Acres cut per hour

[fredhargis]

That's the EXACT formula.Gotta love the English measurement system. An acre is 1 rod (16.5 feet) by 1/2 mile or 1/2 rod (8.25 feet) by 1 mile or 43,560 sq. ft. And of course there are four rods in a chain (66') which are the width of prairie road allowances (except they are 1.5 chains in some places). .:confused2:

They converted to a decimal system in 1971.

NO wonder!:laughing:

 

[Builder]

Pardon my nerve to say so, but I think you are under a misconception of sorts. There isn't anything wrong with operating an RM990 mower that needs less horsepower to run than your 7040. It's always good to roughly match the size and hp requirements of the implements to the tractor but not like it's a hard/fast requirement. Just don't floor your 7040 all the time and you aren't putting out 61 PTO hp anyhow. The only "danger" or concern might be that you have the hp to potentially do damage to the 990. If you don't try to overload the mower in very heavy deep grass, etc. and then force the issue with more horsepower, I don't see a problem. Another thing to note is that the RM990 is 7.5ft cut, not 8ft. As someone else mentioned the flail type blades on the 990 make it much more durable in rough cutting. Note also that the gearbox on the 990 is rated at 75hp. so I interpret their "25 to 50" hp range of tractor as a nominal recommendation. Just my opinion. [Now if you were going to turn the machine loose with hired hands that you barely know ... whole different ballgame.] By the way, I like Landpride a bit better than Woods for finish mowers. Landpride makes 8 and 10 ft versions in both medium and heavy duty flavors and with flail type blades... and they will handle far more hp too.

No misconception. I know exactly what you mean. Someone suggested a woods RM990. My dealer's policy on equipment is that too much input would present problems if a warranty situation came up. I'm not looking at a new RM990 anyway. Landpride is the way I'm going if new, but I doubt I will.

At the present, I have access to a 15' woods finish batwing, which might be too big for the pasture to turn around without turf damage from R-1's.

 

[Builder]

A few comments:

1) Calculations will only give you a VERY rough idea. Cut it once and you'll know the truth of the matter.
2) Don't know what sort of finish mower you plan to use but let me mention:
a) Finish mowers used in 12 to 18" high pasture grass, if it is heavy, are not the right tool. The slightest amount of grease on a belt and you'll burn up a belt, etc.
b) suggest mow the 20 acres first with your hog and then use the finish mower when the grass is much shorter. After that it will look better every time.
c) By the way, a bush hog with sharp blades will do a surprisingly good grass cutting job if the customer expectations are not too glorious.
3) Depends a lot on what the customer wants ! If the customer is expecting lawn-quality finish mowing you are going to have to mow more often, etc. The fact that they are asking for "finish mowing" may imply higher expectations.
4) Once you have this place cleaned up and cutting becomes routine, I think you can do a good bit more than 4mph.
5) You can certainly mow 20 acres in 8hrs with just about anything 8 feet wide. The question is more what will it look like, will the customer be pleased, and how often do you have to do it ?

Perhaps a little backround. This is not my first customer. I have several larger parcels I already cut, but only one is a "finish" cut of 9 acres. I do this with my BX2200 because it's too tight and tree laden for a bigger tractor. The above described 20+ acres is all finish grass.

6) By the way, I'm a little puzzled: You mention an 8ft bush hog ? 8ft hogs are not common. Also 8' finish mowers are usually gang mowers or multiple units of some sort.

See John Deere MX-8 below. Around here 8' mowers are very common. Finish mowers are usually 7' or 7.5'.

7) What kind of land is this ? Hilly, flat, rocky, heavy growth in an area with lots of rainfall ?

open, but rolling with average mid-atlantic rainfall.

 

[Builder]

Builder,
I was curious what your cut height plans are? If you are trying to get results similar to a finished lawn then it will need cutting more frequently. No way can you cut 18" grass down to 3 or 4 inches without making it look like stubble. So for the initial cut I would use a brushhog then use a finish mower thereafter cutting no more than 1/2 of it height at a time. On my own lawns I try to maintain about 4" mowing height and cut it when it averages 6 to 7 inches. I know you are familiar with all of this but you need to make sure the property owner is on the same page.

Yep, got it. Since the customer just got rid of their current cutter, the grass is now about 12" high. It'll be 18" by the time I get to it. My plan is to go in with MX-8 and SHARP baldes and tell them clippings will be present after this cut. Then I want to come back in a week later and finish mow it. I'm just trying to decide between ~8' fixed deck or a 15' finish bat I have access to. Either unit would have to be used. Not dumping big dollar into a finish mower for one 20-25 acre customer.
They are picky. The helicopter on the landing pad, the farm manager in nice clothes and the 100K cars led me to believe this. So I do need a nice cut and I can tell previous cuts were well done.

