Land Clearing – Agriculture – gnb.ca

4.0 CLEARING METHODS

4.1 For clearing standing timber, the method used shall be the walk-down and pile; the uprooting and pile; or the cutting and pile method.

4.2 For clearing clear-cut areas, the method used shall be the grubbing and piling; the grubbing, piling, and turning; or the heavy moldboard plow or heavy breaking disc method.

4.3 For clearing light growth and ground brush, the method used shall be the grubbing and piling; the rotary or flail mower; the heavy moldboard or breaking disc; or the rotary plow method.

4.4 Whatever the clearing method used, debris piles shall be topsoil and mud free (maximum allowance of 10%) and well packed to ensure that they can be easily burned or loaded and hauled off the field.

4.5 Debris piles shall not be placed closer than 30 meters (100 ft) to adjacent cleared or wooded areas.

4.6 The burning method will be exempt only in designated regions where burning permits cannot be obtained and will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

5.0 CLEARING EQUIPMENT

5.1 Proper and well maintained industrial clearing equipment and skilled operators shall be used for land clearing.

5.2 Piling blades used with crawler tractors shall meet or exceed the NBDARD Piling Blade Standard.

5.3 Piling rakes used with excavators shall meet or exceed the NBDARD Piling Rake Standard.

5.4 The primary land clearing equipment shall be one of the following:

5.4.1 Crawler tractors with piling blades, cutting blades or earth blades. Cutting blades shall be used only for cutting and piling method. Earth blades shall only be used for walking-down standing timber.

5.4.2Excavator with piling rake.

5.5 Generally, auxiliary land clearing equipment shall be breaking discs and breaking plows pulled by crawler tractors.

5.6 Generally land clearing equipment used for debris cleanup operations shall be wheel rakes, power drum rakes, specialized reel head rock pickers and debris pickers powered by farm tractors.

5.7 Brush cutters (rotary brush mowers) powered by farm tractors, may be used for clearing light growth and ground brush, if normal cultivation can proceed after brush cutting.

6.0 PROJECT COMPLETION

6.1 Upon notification of project completion, the project engineer or designate will carry out final inspection and report of land clearing site.

6.2 Land clearing projects will only be consider complete if they meet these standards and work is suitable to the project engineer or designate. 7.0 REFERENCES

7.1 The Atlantic Committee on Agricultural Engineering (A.C.A.E.) Publication No. 7, 1985 - Land Clearing for Agricultural Production contains additional information on clearing rationale, methods and equipment and should be referred to prior to commencing a land clearing project.

7.2 Watercourse Alteration Guidelines issued by the N.B. Department of Environment and Local Government.

The New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture reserves the right to revise the above standard at any time.

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Land Clearing - Agriculture - gnb.ca