HELLO NEIGHBOR

It's Dave Gross, "The Kactus Krusher," at this end of the wire.

My specialty is Prickly Pear Cactus control. It is a non-chemical, mechanical process. I can treat fields overrun with cacti while doing minimal damage to the existing pasture grasses. Land treated by this environmentally friendly process is not subject to chemical residue from the process or the danger of uncontrolled wildfire from "burning" the plants. I pull a series of custom designed implements behind my tractors. My territory is Texas, and the process can work anywhere my tractors will safely pass. (Simply put, they knock down and do mortal damage to the cacti, beginning the process of decay. Keeping the pads knocked down over time starves the root system to death.) I also have a Sweep Implement mounted on the front of my smaller tractor, a "B" Farmall, which extends my reach so I can get very close to trees and under a "5 row" barbed wire fence.


HERE IS INFORMATION ABOUT MY JOB PROCEDURES:

For best results, three separate Treatments 60 to 90 days apart are suggested.  Each Treatment consists of a clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation, so each area gets hit twice.

The "Initial Treatment" is the most difficult and time consuming but achieves an amazing 80% to 90% reduction of live plants. Work can be done any time of the year when the ground is relatively dry (no standing water) and firm enough for my tractors to drive on. The destroyed plants dehydrate and their nutrients return to the soil. Optionally, clearing of cacti along a fence line within the boundaries of the job is also accomplished. The pads growing by the fence are pulled away from the fence towards the field and crushed along with the rest. (Some extra time is required for this process.)

"Treatment #2" is done in sixty to ninety days after the "Initial Treatment." This is once the survivors of the previous "crushing operation" have appeared, and the embedded root system shows signs of decay.

"Treatment #3" is done sixty to ninety days after "Treatment #2." (Again, once the survivors of the previous "crushing operation" have appeared, and the embedded root system shows further signs of decay.)

When done in a timely manner, Treatments #2 and #3 become progressively faster and less expensive. The land should be inspected thereafter every eight to ten months for "stragglers" and a "Rapid Follow-up Treatment" applied if needed.


EFFICIENCY:

One way I strive for efficiency when doing a job is by grouping the same tasks together as a means of increasing the overall production rate, e.g., doing the open areas first, then the fencerows or close around the trees. Terrain plays a big part of the "production rates" and "average cost per acre". Level open country, moderately to heavily infested with cacti, is the fastest to do. Hilly ground, trees or stumps to go around, loose rock and other debris on the ground, fencing to remove cactus from, etc., all take more time to do. In most cases, the overall average "Initial Treatment" production rates approach .5 acres per hour.

Every job is different and larger jobs spread out the overhead cost over more acreage, lowering the average cost per acre. To my clients, “THE JOB OVERHEAD” comprises:

1. The onetime per Treatment Transport Fee

2. The Onsite and Route Pre-inspection

3. 10 hours for Offload/Setup/Reload of the equipment

4. Note: With unstable and high fuel costs, a Supplemental Fuel Surcharge may also apply with the amount based upon the price of tractor gasoline at the point of purchase for each job.

5. Jobsites lacking onsite Utilities may also require some additional fees. The Onsite and Route Pre-inspection will determine what is required.



NORMAL RATE SCHEDULE:

Season permitting, my preferred 10 hour workday at $38.50 per hour is $385.00. Work time is counted by the hour.  Time spent on the job waiting for inclement weather to clear or making repairs requiring more than 30 minutes is not billed to the client.  I bring two tractors, 3 Krusher Tools, a "Sweep" Tool, a Modified Shredder, three equipment trailers, and the tow-support vehicle.  The Onsite & Route Pre-Inspection trip, (see below), will determine what other equipment is required if any.

To help keep customer costs low, I generally setup camp and stay on the jobsite with my equipment.  I am self-contained on the job and can fix most things without having to return to the shop.  I bring my own welding equipment, a mounted 13.6x38 spare tractor tire, etc., and sufficient supplies to be onsite a week at a time.  While I'm not a hunter, staying onsite provides a significant savings in both costs and time.

The Minimum Charge is $1,155.00,(plus a one time per treatment Transport Fee and the Fuel Surcharge). It includes 10 hours for Equipment Offload/Setup/Reload & 20 hours of work in the Field. (Note: It may take more than three calendar days to complete these thirty hours.)  Fieldwork beyond the initial 20 hours is $38.50 per hour.

The Fuel Surcharge On Equipment Gasoline = 3 x the fuel cost increase above the stated Price Threshold at the time of the Onsite and Route Pre-inspection and the fuel purchased for the job, times the number of hours of fieldwork that fuel is used. (My equipment's average onsite fuel consumption is 3 gallons per hour of gasoline.)

The onetime per Treatment Transport Fee equals the number of miles from Oglesby out to the jobsite x $1.50 over the current price of On Road fuel.

Sales Tax for Non-Farm/Ranch Use is additional if applicable.

Future rates are subject to change.


ONSITE AND ROUTE PRE-INSPECTION:

I recommend and schedule an Onsite and Route Pre-inspection before bringing the equipment to a jobsite, to more closely estimate the work to be done. There is no mileage fee for the Onsite and Route Pre-inspection. I will travel to the jobsite anywhere in Texas to make an inspection of the land looking for obvious hazards, taking pictures of the work to be done and determining where to setup base camp and a safe place to make repairs if required.

The route inspection covers such things as low axle-weight roadways or low water crossings; high humped railroad crossings, sharp radius turns with narrow side or height clearances, roadways impassable without 4-wheel drive trucks. All of my equipment has wheels and I actually have an auxiliary wheeled dolly I can bring which is capable of pulling the trailers over unpaved ground with the 300 tractor should that be necessary providing that any hills in the road are not so steep as to cause dragging of the trailer.

The fee for the Onsite and Route Pre-inspection is $75; however, $25 is refundable to the client upon completion of the Initial Treatment.


TO BUY A TOOL:

My friend, Gary Johnson, from McGregor, is the original inventor of two of the modified tools I use and acted as a technical consultant during the design and fabrication of the others. Gary holds a patent on the basic design. He manufactures and sells a basic Cactus Kicker Tool to the public.

Sometimes a landowner wants to do some of the cactus control process himself. Gary and I have an option covering that situation: Consult with me about reserving time for your work, then buy a tool from Gary and hire/schedule me to do the most difficult Initial Treatment. You then you use your tool and your 25 hp or better farm tractor to do the rest over time. The tool will pay for itself.

Ask Gary about the labor saving Commercial Grade Kactus Krusher Tool with my innovative field proven modifications, which make it especially useful for multiple field locations.

Gary's Website:  The Texas Idea Farm
Gary's Phone:  (254) 840-9629
Gary's email:  gwj5886@gmail.com