or piles it to burn has more steps to pay for.
How do you turn feet into acres on a fence row?
Acres let you compare a per-foot bid with a per-acre bid. An acre is 43,560 square feet, so a strip 10 feet wide and 4,356 feet long is one acre.
A quarter mile is 1,320 feet. At 10 feet wide, that is 13,200 square feet, or 0.30 acre. A mile is 5,280 feet, so a 10 foot strip that long is 52,800 square feet, or 1.21 acres.
Clear 10 feet on each side of the fence, and the strip is about 20 feet wide. That doubles the ground: a quarter mile at 20 feet is 26,400 square feet, or 0.61 acre.
To turn a per-acre price on a 10 foot strip into a per-foot price, divide it by 4,356. Hourly rates are harder to compare, because the feet cleared in an hour change with the growth.
Once converted, Iowa’s chopping brush line lands far below the per-foot guides. A short survey label can hide very different work.
When the whole field has grown up, the job is brush clearing, and acres fit better than feet. For that scale, read our guides on forestry mulching cost per acre and land clearing cost per acre.
How do you compare bids for fence line clearing?
Put the bids on the same terms before you compare totals. Ask each bidder:
- Is the price per foot, per hour, per acre or one fixed number?
- How many feet were measured, and how wide is the strip?
- Does the price cover one side of the fence or both?
- What happens to the brush: mulched in place, hauled off or burned?
- How are old wire, gates and trees in the fence handled?
- Is there a minimum charge or a fee to bring the machine?
The Missouri guide puts it simply. Before you agree to anything, discuss the details of the specific job with everyone involved.
Who pays to clear a fence line on a shared property line?
Illinois law speaks to the fence itself. Under the Illinois Fence Act, adjoining landowners each make and maintain a just proportion of the division fence. Our Illinois fence law guide covers division fences, fence viewers and notice periods. This is general information, not legal advice.
Bear Claw suggests talking with the owner next door and considering cost sharing for clearing both sides. Before the machine starts, know where the property line runs.
What does it cost to keep a fence row open after clearing?
The roots stay in the ground, so some brush comes back. Illinois DNR notes that cut bush honeysuckle stems usually start sprouting again in about three weeks. For multiflora rose, it cites 3 to 6 cuttings or mowings per growing season. Kept up for more than one year, that can kill most of the plants.
Cedar is the exception. Iowa State Extension says conifers will not resprout after cutting.
Mowing is one way to hold a cleared row open, and the surveys price it. Iowa’s 2026 survey averages $103.20 an hour for mowing fence rows and ditches. The Missouri guide averages $125.71 an hour to mow brush or overgrown pasture.
We do not mow or spray. Treating stumps or regrowth is a separate step you handle yourself or hire a licensed applicator for.
Want a price on your fence line?
Call or text (618) 697-5190 for a free estimate. Small jobs are welcome. Tell us how long the line runs and what has grown up in it.
Read how the work runs on our fence line clearing service page. We are based in Cobden and cover Jackson, Union and Williamson counties, plus nearby parts of Johnson and Saline counties.