Based in Monticello, FL · serving about a 40-mile radius
Excavator and Skid Steer Mulching · Free Estimates (850) 815-0054
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Excavator Mulching in Monticello, FL

Excavator Mulching · Monticello, FL

Reach down the bank from ground that holds the machine

Excavator mulching puts a mulching head on the end of the excavator boom. The machine sits on firm ground and reaches out over the edge. That lets us grind brush down a ditch bank, a canal bank or a creek bank. The tracks stay up top on ground that holds.

We run a mulching head on the excavator as well as the skid steer. The skid steer is the faster machine on open, dry acreage, and that work is forestry mulching. The excavator mulcher works the edges. Pond banks, sloughs and wet pasture bottoms are the usual jobs. So is low ground that would rut under a machine.

What We Handle

  • Mulching head on the excavator boom, plus a skid steer mulcher for open ground
  • Ditch bank and canal bank clearing worked from the firm ground above
  • Creek banks, pond banks and slough edges opened back up
  • Wet pasture edges and low bottoms cleared without driving into them
  • Selective mulching that takes one stem and leaves the tree next to it
  • Brush and small trees ground into a mulch layer that stays where it grew
  • Fence lines and property lines worked with the machine held off the wire
  • Free on-site estimates, based in Monticello, covering about a 40-mile radius

Free Excavator Mulching Quote

Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.

Ditch bank and canal bank clearing

Drainage ditches on farm and pasture ground fill in fast here. Privet, briars and young sweetgum take the banks first. The University of Florida notes that Chinese privet is thickest along stream banks and in low wet spots. Once the banks close over, the ditch slows down and water backs onto the field.

Some landowners call it a ditch and some call it a canal. The bank grows up the same either way. We set the excavator on the field side or the road side and send the head down the bank. The brush is ground in place and the mulch drops where it grew.

This is brush work rather than dirt work. When the channel itself has silted in, digging and reshaping the ditch is a separate pass with a bucket. Plenty of jobs start with mulching the banks so the ditch can be seen before any dirt moves.

Creek bank and pond bank clearing on wet ground

Around Monticello the water is never far. Ward Creek and Lloyd Creek run through Jefferson County. The spring-fed Wacissa River drops south through a wide cypress swamp toward the Aucilla. Lake Miccosukee lies in the north of the county as a shallow, swampy prairie lake.

Ground beside that water stays soft for much of the year. Tallahassee averages close to 59 inches of rain a year. June through September is the wet end of it, with thunderstorms most afternoons. A machine working at ground level can cut ruts into a bank like that.

The excavator stays up on ground that holds and reaches the bank instead. That is how we open creek edges, pond banks, sloughs and the wet corners of a pasture. When the pond itself has silted in, digging or cleaning out the pond is the next step.

Fence lines and selective work around trees you keep

A mulching head on a boom is a precise tool. The machine can take one stem and leave the live oak beside it. That matters along a fence, around yard trees and on plantation ground where the pines stay.

The Red Hills region between Tallahassee and Thomasville is quail plantation country. It covers about 436,000 acres of managed longleaf pine and old fields. On land like that the aim is usually to open the understory and keep the timber standing. The boom holds the head off a fence, a corner post or a pine trunk while it works.

Long open runs of fence go faster with the skid steer mulcher. Tight corners, wet crossings and steep banks go to the excavator. Both machines do fence line clearing, and we pick the one the ground calls for.

Tracked excavator with mulching head grinding saplings and brush along an overgrown field edge Long reach excavator clearing muck and vegetation from a pond bank beside wooded shoreline

Ready to get started?

Free, no-obligation estimates across North Florida and South Georgia.

(850) 815-0054
How We Work

How a Job With EM Land Services Runs

From the first call or text to the last load hauled off, here is how it goes.

1

Call or text

Call or text (850) 815-0054 with where the property is and what you want done. A rough idea of the acreage helps.

2

We come look at the land

We drive out and look at the ground, the growth and the access for the machines. That visit is the free estimate.

