Cut down tree somehow covering acres of farm (8)
I believe the answer is:
retrench
'cut down' is the definition.
(I know that retrench is a more specific form of cut down)
'tree somehow covering acres of farm' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'tree' is 'etre' which is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for retrench that I've seen before include "Reduce spending in response to economic difficulty" , "Conserve or cut down" , "Economise, cut back" , "Reduce expenses" , "Cut back, tighten one's belt" .)