Rotary cutting / land maintenance questions

[Dog Gone It]

All great info and since Im not farming this land right now, then Im going to do some better planning, with consideration to both the wildlife (planting, etc...), and cutting maintenance at the right time of year.
I like the suggestion of reaching out the extension services as well.
Thanks

 

[mcfarmall]

Mow once a month and watch out for fawns in May/June. They will lie still and let you run over them. I mow before weeds go to seed to reduce radiator plugging.

 

[looch]

I have 2 acres of field that I maintain. Up here, things don't usually start happening until the last week of May and I cut with a mind toward honey bees and leaving them some wild flowers. As such, I divide the field in 2 and mow each part alternately every 6 weeks or so.

 

[Tractorable]

I mow before the grass gets too tall and thick for my Ford 8N to cut it, haha, about once a month or so.

 

[lennyzx11]

I have 2 acres of field that I maintain. Up here, things don't usually start happening until the last week of May and I cut with a mind toward honey bees and leaving them some wild flowers. As such, I divide the field in 2 and mow each part alternately every 6 weeks or so.

I’m in Vermont and my wife agonizes over me cutting the lower field as its always full of wildflowers and butterflies.

I think I’ll do that(only cut half at a time) this year. Good idea!

 

[nybirdman]

I maintain my 100 acres with food plots and mowing;don't mow until mid August because of all the little critters and birds nesting.Had a couple close calls with deer fawns when mowing early.
The local real farmers slaughter many deer fawns with their first cuttings in late May and early June.

 

[nybirdman]

I maintain my 100 acres with food plots and mowing;don't mow until mid August because of all the little critters and birds nesting.Had a couple close calls with deer fawns when mowing early.
The local real farmers slaughter many deer fawns with their first cuttings in late May and early June.

 

[jbrumberg]

".... my wife agonizes over me cutting the lower field as its always full of wildflowers and butterflies."- Lenny

Wifey's desires definitely affected my field management. I do mow a "perimeter" (~8') and have mowed paths (5') around the wild blueberries and raspberries. It adds some variety to the dog walks. It took 2 years w/o mowing for me to figure out what was blueberry and what was wild spirea. They look awful similar from the the operator's seat. The spirea is gone.

 

[TheMan419]

We have horse pasture so that is a different maintenance task. Those I try to mow when it is "too tall".... meaning it is a haven for bugs or weeds are going to go to seed. Then as fall approaches I let it get taller so there is more forage left for the horses to eat as things go dormant.

For more of a wild life area I would split up the mowing. If you were going to mow every year mow some early and some late. Maybe mow half in even years and half in odd?

 

[looch]

Good idea!

Thank you.

Cherish it - my good ideas are pretty rare.