 

[jake98]

Yep, got it. Since the customer just got rid of their current cutter, the grass is now about 12" high. It'll be 18" by the time I get to it. My plan is to go in with MX-8 and SHARP baldes and tell them clippings will be present after this cut. Then I want to come back in a week later and finish mow it. I'm just trying to decide between ~8' fixed deck or a 15' finish bat I have access to. Either unit would have to be used. Not dumping big dollar into a finish mower for one 20-25 acre customer.
They are picky. The helicopter on the landing pad, the farm manager in nice clothes and the 100K cars led me to believe this. So I do need a nice cut and I can tell previous cuts were well done.

Oh, you should have said it was my place..., I'll buy you the mower, just put it on my account. Get two. :laughing:

 

[jenkinsph]

Builder,
Sounds like a plan, my concern would be tracking it up with the heavy tractor and ag tires. Sounds like a good customer to cultivate too, from your description I'd bet that any real work is farmed out. Might be another full service customer in the making. Good luck with it.


FWIW, an x748 with the 60" 7 iron deck @ 6mph could cut this in about 7 hrs at 80% efficientcy. This assumes cutting on a regular basis, not the initial cut.

 

[Builder]

Builder,
Sounds like a plan, my concern would be tracking it up with the heavy tractor and ag tires. Sounds like a good customer to cultivate too, from your description I'd bet that any real work is farmed out. Might be another full service customer in the making. Good luck with it.


FWIW, an x748 with the 60" 7 iron deck @ 6mph could cut this in about 7 hrs at 80% efficientcy. This assumes cutting on a regular basis, not the initial cut.

Yeah I even contemplated cutting it with my BX2200 with 60" deck. it does a real nice job, but 20+ acres with a 60" deck would be an azz-beatin' by the time you're done. I was going to suggest mowing about 4 passes on either sides of the fence, then doing a rougher bush hog-with-sharp-blades-finish-cut on the inside, but they don't seem like the type to listen to suggestions. :laughing:

100% agree on the "customer to cultivate". Sick wealth. I thought I was doing pretty good.......:laughing:

 

[JWR]

Yeah I even contemplated cutting it with my BX2200 with 60" deck. it does a real nice job, but 20+ acres with a 60" deck would be an azz-beatin' by the time you're done. I was going to suggest mowing about 4 passes on either sides of the fence, then doing a rougher bush hog-with-sharp-blades-finish-cut on the inside, but they don't seem like the type to listen to suggestions. :laughing:

100% agree on the "customer to cultivate". Sick wealth. I thought I was doing pretty good.......:laughing:

I have a BX2200 too. I'd think once you have the taller grass beaten into submission with bigger machines the BX2200 makes a nice touch up and between-full-mowings machine. My BX2200 has a great PTO driven 3 bag bagger but hopefully no body is going to get into bagging 20 acres !
Thinking about your customer, I would bet that if you make a good showing of being out there doing something frequently (and frankly making it look nice no matter what you do it with) they will become a fan club of yours. That tends to happen.

By the way, if the grass was very high to start with (anything over 8 inches or so) my newer 7ft Bush Hog (model 297) does a cleaner, nicer job than my Landpride 6 ft (model 2572) finish mower.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Yep, got it. Since the customer just got rid of their current cutter, the grass is now about 12" high. It'll be 18" by the time I get to it. My plan is to go in with MX-8 and SHARP baldes and tell them clippings will be present after this cut. Then I want to come back in a week later and finish mow it.

that's what I would do. and charge for both cuttings. On the plus side, you'll find everything "interesting" with the rotary cutter and not the finish mower.

. Not dumping big dollar into a finish mower for one 20-25 acre customer. They are picky. The helicopter on the landing pad, the farm manager in nice clothes and the 100K cars led me to believe this. So I do need a nice cut and I can tell previous cuts were well done.

Sheeeet. make it worth your while. if they want to pay for a new mower (priced accordingly) I am HAPPY to do just the one customer. 20 acres once a week finish mowed and priced "well" would easily pay for a big mower by the end of the season. Everyone else is profit.

 

[Builder]

Sheeeet. make it worth your while. if they want to pay for a new mower (priced accordingly) I am HAPPY to do just the one customer. 20 acres once a week finish mowed and priced "well" would easily pay for a big mower by the end of the season. Everyone else is profit.

No, I'M paying for the mower. They pay for the mowing.
I agree with your view on it, but I'm walking in with 1/2 the mowing season over. Also, grass tends to slow down and turn brown in July/Aug so cuts may get much less frequent.

Just curious: What can you guys command in price for say 20 acres of nicely clipped pasture, 5,000 feet of split rail fence and maybe 100 assorted trees, stone barn ruins, etc.? My bid's already in, but just curious. I charge ~$60/acre to bush hog. What do you pay a weedeater operator?