What to attach to a CUT to mow a pasture with....???

[schmism]

With 37HP?

i see no reason why he wouldnt be able to if your mowing weed tops spread here and there over the pasture.

based on what the OP described, i immageined this sencero which is common around my parts. just want something to knock the weeds down a couple times a year.



you certainly dont need 5hp per foot for that mowing job.

you also dont need 5hp per foot if your keeping 6-10" of growth. SO much area under the cutter for material to go without haveing to chew it all up.

[DT86]

based on what the OP described, i immageined this sencero which is common around my parts. just want something to knock the weeds down a couple times a year.

For a scenario like that you need a weed wiper, not a mower.

[Bubbanewf]

Why are you mowing it? Would someone cut it for half the hay? Or rent it out for cattle or horses? Just seems a waste to mow that much pasture. You sure cant cut 40 acres of pasture with a five foot bush hog unless it was a one time deal and nothing bigger was available.

[DJ54]

Probably not the answer you're looking for, but I'd suggest goats..! They will eat all of the broadleaf items that the horses leave. If you have any poison ivy, multi-flora rose, they will clean it up. If it's stemmy, or large leafed, they wil eat it..!!

If it weren't for one mare I have, that is not particularly fond of goats, I'd still have a couple...

[DT86]

Why are you mowing it? Would someone cut it for half the hay? Or rent it out for cattle or horses? Just seems a waste to mow that much pasture. You sure cant cut 40 acres of pasture with a five foot bush hog unless it was a one time deal and nothing bigger was available.

He said he wanted to cut it high. That probably means he IS grazing it and just wants to clip the seed heads, stems and weeds.

[Gary Fowler]

A 9 foot sickle mower would be ideal and require the least amount of HP to pull but let me toss out another idea.

The bushhog can be set high and if the landscape is fairly smooth can travel about as fast as you can stay in the seat and still cut the pasture weeds ok. Another thing that could increase your clipping time is one of the self powered trail mowers that you pull behind an ATV or other vehicle. They have offsettable tongues so it can be set up to trail the bushhog and cut an additional 5 or more feet of area, so with a 60" trail mower and your current 5 foot = 10 foot swath per round which would get you done with 40 acres pretty fast. Just have to keep watch on your trail mower and keep gas in it or you could get 2 of them and put one on each side of your bush hog for 15 feet at a pass. Lots cheaper than buying a 10 foot bushhog or sickle mower,neither of those things are cheap but would be much faster than the bushhog

[KYErik]

Will my tractor handle this...???

(a 9 ft sickle mower).

Definitely Yes- my old 25 HP 1943 Case SC handled a 7 foot sickle mower cutting hay without a problem (and hay is much thicker than just clipping a pasture).

[schmism]

the only issue i would have with a sickle mower is they are designed to ride on the ground. the trailing foot has an adjustable height so the bar rides 1" or so off the ground.

you would have at adjust the 3pt to ride high enough 6-10" and the other side would be unsupported meaning it droops very bad. i dont think it would operate well in such an secnero.

[ATP]

This is just to cut the top of the fescue and grasses.... i want to stimulate new growth by keeping it shorter than head.
The sicle bar has the ease of movement of cutting force for a given horsepower but i too think the unsupported end would be a deal
breaker unless i can see a wheel/dolly modification to make it work...
the bigger bushhog scares me because of the light duty nature of my pto system....start up would be hard on that i think.... but, the actual mowing
should perform adequate......
The trail mower is something i have not considered.... i have a friend that has 2 running behind his 4100JD.... i will check with him about height....not sure it will run that high.
Thanks to all responses.

[ATP]

You can make skids for a cycle mower to hold it off the ground just for mowing pasture. Are you just mowing the stems of grass or mostly weeds?

Anyone seen something like this....??