Johnny Ledbetter never planned to get into land clearing. Three years ago, he was working as an electrician. He purchased a piece of overgrown land and decided to clear it on his own. He rented a skid steer and got to work.
Though it wasn’t intended, he began to draw attention.
At the time, he was using a bucket. Realizing that he could improve his efficiency, he decided to invest in a dedicated mulching head. He contacted Bill Green at Ag-Pro and got set up with a 333G skid steer loader and an FAE UML/SSL/VT-150 mulching head.
I asked Johnny what differentiated him from the competition. His first response was that it was the equipment. He thought carefully when he was starting his company, Ledbetter Land Solutions, and he determined that FAE and John Deere together would give him the best results.
But there’s more to it. Though he didn’t say it at first, I could tell that Johnny has a true appreciation for the work that he does. His commitment to quality equipment is indicative of something greater: a dedication to learning each client’s individual needs and providing hand-tailored solutions.
Johnny primarily works mulching jobs now, but he picks up other kinds of work here and there. He commented on the kind of productivity he sees with his machine:
“There are a lot of factors, but typically, if you start to get into pretty uniform material that is all the same size … I can get typically an acre per day. If it's super thick, you're looking at three-quarters of an acre. If you're cutting into some brushy grass or a field that hasn't been [cut] in a long time … you can zip through three plus acres - even more if it's super thin.
With the skid steer, I was able to do large, vast areas, whereas with the excavator, there were several drainage ditches and sewer lines that were super overgrown. I was able to, not straddle the ditch, but ride along several areas for thousands of feet and clear out these … drainage lines …That's probably one of the largest jobs I've been on.”
Finally, I asked him what it takes to make it in this business:
“You have to appreciate your final product. You have to go in and be able to see what you can turn a property into. You have to show up to a quote. I don’t believe that quotes can be given over the phone or from a Google search, typing in an address. I really believe in going, assessing the parameters of the job and really asking the client what their goal is and giving them a total price for what I think it would take to accomplish that goal.”
It’s that care, that appreciation, that pride in the work that he does for his customers that truly makes the difference.
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4 май 2024
