Mowing Acres with Landscape Islands - Need Advice on Tractor Choices

[fausdick]

Hello Everyone!

My Eastern Ohio 25 acre farm has been a work in progress for the last few years, new barn, garage and curretly under constuction our new home. The area surrounding these building and along the "U" shaped driveway, has been extensively landscaped. The landscaped islands and areas will continue to grow as years go by.

The grass areas of our farm were previously pasture. The lawn is mostly flat but is filled with small dips and valleys. I don't maintain the property to look like "Augusta Golf Course" but when mowed / trimmed it does look beautiful!

I currently own a JD2320 with the 62D deck. I maintain approximately 10 acres on a weekly basis with this tractor. I'm not pleased with my choice of this tractor. I also own a JD4720 for my farm applications.

My issues:
While mowing, especially around corners the deck "angles / banks" to one side and makes and uneven cut. I find wasting so much time going over areas I already mowed?

The tractor seems underpowered in high grass and bogs down?

The 62D seems too small for the amount of grass I mow?


I am looking for advice on different options or choice of tractors / mowers to cut down my mowing time and improve my cut?

Would a small lawn tractor 42-48" cut to trim around the landscaped areas then complete the large areas with a rear finish mower?

Jump up to a JD3000 series with the 72D mower? Not sure that 1 xtra foot wide deck would mean that much? Will I still have the "angle/banking" problem?

Not sure I'm going to get an even cut with a wide rear finish due to imperfection in the lawn's terrain? Does anyone make a small batwing which would make a wide cut but each indivdual mower could follow the contours better?

A zero turn is out of the question, my neighbor gets his stuck all the time with a little rain. I have a blessing and a curse, I have 12"-18" of topsoil, when it becomes saturated it can be a bog!

I don't mind paying for something to do the job properly! And I like doing it, so contracting it out isn't an option!

I'll take any advice I can get?

Thanks everyone!

 

[unbidden]

Have you entertained the thought of using a rear mower deck? I have a LandPride 60” that cuts evenly and never bogs down. I’m pulling it with a Kubota BX2660.

Another thought that comes to mind, are there different mower blades available for your current set-up? Perhaps a blade(s) that’s low lift rather than standard or high lift will cure the bogging issue.

 

[jenkinsph]

"I maintain about 10 acres on a weekly basis"
Thats alot to maintain without the proper equipment imo. Might want to to have the dealer come out and see what commercial equipment he recommends after walking the property. Hard to know without seeing it but a front mount flex wing wide area mower might speed things up considerably and trimming with a 4ws mower. I use my x749 in tight quarters work and does a great job but I wouldn't attempt to cut 10 acres with it.

 

[Gator6x4]

I think if I was mowing ten plus acres on a weekly basis I would give one of these with one of the front mowing decks a hard look.New Ventrac 4500 Introduction - Extended - YouTube

 

[Gittyup]

I would put a big finish mower behind the 4720 for the open areas and then get and x749 for the obstacled areas.

 

[aczlan]

I would start by having someone (dealer?) look at your 2320 to make sure that it is setup right for the height you are cutting. Our BX2660 did something similar until we found that the scalp wheels needed to be 1/4" off of the ground when mowing.
If mowing that much, I might find a towed Wide Area Mower (aka WAM, "Finish Batwing", "Turf Batwing", etc) to pull behind your big tractor and either use your 2320 to mow the edges with, or get a Zero Turn (I am partial to eXmark, but there are many good brands out there). See Finish Mowers for some of the Woods Finish Batwing mowers and http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-buying-pricing/237634-need-help-recommendation-15-bat.html for a discussion on the subject.

Aaron Z

 

[Gittyup]

bigger mower decks don't cut as nice as smaller ones when the ground is uneven.

 

[aczlan]

bigger mower decks don't cut as nice as smaller ones when the ground is uneven.

Hence the turf batwing which has 3 48-72" decks.

Aaron Z

 

[yelbike]

I have pretty much the same amount of land as the OP, and I use the same tractor. I have a 72"Rfm, I don't like it cause its got too many wheels on the ground so its looks like to many lines behind me.

I have no problems with my 62"mmm, no power issues but I don't let the grass get away from me anymore. I agree about getting the set up checked out. Check to ensure its level side to side and pitched a little forward.

What really cut down my mowing time was a Z465. Its the same deck that's on my 2305. On paper its no faster than the 2320 or 2305, but it actually flies through the mowing task. The only complaint is you really have to slow down on rough terrain. I wouldn't mow slopes with it where the bottom is a pond or lake. The only slope I have is the front ditch. The ztr holds the slope better than either of my tractors after you get used to it. Although its tough to lose traction when being careful, once you lose control, there is NO recovery. The machine will come to a rest at the bottom. That's fine for me because its only a ditch.

I think a bat wing mower is a little bit for your property. 10 acres is not a large as it sounds. Just my opinion anyway.

 

[Runner]

I have a 2520 with both a 62D and a 72 inch rear finish mower, Frontier GM1072R. I have found exactly the same thing with this setup, i.e., on uneven terrain, the belly mower leaves an "edge" of grass sticking up. The rear finish mower solved this problem completely and delivers a golf course smooth cut. I believe this is because the mower rides on it's own wheels and follows the terrain better.

I have been very happy with the rear finish mower and if doing it again, that is all I would have.