Why not use a finish mower

   / Why not use a finish mower #1  

eds01

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
31
Location
Wellington, OH
Tractor
Kioti DK45HSE
I like to keep one of my pastures (about 4acres) mowed. The rotary cutter leaves windrows that brown up and look pretty bad. Mowing over them just moves them, doesn't really mulch them. I've talked to some dealers about a finish mower and they tell me I will not want to use one in a pasture. No good reasons - only that they are better for lawns. I use a regular push lawn mower in part of another pasture to keep areas around some plants groomed. Works fine. So thought I'd ask here why I shouldn't use a rear finish mower in the pasture.
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #2  
I like to keep one of my pastures (about 4acres) mowed. The rotary cutter leaves windrows that brown up and look pretty bad. Mowing over them just moves them, doesn't really mulch them. I've talked to some dealers about a finish mower and they tell me I will not want to use one in a pasture. No good reasons - only that they are better for lawns. I use a regular push lawn mower in part of another pasture to keep areas around some plants groomed. Works fine. So thought I'd ask here why I shouldn't use a rear finish mower in the pasture.

Is it level enough where you won't scalp the heck out of it and wear down your blades on mowing dirt?
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #3  
I like to keep one of my pastures (about 4acres) mowed. The rotary cutter leaves windrows that brown up and look pretty bad. Mowing over them just moves them, doesn't really mulch them. I've talked to some dealers about a finish mower and they tell me I will not want to use one in a pasture. No good reasons - only that they are better for lawns. I use a regular push lawn mower in part of another pasture to keep areas around some plants groomed. Works fine. So thought I'd ask here why I shouldn't use a rear finish mower in the pasture.


I mowed 7 acres of pasture with a finish mower. and after a few years it looked like a park. All the blackberry and brush went away. to be replaced with well manicured fescue.. beautiful.. you dealer is full of crap. NOW that said. the first big rock you hit and roll up with your nice finish mower you will wad up a blade and smoke belts in a heartbeat.. Yep been there and done that.. Walk all over the field, or mow with your rotary cutter and find every rock or groundhog hole and get rid of them. then start mowing up high with your finish mower, and drive back over all of it to find any thing that will destroy your mower.. fix it. and mow on.. and enjoy the look.:thumbsup:

James K0UA
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #4  
Ditto
A finish mower works great on a well groomed pasture.
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #5  
Ditto
A finish mower works great on a well groomed pasture.

Yep if you mow it long enough with a finish mower, it WILL be lawn:thumbsup:

James K0UA
 
   / Why not use a finish mower
  • Thread Starter
#6  
kootch88 said:
Is it level enough where you won't scalp the heck out of it and wear down your blades on mowing dirt?

Yes it's fairly level. About 1/2 acre has a gentle slope
 
   / Why not use a finish mower
  • Thread Starter
#7  
k0ua said:
I mowed 7 acres of pasture with a finish mower. and after a few years it looked like a park. All the blackberry and brush went away. to be replaced with well manicured fescue.. beautiful.. you dealer is full of crap. NOW that said. the first big rock you hit and roll up with your nice finish mower you will wad up a blade and smoke belts in a heartbeat.. Yep been there and done that.. Walk all over the field, or mow with your rotary cutter and find every rock or groundhog hole and get rid of them. then start mowing up high with your finish mower, and drive back over all of it to find any thing that will destroy your mower.. fix it. and mow on.. and enjoy the look.:thumbsup:

James K0UA

Great! I've been mowing it at 3" with the rotary and no rocks or field junk. Glad to hear my thinking was not off base.
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #8  
I've used an 8 foot Woods finish mower in pastures for 20 years at 3.5 inches.
As mentioned above, after a few years it looks like a lawn.
It is also a good way to keep horses from getting too much green wet grass in the spring so they don't colic.
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #9  
if you mow it more often the grass isnt tall and doesnt really accumulate in large windrows.

if you set your brushog low (like virtually dragging it around on its sides) you can achive a very close almost finish mower style cut. do it a couple of times that way before you transition to a real finish mower to find all the high spots with the hog first.

after that you can overseed and finish mow and it will take on a "lawn" look in 2ish years
 
   / Why not use a finish mower #10  
problem between finish mowers and rotatory cutters (bush hogs)

finish mowers are not able to handle large size diameter weeds, and tall weeds. just to much for a finish mower blades and belts to handle.

a rotatory cutter. has a bigger heavier duty blade, so if it hit something. less likely to damage blade. the rotatory cutter, just cuts the bottom of the weed down. and sends it out of the deck. unlike a finishing mower, that may keep the grass / weed in the deck a couple more rounds to cut the grass up a couple more times.

in order to keep things looking like a lawn, you need to keep at the mowing. so grass does not get very tall. if you let it grow tall. it is time to break out the rotatory cutter to nock it all down.

i so wish i had cash for a gang of "reel" mowers. to pull behind the tractor. so i could get large size mowed path, and only need min HP of a tractor to pull the gang of reel mowers. 6ft cut vs 12 feet cut. *drools* cut mowing time down nearly in half. *drools*
 
 
 
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