Terraced land

[Macinnis]

I bought 60 acres about three years ago. 50 of it is open pasture land that was neglected the past few years.

I recently bought a new tractor and flail mower. The flail mower is doing a fantastic job reclaiming and rejuvenating the pastures (lot of sticker bushes 4-6 feet high are longer there).

My land is terraced and while most of the humps are visible, some are not (especially when uncut). While doing my initial mowing, I damn near turned the tractor over when I drove over an unknown Y terrace leg coming off of the other terrace hump I was following. I bought new pants, so all is good.

My question for you all is: what would the best tool and process be to take some of the steep humps down just a bit? Box blade or regular blade? My thought was to just drag said tool across the top enough Times so that the flail mower would no get hung up going over the humps.

When I got the tractor, I tried to get a box blade, but dealer didn’t have one stout enough for my liking. I put the Purchase on hold. I will also be using this tool for driveway maintenance and to cut a new gravel drive into what is now pasture.

I have attached a picture highlighting the severity of the terracing, it’s quite extensive in my opinion.

thanks for your thoughts and opinions.

 

[Bikewanderer]

Be more careful mowing and learn the terraces. Then, mow along the terraces first and then the rest of the land later. Don't try to mow across the whole thing, it will just frustrate you.

The terraces are an improvement.

 

[rgr33]

My property is almost entirely terraced.

In order to mow safely, I don’t let the grass get over about 8 inches.
Rolling my tractor is one of my biggest fears.

 

[leonz]

Hello MAcinnis,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the Flail Mower Nations
from the great State of Missouri in the St. Louis District. How far are you from the
old Henderson and St Joe mines???

Which brand of flail mower did you purchase with your mule and what type of mower
knives does it have?

It would easier for you to invest in smaller tires and wheels for your mule
with the flail mower as you will have the benefit of a lower center of gravity
while you are mowing.

SAYING THAT If all you are doing is mowing with this mule you should at least get the
rear tires loaded with liquid ballast that is either Rim Guard or 100%
windshield washer fluid.

Getting the tires loaded with liquid ballast will help in operating it in any case and
mowing the sod low to the ground will enable you to at least pound 8 foot steel
fence posts along the terraces to give you a visual reference at all times when mowing.

Happy mowing.

 

[Macinnis]

Hello MAcinnis,

I want to welcome you as the newest resident member of the Flail Mower Nations
from the great State of Missouri in the St. Louis District. How far are you from the
old Henderson and St Joe mines???

Which brand of flail mower did you purchase with your mule and what type of mower
knives does it have?

It would easier for you to invest in smaller tires and wheels for your mule
with the flail mower as you will have the benefit of a lower center of gravity
while you are mowing.

SAYING THAT If all you are doing is mowing with this mule you should at least get the
rear tires loaded with liquid ballast that is either Rim Guard or 100%
windshield washer fluid.

Getting the tires loaded with liquid ballast will help in operating it in any case and
mowing the sod low to the ground will enable you to at least pound 8 foot steel
fence posts along the terraces to give you a visual reference at all times when mowing.

Happy mowing.

I am not far at all from the s. Joe mine.

I do have loaded tires and I got a woodmaxx fm78 with a side shift. Currently it has the y knives on it, but I did purchase a set of scoop/duck feet as well.

mower is amazing, and I would like to thank you Loenz for all of your help/advice I have read on this wonderful forum.

I guess my question is, if I scrape the top of these terraced mounds 2-6“, would that destroy the terrace? Would a box blade be better than a rear blade for this task?

THANKS AGAIN!!!

 

[leonz]

The thing is that is you did that you would have a muddy wet mess the next time it rains.
The other problem is what would you do with the dirt that was shaved off the terrace?
The quickest way to help you with this is to simply purchase orange driveway markers to
identify the terrace edges BUT you will spend time weed wacking around the markers.

OR you can simply back up the terraces while mowing with the side slicer knives and then drive down for the next pass while mowing.
You need to keep the brush cut low to the ground to manage this and backing up and driving down while mowing
will aid in your mowing leaving the grass 2 inches tall.