[AT] Flail mowers

[Spencer Yost]

If it's that bad what about a sickle bar mower?   At least it will lay flat and not windrow on you.   By pastures do you mean literally, or are they fallow,  fenced-in fields?   If these are pastures you need more animals!

Seriously though, you might want to see if a neighbor has a sickle bar mower you can test and see if you like it.

Spencer

> On May 15, 2015, at 11:34, Mike <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:
> 
> Mowing infrequently is a huge part of the problem Charlie, and it's not 
> because of not wanting to. The land is wet until around June, and I 
> can't get on it to mow. I am working on solutions to get it to drain 
> better, but it's a slow, trial and error process. Now that I have a 4 
> wheel drive tractor, I could probably mow it sooner, but would make a 
> mess in the process. Last year I couldn't mow until the grass was 6 feet 
> high. I think I would have been better off leaving it alone and burning 
> it off in the Spring.
> 
> Mike M
> 
> 
>> On 5/15/2015 4:00 AM, charlie hill wrote:
>> Mike, if you are cutting it infrequently enough that you have a problem with
>> large windrows of grass then a finish mower is NOT going to stand up to the
>> task.
>> Or at least the ones I've been around will not.   A good bush hog with good,
>> sharp
>> blades on it will mow a pasture to look almost as good as a finish mower but
>> you
>> can't let it get so high or mow in wet conditions.  Also some bush hogs have
>> removable
>> discharge panels so that the grass can blow out the rear or to one side.
>> 
>> I always try to mow pastures in a pattern such that I'm cutting back over
>> any windrow
>> I leave with the next pass of the mower.  In other words, if my bush hog is
>> leaving
>> the windrow on the right side I work around the pasture so that the right
>> side of the
>> bush hog is always toward the uncut grass.  On the next pass I'm re-cutting
>> the windrow
>> along with the next portion of grass.  If you are getting a lot of windrow
>> it's because
>> you are cutting more grass than the bush hog is able to disperse, just the
>> same as with
>> your lawn mower.
>> 
>> I've never used a flail mower but a friend of mine used to use one to mow
>> his mobile home park.
>> It does a fine job.  However, they are a bit more of a maintenance challenge
>> than a bush hog or
>> finish mower.  Still even with a flail, if the grass is too high and thick
>> it has to go somewhere and
>> it will pile up.   The key is to keep the pasture mowed more often.
>> 
>> My two cents worth.
>> 
>> Charlie
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mike
>> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2015 10:11 PM
>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Flail mowers
>> 
>> ?? so yes on the flail or keep the hog, or go with a finish mower?
>> 
>> Mike M
>> 
>> 
>>> On 5/14/2015 8:54 PM, Spencer Yost wrote:
>>> A tough finish mower used a few more times a year than I would a bush hog
>>> does great in my 4 acres.
>>> 
>>> Spencer
>>> 
>>>> On May 14, 2015, at 20:11, Mike <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I have about 5-7 acres of horse pasture that i mow, and have been using
>>>> a brush hog, John Deere 513? What I don't care for is how it leaves
>>>> windrows and clumps of the taller grass. I would be interested in
>>>> getting some opinions on flail mowers.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Mike M
>>>> 
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