If you had to pick one

[Diamondpilot]

72" deck mowers that mow 8 acres a hour no obstacle.

I know that this has been said before, but is is very hard for me to believe that a mower can cut grass at over 13MPH and actually have it be cut and look nice. I think that to be able to drive that fast at all, he would have to have the ground as smooth as a golf course. I doubt that a hay field is smooth enough to do any task that fast.

One other thing, if the speed is indeed possible, that would have to be on a lawn that is mowed every week, not a few times a year.

Find your nearest Ferris dealer and try one. I was skeptical until he mowed my yard a few times and I went with him and his crew on a few commercial jobs. This things flat haul. Running them at anything but wide open causes heat issues with the hydraulic drive so pros run them wide open and the Ferris suspension can handle average lawns like a ride in your truck down the interstate. He has went through 5 or so brands in the last 7 years I have know him and the Ferris is the only one that can run wide open and not scalp. Take a look at the inter link from the suspension to the deck. If a wheel drops, it lift the deck to prevent scalping. These thing are no toy, its a 13-15K piece of equipment.

They spec 7.2 acres at 80% efficiency. I have nothing to gain here. I do not own one and probably never will.

Of course mowing a hay field is different but we are talking lawns here.

ISｮ 5100Z Series, Ferrisｮ Industries, Zero-Turn, Riding Mowers, Ferris Mowers, Mowers, Mower, Commercial Mowers, Lawn Mowers, Lawnmowers, Suspension, Independent Suspension, Munsville New York, Syracuse, New York, Central New York, Mohawk Valley,

Chris

 

[MESSMAKER]

I would think you would have a hard time getting more than a 35hp with a loader and 6 foot rotary mower for 20 grand. It would be at the low end of what would be acceptable.

 

[Soundguy]

56ac? I wouldn't go anything lower than 10' mower.. even with a 10' mower, it will be a FULL day of mowing. am to pm. a 12' or 15' would not be overkill for this.. it'd still be a good day of cutting even with a 15' mower.

soundguy

 

[Carykong]

56 acres of lawn is only for the fabulous rich. Pardner with a farmer who is eager to harvest the hay or become a hay farmer yourself (big committment). If haying does not suit your fancy,I would consider returning some of your pasture to high value trees like black walnut,cherry,pecan.

 

[Reg]

When mowing comes up, I use this guide. Rotary Cutters from Bush-Whacker -- Production Chart

That seems to agree;
I only looked at the first cell of their table, the 6010 at 3 MPH.
It is a 5ft rotary and assuming NO overlap;
60 inches times 3 MPH /100 = 1.8 acres per hour.

and YES I DID omit the /100 factor in my original post (-:

I also omitted an acknowledgment to Farm_with_Junk as my source for it.
(thanks).

It works for mowing, tilling, plowing, spreading, raking, whatever; but you need to allow for overlap, turnarounds, re-loading, etc.
It is only a CAPACITY formula and we can rarely use all the available capacity.

 

[Soundguy]

how do they hold up with a front end loader on them

soundguy

Find your nearest Ferris dealer and try one. I was skeptical until he mowed my yard a few times and I went with him and his crew on a few commercial jobs. This things flat haul. Running them at anything but wide open causes heat issues with the hydraulic drive so pros run them wide open and the Ferris suspension can handle average lawns like a ride in your truck down the interstate. He has went through 5 or so brands in the last 7 years I have know him and the Ferris is the only one that can run wide open and not scalp. Take a look at the inter link from the suspension to the deck. If a wheel drops, it lift the deck to prevent scalping. These thing are no toy, its a 13-15K piece of equipment.

They spec 7.2 acres at 80% efficiency. I have nothing to gain here. I do not own one and probably never will.

Of course mowing a hay field is different but we are talking lawns here.

ISｮ 5100Z Series, Ferrisｮ Industries, Zero-Turn, Riding Mowers, Ferris Mowers, Mowers, Mower, Commercial Mowers, Lawn Mowers, Lawnmowers, Suspension, Independent Suspension, Munsville New York, Syracuse, New York, Central New York, Mohawk Valley,

Chris

 

[two_bit_score]

LOL the farmer before me cut it for hay, I just wanna keep it lookin nice dont need the hay but wanna keep it presentable and cut dont know what size tractor/bushhog to get?

Why don't you work out a deal with someone who will bale it and buy the hay or do it on halves so you can sell your half on the local market?

That way you get it mowed without having the exta time and expense of mowing plus you get some income and may be able to use the hay production to get or continue and ag expemption on your property.

 

[two_bit_score]

56 acres, under $20K, new tractor; pick any two.

Perfect.

 

[two_bit_score]

I bought 42 acres 2 years ago and a 75 hp tractor with a 6' shredder. It took me just over 40 hours to mow it the first time. It is fairly flat and few trees, so now I look at the shredder size as a poor choice and I am looking for a good used hay cutter for cutting the field. I find that 4 to 5 mph is the fastest that I can go, depending on ants and gopher hills. If you are going to mow 40 or 50 acres you should get at least 50 hp tractor with rear hydraulics, front end loader and the largest shredder or hay cutter that will fit in the area you have (gates, trees). You might think about a back hoe too, but even used all this will probably exceed your budget.

Several folks have suggested keeping it in hay and the tax advantages that offers. Here in Texas keeping 42 acres in ag use saves me over $7000 a year. Plus, my tractor and implements and anything I buy for the place is exempt from sales tax. Think about the sales tax on your $20,000 purchase. Hay, done right makes a very pretty field and view. Good luck, I thnk you already made the important decision, which was to move to the country, everthing else is a detail.

I didn't read through and didn't realize some many others had offer the advice on using the hay production to keep the Ag exemption.

You made a great point though that I would like to emphasize to the OP.

If you figure in the tax savings you may be able to justify a higher expense on the equipment.

Good Luck!

 

[Sportsman762]

if you have your heart set on mowing all 56 acres then look at a Excel Hustler 4600 rangewing. They only cost about 50 grand new. At work we mow around 60+ or so acres a week (it could be up to 90 i am just eyeballing it of of an ariel photo I know one park is 48 its probably closer to 75). We use three 72" zero turns, and a 12 foot golf course mower (Toro 4700D). We can mow everything in about two days. That is roughly 50 man hours. To keep it looking nice it will have to be cut weekly. I hope you do not have a job. I would strongly encourage you to think about having someone bale it. I like to keep my finish mowing at 2 hours or less a week. I have never run a farris zero turn mower but i can mow at max speed for a toro/exmark mower on laser graded grass. However as soon as i hit a section that is not perfect I am bouncing almost out of control. Another alternative to cutting it with a z is to find a old sod farm finish mower in the 28 to 32' cut and a large 90+ hp tractor to pull it. Brouwer and Progressive make these mowers. Let us know what you decide.