What type of mower do I look for?

   / What type of mower do I look for? #1  

WTA

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Here on our farm I need one for mowing the pastures occasionally. Half of it is nice manicured giant bermuda and half is winter wheat that gets grazed. It's got small rows and is terraced on the wheat side.

I have a New Holland TD95 D tractor so power will not be a problem for just about anything.

On our other place that I am just starting to clear though, It hasn't been used in over 30 years. It's in the mountains and is thick with blackberry briars, rocks, trees and who knows what else. There used to be pastures there but you can hardly tell it. I am going to be taking my tractor up there though and starting to tame the land again so I need some advice on what mower to get.
Or should I get two different mowers?

I had an old landpride 6 foot finish mower that I pulled behind my old super C farmall and I know that one wouldn't be up to the thick brush. It's too small for the pastures here. I've never owned a bush hog or a flail mower so don't even know the benefits of one over the other.
 
   / What type of mower do I look for? #2  
Dan, a finish mower and a rotary cutter are different like a knife and a meat cleaver. You can eventually cut through bone with a knife, but a cleaver will do it in one whack. On the other hand, for slicing turkey, it's hard to beat that sharp knife for the fine cut.

I sure think you need a rotary cutter for that rough 30 acres. It will take all kinds of abuse and come back for more. You might buy an less expensive King Kutter or other brand for the initial cutting if you are worried about doing severe damage. The real choice is what size cutter to buy. My tractor will handle a much bigger cutter/shredder, but I have one that's 5' because I can get it into small places between trees without a lot of damage. For a tractor as large as yours, working in trees and brush is going to be a challenge. Having a small cutter you can back into brush might be the best. I'd sure be thinking of something in the 6' to 8' width. Large cutters are great for open areas, but in tight spots, turning, positioning, and backing in are the keys to success. Maneuverability is my "***** card." Save the finish mower for the smooth areas after you have everything cleared.
 
   / What type of mower do I look for?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Great ideas from you as usual. That rough farm is 120 acres BTW. Not 30. It's our old family homestead that has been in the family since the 1800's. When my great grandmother died in the early 80's she was the last of the family that took care of it. All of the men in the family used to go there every weekend and split wood for her, mow the yard, keep the driveway and pastures clear and maintain a trail to the springs from the house. We never have had running water and only one electric outlet for a refrigerator that was only put in in the 70's when my great grandfather died.
It's primitive to say the least. My aunt and I are now inheriting the property and My family at least is planning to move there soon.

First I have to tackle the driveway to make it wide enough for bringing in trucks and equipment again. Then clear the pastures and a site for our new home. I have my work cut out for me.

I was leaning towards a rotary cutter but thinking of the 10 foot maybe. That probably is too big though. I looked a the landpride flail mowers too. I've never used one but they look tough and like they can go through anything. If I find an old fence line by accident though I bet a flail would be a mess to untangle. Over the years when my great grandparrents were too old to farm anymore they let a lot of neighbors run cattle there so they put up barb wire fence lines all over the place. I found one the hard way with my truck last time I was there. I know for a fact that fence wasn't there before so someone has been running cattle on it without permission recently.

My very first mission there is a good survey and new boundry fence all the way around. Well after I get the driveway passable again.

We are planning to take the horses to knock out that fence line since it is so overgrown. There is no way to get any tractor through there now. I'm going to cut down whatever trees I need to make access for the tractor around the property then drag the logs out with horses. I can remember where most of the big rocks are around it but it's just plain dangerous to bring in any kind of power equipment right now.
 
   / What type of mower do I look for? #4  
With the exception of fitting it in between obstacles, a wider mower isn't all that bad for most situations. They actually have a few advantages in crowded areas. By the fact they extend beyond the width of the tractor, you can get in under trees, or up close to buildings without dragging the tractors wheels against things. I bought a 15' batwing last year and have amazed myself countless times at how "handy" it is in tight quarters. The down side to a wide mower is they'll have a tendency to scalp in irregular terrain.

Flail mowers have their advantages and DISadvantages. If it were me, I'd shy away from a flail mower until you have the heavy clearing done. I'd opt for a 7' or 8' EXTREME heavy duty mower OR a cheap "throw away" (used?) until the clearing is done. Then I'd re-evaluate. You have the HP for a fair sized mower. 10' is well with-in it's scope (even a flex-wing, on up to 15')
 
   / What type of mower do I look for?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
A good heavy duty rotary cutter will go through blackberry briar patches right? I'm just guessing but it shouldn't have any problems no matter how thick it is.
I know my finish mower would have gotten tangled and started slipping the belts.

What do you all recommend for a a clutch on the mower? A slip clutch or a shear bolt? I've never had an implement with a slip clutch but I guess they don't wear out too easy.