3

Pick the approach

The land decides between mulching in place and a full clear with the debris hauled off. Thick understory usually mulches. Ground going under a building usually gets a full clear with the stumps out.

4

Machines on site

We haul the excavator and the skid steer in on our own trailers. Clearing, mulching, stump work and load-out run in whatever order the job calls for.

5

Cleanup and finish

Debris is mulched in place or loaded into the dump truck and hauled off. We leave the ground open and usable, and you look it over before the machines leave.

FAQ

Excavator Mulching Questions, Answered

Common questions about excavator mulching across North Florida and South Georgia. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.

Call (850) 815-0054

What is excavator mulching?
It is mulching done with a mulching head on the excavator boom instead of on a skid steer. The head grinds brush and small trees in place and leaves the mulch on the ground. The reach is the difference. The machine can sit on firm ground and work a bank, a ditch or a wet edge below it.
Will the machine sink on wet ground?
That is the reason for this setup. The excavator parks on ground that holds and sends the boom out over the soft part. On very wet sites we look at where the machine can set up before we price the job. Some low ground is better worked in the drier months.
Do you dig the ditch out after you mulch the banks?
We can, and that is a separate pass with a bucket rather than the mulching head. Digging means getting buried lines located first. Florida's one-call service is Sunshine 811, so call 811 before anything is dug on the property.
Do I need permission to clear brush along a creek, canal or pond?
Rules near water come from your county and from the water management district that covers your land. Jefferson County is split about down the middle. The Northwest Florida district has the west side and the Suwannee River district has the east. Check with your county and your district before work starts near a creek, a canal or a wetland.
Will the brush grow back on the bank?
Some of it will. Privet and briars come back from the roots, and privet also spreads by underground runners. A mulched bank usually holds open for a season or two. After that it takes another pass to keep the ditch or the creek edge clear.
How big a tree can the mulching head take?
The head is sized for brush, saplings and small trees. Larger trees, stumps and roots come out with the excavator during a full land clearing job. Call or text (850) 815-0054 and we will come look at the ground and tell you which way fits.
More From EM Land Services

Work That Pairs With Excavator Mulching

Skid steer forestry mulcher head raised while clearing thick underbrush under a blue sky

Forestry Mulching

We mulch brush, underbrush and small trees in place with a skid steer mulching head and an excavator mulching head. The wood stays on the ground as mulch, so the tract opens up without burn piles or hauling.

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Excavator boom cutting a drainage ditch through a green farm field near pines

Drainage

We dig new drainage ditches and clean out old ones so standing water leaves your land. Excavator work on pastures, fields, lots and driveways around Monticello.

Learn More
Track loader mulching an overgrown fence row of brush and vines on farm pasture

Fence Line Clearing

We clear brush, vines and saplings off farm and pasture fence rows so the fence can be seen and worked on. The excavator reaches in from the side and keeps the machine off your wire.

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Excavator digging wet soil from a new pond basin during farm pond construction

Pond Construction

We dig new ponds and small lakes on private land around Monticello. As a pond contractor we also reshape banks and clean out ponds that have silted in.

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Why Choose EM Land Services

Built for Land Work in North Florida

Mulching on two machines

We run a mulching head on the skid steer and on the excavator. The skid steer covers open ground fast. The excavator reaches out over banks and wet spots that will not carry a machine.

One company for the whole job

Clearing, stump work, ditches and hauling all come from one company. You deal with one phone number from the first cut to the last load off the property.

Based in Monticello

We work about 40 miles out from town. That reaches Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Leon and Wakulla counties, plus Thomas, Grady and Brooks counties across the Georgia line. Most of it is farm, timber and plantation land.

Free estimates on the property

We come out, look at the land and tell you how we would run the job. The estimate is free and it comes from your actual ground.

Guides and Resources

Excavator Mulching Guides

Free Estimates

Get In Touch With EM Land Services

Tell us where the property is and what you want cleared. Call or text (850) 815-0054, or send the form and we will set up a free estimate.

Get a Free Quote

Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.