Land Clearing in Laurel Hill, Florida
Forestry mulching, underbrushing and land clearing across Laurel Hill and the north end of Okaloosa County. One machine cuts, grinds and spreads in a single pass, so nothing is piled, burned or hauled off your place.
- Priced from photographs, usually same day
- An acre here in a single machine day
- From $3,000 a machine day
What we clear in Laurel Hill
Eight things we are actually asked for at this end of the county. If your job is not on this list, say so and we will tell you straight whether it is ours.
One machine cuts standing growth and grinds it back into the ground as chip in the same pass. No pile, no burn, no trucks.
Old grazing and row crop ground that has gone back to scrub, brought back to a surface you can work.
Gallberry, yaupon and sweetgum taken out from under the pine and hardwood you are keeping.
A line you can run wire along or walk, cut without disturbing the timber either side of it.
Where the roots have to come out rather than the top growth being ground off. Our 30 inch excavator mulcher.
Building envelope, drive and pad taken down to workable ground before your builder arrives.
You mark what stays and we cut round it. On a place that has been farmed a long time the yard trees are usually older than the house.
A lane in from the road, a break round a block, or a line cut so a truck can reach the back of the place.
Who calls us in the north end of Okaloosa County
This is the furthest north town in Okaloosa and the state line is a few miles up the road. Everything here is a longer run for a machine than anything on the coast.
The single most useful thing you can do here is find someone nearby who also wants work done. Once the low loader is up this end of the county, the second job is cheap.
Clearing the envelope, the drive and the pad before the builder mobilises, so the site is ready rather than a delay.
Our skid steer rate includes transport. If somebody has quoted you a separate call out fee to come this far, that is worth comparing.
Firmer soil than the flatwoods further south, which carries a machine well and cuts fast. It is good ground to work.
A parcel nobody can walk is a parcel nobody buys. A day with a mulcher changes what a buyer is looking at.
How the work runs
Four steps, and the first two happen before anything leaves our yard.
Pictures with something in frame for scale, the acreage, and a note on what you want left standing. Show us the thickest part, not the tidiest.
Usually the same day. It is a day count against a published rate, not a guess dressed up as a quote.
The mulching head cuts, grinds and spreads as it goes. No separate clear, pile and haul stage, which is where most of the cost and all of the mess normally sits.
Not bare sand and not a field of cut stems. On ground going back into grazing that layer is a head start rather than something to clean up.
Photographs from our jobs
Photographs from jobs we have run. Nothing here is stock photography and nothing here is generated.
What it costs
We sell machine days, not acres, and we publish the rates. Our job here was an acre and a machine day on the skid steer, and it is the only one of the three county jobs where the scope actually records which machine went.
Stems to 8 inches. Transport included. The machine recorded on our Laurel Hill acre
Stems to 30 inches, and grubbing. Plus transport
Stems to 24 inches. Plus transport. The dearest machine we run
What moves the day count
The rate follows the machine rather than the size of the stem, which catches people out: the dedicated mulcher costs more than the excavator even though the excavator takes bigger timber and pulls roots. Transport is the cost of getting the bigger two machines to you and is separate from hauling material away, which is quoted per job.
What we have actually done in Laurel Hill
One finished job, an acre, a single machine day, Jun 2025, on the skid steer mulcher.
| Jun 2025 | One acre, 1 machine day, with the skid steer mulcher |
| Elsewhere in the county | Two more jobs, in two other towns, a machine day each |
| The county total | Three jobs, three towns, 3 machine days |
An acre in a day on the smallest machine we own with transport included, which is the straightforward end of what we do. Worth noting that this is the only one of our three Okaloosa jobs where the scope records the machine, so it is the only one we can be specific about. The other two we can give you acreage and days for and no more.
The ground at the top of Okaloosa County
| What grows here | Longleaf and loblolly pine on the rolling uplands, live oak, hickory and sweetgum in the hollows and round the old home places, and gallberry and yaupon underneath where fire has been out of the system |
| What that means for a machine | This is good going. Rolling upland with firmer soil than the flatwoods further south carries a machine well and open old field cuts fast |
| Water | Creek and branch bottoms between the ridges hold water after rain and stay soft. They are usually a small share of a parcel and a large share of the day count |
| Access | Highway and county roads, with the Alabama line a few miles north. Getting a machine up here is a longer run than most of our work, which is why booking with a neighbour is worth asking about |
Okaloosa jobs where the scope actually records which machine went, and this is it. Where we cannot tell you, we say so rather than guessing.
What customers say
FloridaLandClearing.com was beyond helpful in getting our property cleared. They were spot on with their quote, their crews arrived on time, and the machines they used were impressive to watch.
Jenny AndersonWe had a difficult project a few other companies attempted and left. Florida Land Clearing was able to get the job done and a day earlier than quoted.
Joseph KellyThese guys are pros. Watching these machines just devour acres of underbrush in a day was one of the coolest things I have seen. I cannot believe how this transformed my property.
Adam WilsonBefore you book: trees on an Okaloosa County parcel
Okaloosa County rules apply in the unincorporated county, and land in genuine agricultural or silvicultural use is treated differently from a homesite.
What is protected depends on the species and the size of the trunk, and whether the parcel is a single family homesite, farm ground, working timber or land being developed. At this end of the county the agricultural and timber questions come up far more often than the tree by tree ones do.
Tell us what you want gone and what you want kept when you send photographs. If the ground is in a farm or timber programme, say so early, because that changes which office you should be asking.
We are a clearing contractor, not the permit office, and we do not file applications. Confirm your own parcel and your own trees with Okaloosa County before you commit.
Laurel Hill questions
How much does it cost to clear land in Laurel Hill?
From $3,000 a machine day on the skid steer with transport included, which is exactly what our job here was. Send photographs and the acreage and we will give you a day count.
Is it more expensive because you are a long way away?
The machine day rate does not change with the postcode. Transport is included on the skid steer and quoted separately on the bigger two machines. If a neighbour wants work doing the same week, tell us, because sharing the run up here is worth real money.
Can you clear old pasture back to grass?
Yes, and it is common work on this ground. The head grinds the scrub off and spreads it as chip, so you get a surface and a mulch layer rather than a field of cut stems.
How long does it take?
One day for the acre we did here, and one day each for the other two Okaloosa jobs. All three were about an acre, so a larger parcel will be different and we will say so before you book.
What happens to everything you cut?
It stays on the ground as mulch, spread as the machine goes. Nothing piled, nothing burned.
Do I need a permit?
It depends on the species and size of what is standing and whether the land counts as agricultural or working timber. This sits in the unincorporated county, so the county is who to ask. Confirm with them rather than taking a contractor word for it, ours included.
Are you licensed and insured?
Insured, and we send the certificate before the machine moves. Florida does not issue a contractor licence for forestry mulching, so nobody holds one. Insurance is the document worth asking every contractor to produce.
Around Laurel Hill
Get a price on your Laurel Hill lot
Send a few photographs, the acreage and a note on what you want left standing. If a neighbour wants work doing the same week, tell us, because sharing the run to the top of the county is worth real money.
Call or text 813-733-6607