My dad had a lot of home-grown wisdom. He came from a time when common sense was a lot more common than it is now. I was very fortunate to grow up and later partner as an adult under his guidance and advice. One thing Dad really believed in was a keeping a farm in good shape – curb appeal is how some would term it. We were never wealthy monetarily, but like many of you and your families, we were dang resourceful.
Dad always said the best landscaping tool ever invented was a lawn mower. Dad, perhaps unknowingly, was a great ambassador for agriculture in that he understood that people smelled and tasted with their eyes, and green equals clean. Not that we were without any messes whatsoever, but they were always well placed so as to not be our “calling card.”
Of course, pastures, road banks and barnyards don’t always lend themselves to being mown with lawn equipment. That never stopped Dad from directing my brother and me to attack them and, by doing so, he ingrained a sense of pride in keeping the farm “public-ready” at all times. Over the years, time has grown more precious but, fortunately, equipment has grown larger so I can accomplish those same tasks in a timely manner.
I am sure time is precious at your farm as well. Time is money and, like payments, if you cannot keep up, you’ll never catch up. If you have the right equipment—equipment you can use easily and get the job done—you are more likely to tackle any task. There are several options for your selection, and we will look at just a few here, but know that the correct choice is totally dependent on your individual needs and preferences.
When it comes to clipping pastures and knocking down growth around the farmstead, nothing is quite as quick and affordable as a rotary mower or bush hog. Bush hogs come in a variety of sizes and strength qualities to fit your needs. While not always the case, I tend to err on the “heavier is better” side of the models available.
While not necessarily equating to weight, the tendency is that the heavier-duty the mower, the heavier it is weight-wise. I guess I have seen too many lighter models where the operator ran over a rock ledge or a hidden stump only to run the blades through the top of the deck.
It is also a good idea to purchase a mower with a heavier-than-needed gearbox rating. A heavier-than-needed mower can mow a light-duty mower’s capacity, but a light-duty machine will balk at mowing the heavier model’s capacity.
Batwing and offset models are available, and hitches can be either three-point or trailing. Bush hogs can be as wide as 20-plus feet so they can gobble up huge acreages in a matter of minutes. I like the convenience of a trailing bush hog, but in tight spaces the ability to pick up a three-point hitch model and place it back down in a certain spot is very handy.
A mower I have found a good fit for my needs is a flail mower. Flail mowers cut in a linear fashion with the blades swinging vertically instead of horizontally. This means that a flail can back into a fence corner and mow a perfectly straight line. In comparison, a bush hog mows in a circle. Because of the necessary deck space and a trailing wheel, a bush hog cannot reach into a corner and must be followed up by some sort of mechanical or manual trimming.
A properly maintained flail will also give a smoother cut than a bush hog, and it discharges the cut material more evenly across the swath. A flail’s blades are reversible so they can be “flipped over” and cut with a brand-new surface.
Because of the flail’s vertical design, the weight of the mower (which is pretty substantial) sits closer to the rear tires of the tractor; therefore, the combination of the tractor and mower’s weight are more in balance. This is a big help to me, as some of the banks I keep mown are, as I like to say, “steeper than a horse’s face.” Many manufacturers offer side draft or offset mowers to facilitate mowing banks or under and around trees.
A flail mower is not without issues, however. I have raked and baled behind a flail, but a flail is not a substitute for a sickle-bar or disc mower. A flail mower is more expensive to maintain than a bush hog. My 90-inch-wide flail uses 168 blades (84 paired sets of two), so it is not a quick in-and-out operation to replace the blades. The blades can retreat from a rock or other obstacle, but repeated bashing will result in blade losses.
Since the machine is rotating at high speeds, even a few missing blades can cause terrible vibrations that could adversely affect both the mower and the tractor. This is most noticeable when the mower is running free of material.
While tedious, blade replacement or repair requires only a couple of wrenches and a couple of minutes but, given that bush hogs are more popular than flails, if you own one it is wise to keep some spare blades, D-rings and clevises on hand as the parts counter may not stock them regularly.
Finally, if your barnyard is smooth and can be mown with a regular riding mower, a finishing mower might be a good choice for you. Finishing mowers offer the smoothest cut in comparison to bush hogs or flails but, generally speaking, they are not able to handle the volume of material or the rugged terrain of a bush hog or flail mower.
While they are much lighter-duty, their blades are easier to maintain and replace of the three models. Like bush hogs, finishing mowers come in three-point hitch or trailing models, and some larger models can fold for easy transport after covering a lot of ground in a hurry. PD
Andy Overbay holds a Ph.D. in ag education and has more than 40 years of hands-on dairy and farming experience.
-
Andy Overbay
- Extension Agent
- Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Email Andy Overbay
