Removing Thorn Bushes (AKA Blackberry or Brier/Briar Bushes) Without Chemicals

One of the first projects on our farm to-do list was to clear an area of pasture that has been overtaken by blackberry bushes. Whatever you call them (thorn, briar, brier) we don’t need them. The thorn bushes have grown into a row of hay bales (and subsequently grown into the surrounding pasture). For a variety of reasons, we don’t want to use any chemicals on our property. This leaves us with manual removal as our only option. Removing these thorn bushes manually means we will sweat a ton and have really scratched-up arms. Fun?!? We removed a section and then came back in six weeks to see if our plan worked. With some sweat and a little pain involved this first project instantly qualifies us as farmers in my book!