Whether you're reclaiming an overgrown pasture, clearing a tree line to expand a hay field, or prepping ground for a new orchard, your skid steer is only as capable as the attachment hanging off the front of it. The right setup can save you weeks of labor, thousands of dollars in contractor fees, and the headache of renting separate machines. Here's a practical look at the attachments farmers, ranchers, and ag operators actually use to clear land — and how to choose the right ones for your operation.

1. Why a Skid Steer Belongs on the Farm

Skid steers earn their keep in agriculture because they replace a fleet of single-purpose machines. With the right attachment, the same loader that fed hay this morning can mulch a tree line this afternoon and grade a building pad before supper. That versatility is the reason a skid steer is one of the most cost-effective pieces of equipment a farm can own — and it's especially true for land clearing, where the alternative is either hand labor, hiring a contractor, or buying a dedicated dozer or excavator.

The key thing to understand before you start spec'ing attachments: land clearing on a working farm isn't a one-tool job. You'll cut and mulch standing vegetation, pull out roots and stumps, clean up the debris, and then finish the ground so it's actually usable. Most farms end up with two or three core attachments that cover 90% of the work.

2. Brush Cutters: The Pasture & Fence-Line Workhorse

If you only ever buy one clearing attachment for the farm, a skid steer brush cutter is almost always the right call. It's the agricultural equivalent of a Swiss Army knife: pasture maintenance, fence-line clearing, ditch and waterway upkeep, fire-break creation, food-plot prep, and reclaiming fields that haven't been grazed in a season or two.

For ranchers and row-crop farmers, brush cutters shine on routine work that prevents bigger problems down the road. An invasive species like multiflora rose or autumn olive can take over a pasture in two or three seasons if left alone — but a couple of passes per year with a brush cutter keeps it in check and saves you from a full-scale mulching job later. Brush cutters also do excellent work on fence lines, where overgrowth damages wire, hides damage, and makes inspections nearly impossible.

Read more in our full breakdown: Skid Steer Brush Cutter vs Forestry Mulcher: Which Is Better?

3. Forestry Mulchers: Heavy Brush & Tree Lines

When you're past the point of "tall grass and saplings" and into actual trees, a forestry mulcher earns its premium price tag fast. Instead of cutting and dropping material like a brush cutter does, a mulcher uses carbide teeth on a spinning drum or disc to grind everything into a layer of mulch in a single pass — trees, brush, stumps, and undergrowth. The mulch stays on the ground, naturally enriches the soil, and acts as erosion control.

For ag operators, mulchers are the right tool when you're:

• Pushing back a tree line to gain additional crop or pasture acreage
• Clearing fence rows that have grown into actual woodlots
• Prepping ground for a new orchard, vineyard, or food plot
• Removing thick brush around irrigation infrastructure or grain bins
• Creating wider firebreaks on grazing land

The trade-offs are real, though: mulchers cost three to five times what a brush cutter does, the carbide teeth aren't cheap to replace, and they don't play well with rocks. If your fence lines are sitting on top of glacial till like a lot of farms in the Midwest, walk those lines first and clear out the worst rocks before you mulch.

4. Root Grapples & Grapple Buckets

Cutting vegetation is half the battle — the other half is dealing with what's left on the ground. Root grapples and grapple buckets are the cleanup crew. They consist of a bucket or open-tine frame with hydraulically-actuated jaws on top, letting you grab, haul, and pile brush, branches, rocks, stumps, and roots.

On a farm, a root grapple is also one of the most-used attachments outside of clearing season. It moves brush piles, loads burn piles, pulls fence posts, clears storm debris after a windstorm, and helps with manure pack cleanout. If you've ever tried to clean up a downed tree limb with just a bucket, you understand the difference a grapple makes.

5. Tree Pullers & Tree Shears

A tree puller uses hydraulic jaws to grip a tree at the base and yank it out by the roots — trunk, root ball, and all. For an ag operator, that matters because cutting a tree often isn't enough: many invasive species (Osage orange, black locust, autumn olive, multiflora rose) will resprout aggressively from a cut stump. Pulling the whole tree eliminates the regrowth problem in one shot.

Tree pullers are particularly useful for:

• Clearing fence-line saplings up to 4–6" without leaving stumps
• Removing volunteer trees encroaching on pasture or hay ground
• Pulling old wooden fence posts when re-fencing
• Removing brush with deep, regrowth-prone root systems

Tree shears are a related but different tool: they slice trees off at the base with a hydraulic blade. They're faster than a puller for getting trees on the ground, but they leave a stump behind. Most farms get more value from a puller because it solves both problems at once — but if you're cutting standing timber for harvest, a shear is the right call.

6. Stump Grinders & Stump Buckets

If you've cleared trees with a shear or chainsaw, you've still got stumps to deal with. A skid steer stump grinder uses a carbide-toothed wheel to chew a stump down below ground level so the area can be worked, tilled, or planted. A stump bucket takes a different approach — it's a heavy-duty bucket with a serrated cutting edge designed to dig, pry, and rip stumps out of the ground.

For most farms, a stump bucket is the more practical pick because it pulls double duty as a general-purpose digging and prying tool. A grinder is the right answer if you're clearing a future planting area, an orchard, or any spot where you can't have residual root material in the ground.

7. Tillers & Soil Conditioners

Clearing isn't done until the ground is workable. After the brush is gone and the stumps are out, you're often left with compacted, root-strewn soil that can't be planted or seeded as-is. This is where rotary tillers and soil conditioners (sometimes called power rakes or harley rakes) come in.

A skid steer rotary tiller works like a walk-behind garden tiller scaled up to farm size — it breaks up compacted soil to a depth of 4–8" and incorporates surface debris. A soil conditioner is a finer tool: it pulverizes clods, removes small rocks, and leaves a smooth seedbed that's ready to plant.

• Tiller — Use after major clearing to break up the ground, mix in residue, and prep for serious tillage
• Soil conditioner — Use as a finishing tool for seedbeds, pasture renovation, or food-plot establishment

8. Post-Hole Augers

It's not strictly a "clearing" attachment, but no agricultural land-clearing conversation is complete without an auger. Once the ground is cleared, you're almost always going to fence it, sign it, or run irrigation. A hydraulic post-hole auger drills clean, consistent holes for fence posts, sign posts, deck footings, or tree planting in a fraction of the time hand-digging takes — even in hard clay or rocky ground.

Bit sizes typically run from 6" to 36", and most farms get the most use out of 9", 12", and 18" bits for fence and gate posts. Pair an auger with a hydraulic post driver if you're putting in steel T-posts at scale.

9. A Typical Ag Clearing Workflow

Here's a realistic sequence for clearing an overgrown field, fence line, or future pasture — the order most farms actually follow:

Most farms don't own every attachment on this list — and they don't need to. The most common ag setup is a brush cutter + root grapple + auger, with a forestry mulcher and stump grinder rented as needed for the once-every-few-years heavy jobs.

Which Attachments Should You Own vs Rent?

10. Frequently Asked Questions

11. Shop Agricultural Skid Steer Attachments

At Skid Steer Attachment Shop, we work with farmers, ranchers, and ag contractors to spec the right attachments for the land you're clearing and the machine you're running. Whether you're reclaiming overgrown pasture, expanding a hay field, or prepping ground for a new orchard, we have the right tool for the job.

• Shop Skid Steer Brush Cutters — Standard & high-flow models
• Shop Forestry Mulchers — Drum & disc options
• Shop Root Grapples & Grapple Buckets
• Shop Post-Hole Augers
• Browse All Skid Steer Attachments
• Talk to an Attachment Expert