How much to charge/

[walterc]

Hi, it's been awhile since I've done other than read other posts, but when I have a problem, this is my go to place.

Any way, there's a guy in the area that needs 100 acres of weeds mowed down. He initially asked to rent my tractor and mower, but I don't do that. My theory is, if it gets broke, and I'm in the seat, it's my doing. If someone else is driving and it gets broke, there will probably be feelings that i don't want to deal with.

Any way, I told him I could mow it for him, but I'm not sure how long to estimate for it, and how much to charge.

I have a 27 HP Kubota and a Deere 5' brush mower. I was thinking I could get it done over a weekend, but I'm not sure since I've never mowed that much land.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!

 

[OrangeToys]

Thats going to be a 4-5 day job. Im getting about an acre an hr with 50hp 6ft deck.

 

[Paul N]

If you were to drive 4 mph non stop, you would cover 2.4 acres per hour. This is continuous driving, does not take into account turning around on ends, breaks, re-fueling, etc. More realistic would be 2 acre per hour. Remember, this is at 4 mph, you will have to re-figure at your speed.

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

It will take much longer than a weekend.

Here's a handy mowing calculator to help give you an idea of mowing time required.
TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

I usually figure 3 mph to get a good clean mowing done.

with a 60" mower, you will probably be mowing about 54" at a time after the initial 60" pass...

Mowing 100 acres with a 5' mower @ 3mph will take ~67.2 hours

 

[Baby Grand]

It will take much longer than a weekend.

Here's a handy mowing calculator to help give you an idea of mowing time required.
TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

I usually figure 3 mph to get a good clean mowing done.



with a 60" mower, you will probably be mowing about 54" at a time after the initial 60" pass...

Mowing 100 acres with a 5' mower @ 3mph will take ~67.2 hours

... more if you "find" any barbed wire or irrigation pipe. I'd want to walk those acres, looking for debris and obstructions (holes, stumps, etc), before I agreed to a price.

 

[Rock knocker]

I do our "pasture" in our JD 950 in second gear. That works out to 2.2 mph. Couldn't imagine mowing much faster that 3 mph.

So that works out to a little more than 1 acre/hour.

Twenty seven acres? $2000? $3000?

 

[MESSMAKER]

I mow as a part time job. You should figure on about 1.5-2 acres per hour and about 7 hours a day is about all I can stand. If all goes well, and it rarely does, figure on a little less than 15 acres a day. 100 acres will take about 7 days and be worth at least $1500. You will run through at least $300 in fuel.

 

[Rock knocker]

I mow as a part time job. You should figure on about 1.5-2 acres per hour and about 7 hours a day is about all I can stand. If all goes well, and it rarely does, figure on a little less than 15 acres a day. 100 acres will take about 7 days and be worth at least $1500. You will run through at least $300 in fuel.

I don't know your market, but that works out to $24.50/ hr for a rig, operator, profit etc. You could easily justify tripling those rates. It is better to charge more and work less than the reverse.

After many years of construction mangement in the Puget Sound area, I would say that $70-100/hr is a fair price. It is up to you if you want to charge a fee for "in and out". For say, three acres travel would be justified. For a hundred acres, you should probably eat travel.

 

[bigbull338]

i would not touch that job with a tractor your size for a few reasons.1 your tractor way to small HP wise.2 you have no idea what is in that pasture.3 that could be some tall heavy stuff your shredding.

 

[WM75Guy]

I mow with my Boomer 8N 50 HP (40 HP PTO) and a 6' cutter at 3 MPH (per speedometer) on cruise. I overlap the width of the rear tire to get a good smooth cut, 80% efficiency. My pasture was originally a hay meadow. I can mow about 1 acre per hour.

Can you mow 100 acres with your tractor? Probably so. It will take much more than a weekend, lots of time and fuel, and contingencies for breakdowns which happen mowing unknown areas. Will it be worth the time, wear and tear on tractor and equipment, and expenses? Depends on what the owner is willing to pay.