Rotary Mowing in the Rain

[crashz]

I have some mowing to do this weekend (my house and a side job). My lawn is not a golf course by any stretch, in fact I'm just happy its green in some form. I have about 2 acres that I mow for myself. This would be done with my 6ft finish mower.

The side job is about 20 minutes away and is 4-5 acres of field that is described as "over grown" but I'll be able to tell better when I see it. Yeah - unseen right now. I'll probably do this with my 5ft brush hog.

Schedule forces me to do these this weekend, and it looks like rain all weekend.

As far as getting soaked, I don't care. But being able to actually perform the work concerns me. I've done bush hogging in the rain with little issue, but its been a long time ago. New tractor and mower.

Any thoughts?

 

[Phillip w]

If i am mowing either with my zero turn or my brush hog and it starts to rain, job is over. Cutting wet grass is hard on equipment and does not provide as nice of a cut. If you have the brush hog, and you have to wait a week or ten days, it should not be a big deal. That is just my thoughts.

 

[jbrumberg]

Crashz- I'd "google" an aerial view of the area to get an idea of what you plan to cut to get an idea of what you will be cutting. "overgrown" = rotary cutter. I do not cut my field when it is raining, but I have a decent slope and uneven ground surface with which to contend.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

That's why they put cabs on tractors. :thumbsup: If its raining you don't have to stop. If the ground is soaking wet, you are leaving ruts, or it just gets to be a hassle, id wait for some dryer times. I've cut all afternoon in the rain with the MX10 with 0 issues. It was just an overgrown field I mow once a year so no big deal.

 

[rgr33]

Not a fan of cutting in the rain, mostly because I am on a hill, and it gets real greasy.

Might think about leaving it in FWD if your jobs are similar.
Tall grass might cause problems.

 

[majorwager]

Yogi Barra once noted that he would rather cut when conditions are dry unless it is raining, no mention if he used tractor w/ cab. :confused3:

 

[M5farms]

Cut it when you can rain or shine. I will actually hook to the bush hog and cut when its raining because there is not much else you can do outside . you will get a little banking up of grass and it doesnt scatter it as much but its just a field and who cares what the neighbors think.

 

[747driver]

I am with rgr33. When it rains or the area is still wet I won't mow. Have to many slopes and hills....which can cause the tractor to slide to easy !! If your area is somewhat level and you know the ground then I would proceed.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I do it in the rain, too... as long as the grass/weeds are standing up. I don't notice any difference in the quality of the cut. Traction, softness of the ground, standing water would all be variables I guess.

 

[crashz]

Thanks all for the replies. I'm going to throw the canopy on and give it a shot. Fortunately the customer postponed, so it looks like just my house is getting the crappy cut.

I googled the property and it looks easy enough, but I feel like there could be a slope to it. Wouldn't look to proffesional sliding down the hill screaming!