Pulling an Old Fencerow Out of a Farm Field

Plenty of fields around Arcadia were once split by fence lines nobody needs anymore. The fence is long gone or swallowed by bark, and what is left is a strip of trees and brush running across ground that could be planted, built on or mowed. Getting that strip back is a bigger job than it looks from the road, and most of the reasons are underground.

Why the roots have to come out

Cutting the trees off at the ground opens the view, but the field is still split in two. Stumps and the mat of roots around them stop a planter or a mower just as well as standing trees do, and the fencerow sprouts right back from them.

Removal means pulling the whole thing. An excavator with a thumb gets under each stump and lifts it with as much of the root ball as will come, shaking the soil loose so it stays in the field and stays out of the pile. Big lateral roots get chased out along the row.

The reason for the extra effort shows up later. Wood left buried rots, and as it rots the soil above it sinks. In a field that means low spots that hold water and a line of soft ground where the fence used to be. Under a pole barn pad or a driveway, it means cracking and settling. Getting the roots out now is what makes the strip as usable as the ground on either side of it.

What has grown into an old fence line

Old fence lines carry their history inside them. Wire stapled to trees long ago ends up swallowed by the trunk. Steel posts lean in the brush. Sometimes there are rocks that were piled along the fence when the field was first worked, or old junk that got tossed there because it was out of the way.

None of that surprises anyone who has cleared farm ground, but it changes how the work goes. Wire buried in a trunk can catch on a bucket or a thumb, so trees along an old fence get handled with that in mind. Posts and wire get pulled and set aside from the brush so they do not end up buried in the field, and rock gets separated too.

On the walk, the owner looks along the row for signs of what is in there, and he will ask what you know about the fence and who put it up. Anything you remember helps him plan the order of the work.

Watching for field tile

Farm ground around Arcadia was drained with tile long before most current owners bought it, and those lines do not always show up on any record. A fencerow is a common place for one to run, either along it or crossing under it.

Pulling stumps means digging, and a tile line a short way down can be cracked or crushed by a root ball coming up or by a loaded machine working over it. A broken tile rarely announces itself right away. It shows up the next spring as a wet spot in the field or a hole opening along the old row.

So the work watches for it. Utility locates get called in before any digging starts, which covers buried services. Tile is a different matter, so the owner reads the ground for clues, like a stripe of greener growth or small collapse holes, and asks what you know. If a tile gets hit, it is exposed and repaired, and you hear about it before the hole gets backfilled.

Piling the brush and leaving the ground ready

Clearing a fencerow makes a lot of material. Trunks, tops, brush and root balls get worked into a pile on bare ground, away from the field edge and anything that could catch, so you can decide what happens to it.

Once the strip is clear, the stump holes get filled and the ground gets rough graded to match the field on both sides. That way the strip drains the same direction the rest of the field does, and it is ready for whoever comes next, whether that is a planter, a seed spreader or a builder setting forms for a pad.

Rough grade is the right stopping point for clearing work. Finishing touches like topsoil and seed belong to the next trade or the next season, and the owner will tell you what the strip needs before it gets there. You can read the full scope of land clearing around Arcadia on its own page.

When the strip only needs mulching

Not every fencerow has to come out by the roots. If the goal is opening a view, running a trail along it, or knocking back the brush while the bigger trees stay, a forestry mulcher can do that in one pass and leave the ground mostly as it is.

The question that decides it is what happens to the ground next. Anything that will be farmed, mowed tight or built on needs the stumps out, which is clearing. Anything that will stay a wooded border, a wildlife strip or a walking path can usually be mulched instead. Forestry mulching leaves the shredded material in place as cover and disturbs the soil far less.

Plenty of jobs end up as both. Clear the section where a barn is going, and mulch the rest of the row you want to keep wooded. The walk is where that gets sorted out.

Finished clearing jobs are in the gallery, and the rest of our work nearby is on the Arcadia page. If there is a fencerow you have meant to get rid of for years, tell the owner where it sits.

Common questions

Can I farm the strip the same year it is cleared?

Often, depending on timing and how the ground settles after the stumps come out. Filled stump holes can sink a little after the first good rains, so some owners give the strip a season before planting it hard. The owner will tell you how the ground looked when he left and what to watch for during the first wet stretch.

What happens to the brush pile?

That is your decision, and it is worth making before the work starts. Some owners want the logs set aside for firewood. Some want the pile left where it can be burned later, where that is allowed, and others want it left alone for wildlife. Tell the owner your plan and the pile gets built and placed to suit it.

Do I need to be there while the fencerow comes out?

Not the whole time, but it helps to be reachable. If a tile line turns up or the old fence is hiding something unexpected, the owner will want to talk it over with you before deciding how to handle it. A walk at the start and a phone that answers during the work is usually enough to keep things moving.