I know one major problem I'm going to have is the size of my tractor. It's pretty tall and has an air conditioned cab but I'm willing to deal with that. Anything to keep me out of the ticks and chiggers as much as possible is worth the hassle.

Plus I remember my grandfather clearing brush up there with his little 17 HP Kubota toy. He had a 4 foot brush hog on it and could barely make any headway with it. It was always in low range first gear. He had fun with it though I guess. I hate being underpowered myself.

I was thinking of welding up a tool bar to a bracket on the weight hanger up front. I could make it really strong and drop it down to about 18 inches off the ground for pushing a lot of hidden junk out of the way when I'm in the brush. Like rocks, stumps, small trees and whatever. I have a good one right now that's just a little wider than my 102 inch wheel setting. Is that a good idea or a pointless project?
 
   / What type of mower do I look for? #6  
In tough mowing conditions, I'd highly recommend a slip clutch. The duty rating and HP rating of the mower will determine the capacity of that slip clutch. Get a mower that'll more than exceed the HP output of your tractor and you're good to go.

Not EVERY mower will handle continuous use in briars and saplings. Some light duty mowers will fold like a tent if you repeatedly mow in harsh conditions. You want AT THE VERY LEAST, a medium duty, and I'd suggest a HEAVY duty mower. Models will be rated by their cutting capacity among other things. (Up to 1" material, Up to 2", Up to 4" ect....)

Even heavy duty mowers have their safe, practical limits. The lighter the duty rating , the higher the likelyhood you'll find that limit and exceed it.
 
   / What type of mower do I look for? #7  
While it is hard to disagree with advice to start off with a heavy duty rotary cutter, I would put in a word for flail mowers. There are different types of flails and some are just as heavy duty as the big rotaries. They are pricier for the same width but the advantage is that you have a more compact mower that can be used for near finish mower work as well as handle any blackberry bush like object you might come across. The only area I'd definitely favor the rotary for is if there are lots of uncharted rocks etc. Those won't damage the flail but they will wear out the knives/hammers more quickly and those parts are both more expensive and more time consuming to replace than a blade on a rotary cutter.

I am currently clearing a couple of pastures that have been abandoned for thirty years. My tools are a grapple, medium duty flail mower and 40hp tractor. I clear some areas just with the flail as that is definitely the fastest way to go but when an area has lots of thick bushes with multiple stems more than an inch thick, I have been simply uprooting those with the grapple and taking them to a burn pile. If I had a big rotary cutter and more HP I suppose it would go pretty quickly if I simply backed into those bushes but then I'd have tons of sticks and debris all over the pasture for years to come. The nice point with the flail is that it truly mulches rather than just breaks bushes so the resulting surface is really clean in comparison.

Here are some photos of the type of brush I am cutting with flail or grappling instead of flail cutting. I also put in a photo from bush cutting done with a bush hog for comparison. I'm finding this to be a pretty efficient means of clearing the land.
 

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   / What type of mower do I look for?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
That's a nice tractor you have there. I don't have a loader on mine yet. I just bought it in August when my old MM died while I was plowing for my winter wheat. I went all out on this one thanks to the new holland financing.
I planned to get a loader with a grapple also in the spring when I can hopefully save up cash for it. Hopefully!

I really do like the looks of what your flail mower does. That is a really great job.
They are more expensive but if it saves me time, fuel and expenses on doing this job, It will be worth it. Both of the old pastures on that old farm were about 40 acres if I remember right. Right now you can't even tell they used to be pastures. I know I'm going to be doing a lot of chain saw and crosscut saw work too but every bit I can get done with the tractor is a big help.

I found a tree up there near one of the springs that was only as big around as I am now when I was a kid. It's over 8 foot thick at the base now. There are trees in the yard of the new house(built in the 50's) that are a foot thick and a tree growing up through the porch of the old original log house (built in the 1890's probably) that is about 3 foot thick. None of those trees were there 30 years ago. My business will be shifting from building guns mostly and doing a little bit of custom stock making to doing mostly custom stock making with all that hardwood. I'm even saving up for my own saw mill.
 
   / What type of mower do I look for? #9  
The really heavy duty flails are quite expensive. 4000-5000 or so as I recall. However, the one I use is what I'd characterize as medium duty and it sells for about $1600 which is pretty close to what a medium or light duty rotary cutter of similar width (75") would cost.

One other option is to get a used light or medium duty rotary cutter for the toughest stuff and just abuse it. A medium duty flail could then take over and could finish up as well as be a nice cutter for maintenance.
 
   / What type of mower do I look for? #10  
Check out a gyro-trac low flow unit, or similar "mulcher". This will be the fastest way to clean it up. Not sure how they'd do with the barbed wire. Might want to go through there with a harrow or something to look for the barbed wired before mowing. Or put that loader on with a tooth bar (maybe even a grapple), and scrape at the brush. You'll find the wire first. Then drive through with a brush hog or come back with the mulcher.
 
 
 
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