Pls Recommend Mowing Solution for 10 Acre Rural Residential

[LD1]

I mow ~5 acres with a scag wildcat 61" ZTR. Takes me ~2-2:15 hours to mow. I have a lot of trees to mow around, a pond, and a fence that splits the yard. Also its a hill....the pond is ~20' lower elevation than the house, and the shop and garden are about 30' lower elevation.

I have to question why you are wanting a 7-10 acre "yard"

Is this a hard must? Or are you open to options above? Fencing and pasturing? Leasing for hay? Letting it return to nature and maybe sow some wild flowers? Just let it go and bushhog once a year?

You dont have a large enough tractor to pull a batwing big enough to make a substantial improvement.

How long does it take you to mow now? ANd what is the goal? IF you can tolerate 4hours of mowing.....a 72" commercial grade ZTR would probably fit the bill as long as you mowed it regularly and didnt let it get ahead of you where you have to go slow.

But is a $30k machine and $30 in fuel per week worth having a 10 acre yard?

I often question my own 5 acres and why I mow so much

 

[JethroB]

I have about 4-5 acres of nice yard (former pecan grove) and rough yard (pasture) around the house that I keep mowed. The true 2 acre yard gets mowed with a zero-turn. The rough areas with a six foot 3 pt. flail mower ever 2-3 weeks. Gives me something to do in my golden years.

 

[m7040]

I use a 15 ft batwing woods mower. It makes short work of mowing and the tractor can keep up good speed and still be comfortable on bumps. Also use a 31 hp Kubota

ZT for close in areas

 

[MESSMAKER]

You are looking at nearly 5 hours to mow. That is a lot. Can you brush mow part of it and just mow it 2-3 times a year. I think anything over 4 acres or so will strain you to get in done in the evening or doom you to spend all your Saturday mornings mowing.

 

[duffer]

I have a 10 acre finished yard. But it is bumpy. Recently I mowed it with my neighbor's 6' JD commercial ZT to test it. Beat the snot out of me. I'll never do that again. I much prefer my tractor & 7' 3 pt PTO finish mower. Much smoother ride, just as good a cut, and I can use the tractor for tons of other things (and I do).

I wanted to get a bat-wing mower, but the wallet threw-up when it saw the price tag. So I opted for the 7'. Plus I didn't have rear dydraulics to lift the wings, so there is more expense. If I had it to do over again, I might try to get an 8 footer (if they even make it) as my tractor could handle it easily.

Just my 2¢

 

[Spike56]

20 years ago, I bought my first tractor, a Kubota B7500HSD with a 60" belly mower. It has strained to keep up with my property, which has 7 acres (out of 10 total) of mostly flat mowable land. I've been looking at ZTs, but want to size it right and open myself up to considering other brands, and other formats as well. The Kubota can still handle the lighter front loader and 3-pt hitch needs (or I can hire them out), so the new machine would be dedicated to mowing. What solutions should I be looking at?

Wow, that is a lot of area to keep mowed. I have about 3 acres surrounding the house with trees, buildings.... that is ALL I want to keep up with. I couldn't tell if you were wanting to just keep it knocked down or you wanted it to more or less look like a yard area... a lot more trimmed.
My only thoughts for what it's worth is to not buy a ZTR, save a lot of money and get a regular lawn tractor, largest width, good HP. I wouldn't pay the extra for a ZTR unless you have a lot of trees / buildings / obstructions to go around. I do, so have a ZTR.
Good luck !

 

[BnRidge]

The previous owner here lamented endlessly about how to maintain 7ac of "lawn" in perpetuity. Trouble is you can't take it with you, and the next owner now rough mows most of it once a year with a 42" brush cutter. Takes about 2-1/2 hrs. Once and done. A bigger unit would be nice, but not needed, and besides the current setup works really well on walking trails and other small areas. It all looks good for most of the year, wildflowers are starting to grab hold again, it never used to be "lawn" in the past anyway but was hayfield, cornfield, and pasture, so overall, all is well that ends well. Continuously mowing large areas is overrated. If it wasn't as easy as holding a beer and twiddling a steering wheel, that kind of thing would stop.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I have a 10 acre finished yard. But it is bumpy. Recently I mowed it with my neighbor's 6' JD commercial ZT to test it. Beat the snot out of me. I'll never do that again. I much prefer my tractor & 7' 3 pt PTO finish mower. Much smoother ride, just as good a cut, and I can use the tractor for tons of other things (and I do).

I wanted to get a bat-wing mower, but the wallet threw-up when it saw the price tag. So I opted for the 7'. Plus I didn't have rear dydraulics to lift the wings, so there is more expense. If I had it to do over again, I might try to get an 8 footer (if they even make it) as my tractor could handle it easily.

Just my 2¢

I finish mow 7 of my 25 acres with a 7' Land Pride 3pt finish mower behind my L6060. It takes 3 - 3.5 hours, mostly because of the trees, rough surface and irregular edging. I also considered a bat-wing but it would be too difficult to maneuver in the tight spaces I mow. In addition to the high price, bat-wings can be a maintenance problem with all the long hydraulic hoses, cylinders & tires. There is also the storage issue. I don't like leaving my implements exposed to the elements and I don't have enough room in the barn.

Like you, I also tried a friend's ZT and in addition to getting beat up, it wouldn't handle the slopes well.

As per suggestions here, I'm looking at other options like mowing a smaller area.

 

[srp0701]

We have a ZD326 60". My wife usually mows with it. We were keeping close to 10 acres mowed (two lots). It would take about 4 hours or so.

 

[Greygoose]

I use a 60" Swisher Trailmower pulled with a comfy riding ATV. Have been mowing 6 acres with the same setup for over 20 years.Takes less than 2 hours if I keep the blades sharp and don't let it get too high. The upgraded 18HP engine I installed helps tremendously.