Considering best bang for the buck for acreage

[rustyshakelford]

Food for thought, I mowed 23 acres of heavy pasture with my 55hp and 7' shredder. Took me 15 hrs and 50 gallons of fuel. Was such a waste of my time I bought a 100 hp and 15' mower. You can get some great deals on bigger tractors that work great especially if you don't plan on hauling it around much.

I will say my situation is unusual to many on here and ld1 is able to mow much faster with his hydrostatic tractor

Brett

 

[TractorOnMyMind]

Mowing wise, my rotary cutter attached to my tractor will smoke my full suspension Ferris mower that has an air seat on it, but a rotary cutter is not a finish mower.

The question then becomes: how much do you like grass?

I don't care if it's pretty. I just don't want it to become the Amazon over time. Obviously, once I let it go, it's a much bigger problem to get under control. So you're saying a rotary cutter is a lot faster? How fast can you move with it and still keep it down to, say, 6"?


oldnslow, thank you, an acre an hour for a rotary cutter through just grass sounds awful. :/

And thank you Brett. I may have to lower my sights and just do 10 acres closest to the house (which, for the record, I have done over the course of several days with my little lawn tractor, omg). Or go used.

 

[aarolar]

You can't bush hog at 6.5mph unless youre a professional bullrider and your cut quality will look like you drug a telephone pole behind the tractor.

 

[check]

Maybe just get a cow.

 

[check]

Or borrow a cow for the summer.

 

[Buxus]

I mow about 13 acres 2-3x a year. I rent from a neighbor. I pull a 7ft Woods twin spindle rotary mower with a 35 hp (PTO) tractor. I find I need to go 3-4 mph so that it doesn't bog down and so I don't get shaken to death. All grass, no saplings. I just bought a Kubota M7060. Eventually I want a 10-12 ft flail and will mow a bit more often. Nevertheless, I doubt I will be going more than 3-4 mph given the rough ground. At least on my property, 6 mph is not a realistic possibility. I am glad I rented a few different tractors over the first 5 years we owned our property so I could (hopefully) make a better choice for my first tractor.

 

[aarolar]

I mow about 13 acres 2-3x a year. I rent from a neighbor. I pull a 7ft Woods twin spindle rotary mower with a 35 hp (PTO) tractor. I find I need to go 3-4 mph so that it doesn't bog down and so I don't get shaken to death. All grass, no saplings. I just bought a Kubota M7060. Eventually I want a 10-12 ft flail and will mow a bit more often. Nevertheless, I doubt I will be going more than 3-4 mph given the rough ground. At least on my property, 6 mph is not a realistic possibility. I am glad I rented a few different tractors over the first 5 years we owned our property so I could (hopefully) make a better choice for my first tractor.

How long does it take you

 

[TractorOnMyMind]

Buxus, thank you so much - I didn't realize bush hogs had to move so slowly. That answers the mowing part my question, along with all the other great responses.

I think I might get the scut since it will do everything else on my list, even the grading. For mowing, I may rent, I may just let it go, or I may look for something huge and used.

Maybe just get a cow.

Only if it will attach to my 3 point hitch!

 

[jeff9366]

Hi all,

We have 45 *hilly* acres in southwestern VA, of which about 25 acres is grass (former pasture).


Keep 20-25 acres of grass from getting out of control. NOTE - the grassland is very bumpy, and there are some good hills, so I think a Zero Turn would eventually fall apart and/or get stuck. VERY FEW OBSTACLES THOUGH, JUST BACK AND FORTH, ALL DAY LONG.

MAXIMUM ground clearance on a BX is 9" without a belly mower. Based on your description of your field you need 12 inches or more of tractor ground clearance. Larger tractor wheels give a much smoother ride over rough ground because larger wheels bridge small holes and ruts. You also need 12" of ground clearance to work in the woods. Even a moderate size tree trunk on the ground will high-center a BX with 9" of ground clearance.


A Rotary Cutter can give a nice cut if the blades are maintained sharp, however most of us find the urge to clean up patches of brush irresistible, which takes sharp "grass" edge off blades quickly.

I suggest you consider a Kubota L2501/HST. Cutting only 36" grass you can pull a 72" light or medium duty Rotary Cutter with an L2501. Taller grass or dull blades and the R/C will bog down. A 60" R/C will handle taller grass and some brush.

Rotary Cutters are almost indestructible implements.

Multiple spindle Finish Mowers considerably less tough and no prudent operator would cut brush with one.

Rotary Cutters/Bush Hogs are not limited in speed any more than the tractor. You sit HIGH on a tractor, which amplifies the roughness of ground. It can be difficult to stay in a tractor seat unless securely belted in.

I guesstimate that FEL is most used tractor attachment/implement. Rotary Cutter is probably #2.

 

[TractorOnMyMind]

Rotary Cutters/Bush Hogs are not limited in speed any more than the tractor.

Thank you Jeff. I have thought a lot about the L2501/HST, actually.

This gives me hope, but seems to differ from other posts. So you are saying that with a 60" R/C on an L2501 I could go close to top speed (11.5mph) and it would still rough cut, say 36" grass, okay? (obviously I wouldn't go this fast, since I'd probably be thrown off ;p ...just asking theoretically)

If I can just go 5mph with a 60" R/C, and just keep things rough cut down to 6" or so, then that's 2.5 acres an hour and I'd be a very happy camper.