bush hog or finish mower?

big e · Mar 5, 2012

Bushog if you must, but why are you cutting it?
I am NO expert, but consider managing it for prairie/wildlife.
Spray it with round up after spring green up, let it green up, spray again. Drill seed in some praire grass/flowers so as not to disturb undesirable seeds (county farm services have seed drills to borrow). Then hog it, or better yet, burn it every three years to keep trees and woody growth from getting a foothold. Natives love being burned, invasives don't. Best practice is to hog/burn one third each year so animals can move to a different part of the field for nesting... as opposed to doing the whole thing at once, then it'd be bare one year.
The deer, rabbits, birds, bees, voles, butterflies, etc., will love it.

Exact timing for spraying/planting can be gotten from your local version of this:
Ohio Prairie Association

Pheasants Forever might even do matching dollars with you and provide expertise.

Just a thought.

easygo · Mar 6, 2012

I'm no bush hog expert but here is what I know. I cut some 10 acres for my neighbor with a 5ft bush hog on a 30 hp tractor. I thought it was a very good match. My other neighbor (a real farmer) uses a 6ft bush hog on his 65hp tractor and said he would like a 7 footer but it would create new problems and challenges going up in size. I think you should not try to tackle anything bigger then a 7ft unit with your tractor.

Then again I like BigE's idea the best. Planned management as opposed to bending the land to the will of more horse power. Another idea is to let a farmer hay the field if it is any good.

glasgow135 · Mar 6, 2012

well i have horses that eat the grass down but they dont like the weeds, so when the weeds are the only thing left then i bush hog. i also spray weedkiller. the only reason i have to bushhog is because if i dont the weeds start to take over

Farmwithjunk · Mar 6, 2012

Just as a word of caution....DO NOT listen to the part about a 1530 Deere being adequate to handle 9' of rotary mower.....Not even 8'. That's obviously an opinion based on "theory" and as far from "real world" as it gets. That problem crops up from time to time when people try to answer questions that they really aren't as qualified to answer as they THINK they are.

A 1530 would power a 7' mower, but have a heck of a time handling the weight of MOST 7' cutters. In heavy grass, 7' would be more than a 1530 wants (in terms of HP)..... Personally, I'd stick with 6' if it'll be a mounted mower. (7' would be OK on a drawn mower, 8' drawn mower would "handle" OK, but quite a load on the engine in healthy grass) SOME 6' 3-point mounted mowers, and the majority of 7'ers would even require front weights to keep good steering control. 1530's are relatively short tractors, and not naturally heavy on the front end. They're VERY capable tractors, just a relatively small chassis when you go hanging heavy rear mounted implements on it.

Clipping pastures probably won't be a strain on the engine with a bigger mower, but jump into lush thick grass, and 6' would give your tractor all it wants.

glasgow135 · Mar 7, 2012

Farmwithjunk said:
Just as a word of caution....DO NOT listen to the part about a 1530 Deere being adequate to handle 9' of rotary mower.....Not even 8'. That's obviously an opinion based on "theory" and as far from "real world" as it gets. That problem crops up from time to time when people try to answer questions that they really aren't as qualified to answer as they THINK they are.

A 1530 would power a 7' mower, but have a heck of a time handling the weight of MOST 7' cutters. In heavy grass, 7' would be more than a 1530 wants (in terms of HP)..... Personally, I'd stick with 6' if it'll be a mounted mower. (7' would be OK on a drawn mower, 8' drawn mower would "handle" OK, but quite a load on the engine in healthy grass) SOME 6' 3-point mounted mowers, and the majority of 7'ers would even require front weights to keep good steering control. 1530's are relatively short tractors, and not naturally heavy on the front end. They're VERY capable tractors, just a relatively small chassis when you go hanging heavy rear mounted implements on it.

Clipping pastures probably won't be a strain on the engine with a bigger mower, but jump into lush thick grass, and 6' would give your tractor all it wants.

i dont know if it makes a difference but i have a loader on it which must add some weight