Mowing in August verses October

[RSKY]

Takes me a little while to get to the point but bear with me.

Mowing the CRP land at my mother's farm. It is supposed to be mowed only after the first of October and then in strips 60' wide with a 60' strip left standing. The next year you mow what was let stand the previous year and so on. There are two twelve acre plots with two twenty acre hay fields between and beside them. Starting about three years ago there appeared a weed or something in the CRP that has quickly taken over both fields. It looks like cattails that grow around a pond but gets 10-12' tall and when you hit the stalk the head shatters like a giant dandelion. Last year we had to blow out the radiators constantly. Could only make one round with the little Kioti and two with the bigger Ford. Had to take a pickup to the field with a generator and air compressor in the back to blow radiators out. So far this invasive weed has stayed out of the hay fields which I cannot understand. Only thing I could figure out is that mowing the hay in July keeps the plants from producing seed.

So I talk to the lady at church who works at the ag office in the county. I told her our problem and she told me to mow both fields early in August instead of waiting until October. According to her if I mow both fields as close to the ground as possible it will help eradicate the weed. Apparently everybody in the county is having the same problem and that is what they are telling people to do. So I am mowing both fields with the mower set barely clearing the ground. See my post about tearing slip clutch out of the forty year old mower!

The difference in mowing two months early is amazing. I've had to drop the old Ford down two gears to mow the thick green moisture filled plants. Usually I mow in 4th if in thick grass and 5th if thin brush or whatever. Now I am in 3rd with the throttle wide open. In October everything is getting brittle and chops up easily. This stuff is tough. Also not having to stop and clean out the radiator all the time. Not having to wear a face mask or blow nose constantly because of the trash floating in the air stirred up by the mower. And the old Ford is sucking the fuel out of the tank like crazy. It is really pulling the old tractor hard even geared down. This stuff is thick and tough.

Brother in law bringing his International and batwing to mow Mom's other farm today. It is in the Clark's River bottom and I've told him to stay off it because he will get stuck but he won't listen. So I figure I'll spend half my day getting him out.

Ahhh? Retirement is wonderful. Between working on old equipment, driving tractors, babysitting grandkids, and taking care of 90+ year old parents I don't have time to get bored.

 

[seville009]

I have a six acre field that I mow once towards the end of September.

Same issue as you describe regarding the radiator and screens getting filled with grass seed (or whatever) and constantly having to clear it to prevent overheating.

One thing that I’ve thought about doing is wrapping screen door screening around the hood to catch all of it and be able to clean it off easier. I did that on my house air conditioning unit years ago and it works great; no issues with the air being restricted.

 

[Zebrafive]

I am not in any programs, so no rules for me to worry about. I mow twice. First in early July. Then late September or early October. The first mowing prevents the problems you are having (at least here). I used to mow in late May for the first mowing, but worried about hitting new born fawns, so changed to July

 

[EddieWalker]

I always thought it was normal to have to deal with the screen and the fins of the radiator being clogged up while mowing. Doesn't really matter what time of the year it is when I mow, I can usually go 2 hours before overheating and having to clean out the radiator.

 

[hawkeye08]

Sounds like you have a plan.. neighbor had CRP for some of his land.. he had to wait until July 1st to mow it, it was nasty by then, he wanted to mow it a couple of times before it got so tall, but they told him he has to wait (it allows the wildlife better cover as they are having their young). He finally dropped CRP so he could clean his place up and not have a mess.

 

[Oaktree]

Excuse my ignorance, but what's CRP?

As far as mowing, late August/early Sept. seems to be when it gets done around here, as well as when the state generally mows the medians/roadsides.

 

[BRMyers]

CRP=Conservation Reserve Program

 

[ovrszd]

Speaking of my area.

Request permission to mow all of it for control of invasive species. It'll be approved.

Can't mow anything before 15 July to protect nesting birds.

I prefer mowing first week in August.

 

[sodamo]

My one complaint about my new LS - not a split screen. Have to raise fel, turn tires all way to left and with R1 screen still hits tire having to be bent abit. My previous tractors had a split screen, easy to remove. Will have to mod one of these days.

 

[Jstpssng]

Does it have purple seed heads, and look like this? phragmites - Bing images

Even when reading your thread title my first thought was how many weed seeds were allowed to develop by mowing that late.