Less haying... but mowing. Need to leave12" residual but would like a flail mower.

[Dadnatron]

So I have 85ac and have spent several years moving it from a row crop desert (when purchased) to pastures. I have a 15' Woods BW which inevitably leaves heavy residual in the wheel marks, if I ever go longer than 2wks between mowings. And, being in KY, we get rain which prevents mowing at a time I can get to it, several times a year. So I have what is essentially 'dead/mulched' lines throughout my pastures where my tractor has driven. These lines tend to grow back in weeds at a higher rate than regrow in grass. The adjacent grass will cover them up, but you can still tell exactly where you have driven and see a higher level of weed pressure in those tracks. I mow in different directions each and every time.

I have an 8' flail which I use for cleanup, ditchbanks, etc. around the farm, and it does a great job, but is far to close cut for pasture use.

The question I have is whether anyone knows of a flail mower which can be set at a MUCH higher height, ie 10-12" residual and still function?

Not that I'm made of $$$, but given so much of my time is spent mowing, and I am often upset with the outcome, and have thought of investing in a tractor/flail specific machine. However, every flail I've seen is set to cut really low.

Has anyone ever tried to set up/add wheels, etc to a flail to leave a higher residual?

 

[Jerry/MT]

Let me make sure I understand the issue. You reclaimed the land from row crop ground to "pasture ground". Now you have "pasture" and you let it grow high and mow it. So it's really not pasture, it's lawn. If that's the case you need to manage it like lawn and mow more often, like a lawn.
An alternative is to lease the ground for grazing. Then you will not have to mow and someone will pay you to graze it. Or you can sell the grass "on the stump" and let someone hay it.

 

[Gee Ray]

How high is the bat wing set to cut? If you are trying to mow at 12 inches high with the bw then the wheels are pushing the grass over and causing the problem. Try cutting the grass a little lower and the problem may go away.

Perhaps you could run a hay tedder after you mow with your batwing. This may eliminate the the lines in the field. Maybe a neighbor could ted it for you one time to see if it helps. If it does help a tedder is quick to run over a field.

I am with Jerry/MT, I would look for some one to hay the field. There may be big tax advantages to this as it becomes ag land. You need to check with your tax man. It would make a difference here in FL. It would give you cash to purchase fertilizer /lime or what ever you need. And it would reduce your property taxes. And a well cared for hay field looks very nice.

 

[Dadnatron]

Haying the field is a non starter. I have horses on it throughout the year. But I have to clip it to maintain quality. This IS NOT cattle grazing. I'm not trying to get maximal beef lb/ac. I'm trying to raise the fastest racehorses.

 

[LD1]

Weeds are a part of pasture without using chemicals. There is no way to get rid of them all, so you need to learn to deal with them and minimize them.


I agree that if you are cutting at 12" that's your problem. Drop to 6".

Leaving the uncut grass at 12" leaves a deep tire impression for you cut stuff to fill in. Including all the weed seeds you are depositing there with it....and giving it a nice blanket of cut grass on top to aid it germination.

Cut lower, and cut 3-4 times a year is gonna be better. But you still will have weeds without chemicals

 

[sea2summit]

Haying the field is a non starter. I have horses on it throughout the year. But I have to clip it to maintain quality. This IS NOT cattle grazing. I'm not trying to get maximal beef lb/ac. I'm trying to raise the fastest racehorses.

You have horses grazing but mow 85 acres every two weeks? Do you raise them full time? Can’t imagine that much mowing is a hobby

I think running the same lines every two weeks with heavy equipment is gonna leave a mark. Not sure what tires you have on the machines but maybe switching to turf tires would help? The manual on my disc mower says not to use it for cutting lawns but it might be an option, probably more affordable than 3 flails/tractor. I know they have 15’+ swath mowers, not cheap though.

 

[workinonit]

I have something similar to what you have. Mine is Bahia grass but I keep it cut to lawn height. About 2". This doesn't allow the Bahia and centipede to seed out and I don't experience what you are. I could run horses or cows on mine and keep it the same height but I don't. I do get some grass windrows if It gets too high because of rain but I don't get the weeds like you. Cut it lower.

 

[JimRB]

I have a bit less than 9 acres in horse pasture. With the brush cutter/slasher it goes as low as possible which might be 6 inches. Old slasher went lower. If i pull the mower it gets cut to about 3 inches. 7 horses do not keep things eaten down enough unless we get no rain. Still have to mow the roughs. 5 turn out areas to keep fights to a minimum and possible rotations.

 

[SPYDERLK]

So I have 85ac and have spent several years moving it from a row crop desert (when purchased) to pastures. I have a 15' Woods BW which inevitably leaves heavy residual in the wheel marks, if I ever go longer than 2wks between mowings. And, being in KY, we get rain which prevents mowing at a time I can get to it, several times a year. So I have what is essentially 'dead/mulched' lines throughout my pastures where my tractor has driven. These lines tend to grow back in weeds at a higher rate than regrow in grass. The adjacent grass will cover them up, but you can still tell exactly where you have driven and see a higher level of weed pressure in those tracks. I mow in different directions each and every time.

I have an 8' flail which I use for cleanup, ditchbanks, etc. around the farm, and it does a great job, but is far to close cut for pasture use.

The question I have is whether anyone knows of a flail mower which can be set at a MUCH higher height, ie 10-12" residual and still function?

Not that I'm made of $$$, but given so much of my time is spent mowing, and I am often upset with the outcome, and have thought of investing in a tractor/flail specific machine. However, every flail I've seen is set to cut really low.

Has anyone ever tried to set up/add wheels, etc to a flail to leave a higher residual?

Running over the grass before mowing it is always a problem, but regardless; Cutting grass at a chosen high level is extremely challenging with any ordinary mower because the blade or stem is extremely mobile that far from the ground. The grass can deflect enough to slip by the cutting blade. Even tho the blade hits it the cut is challenged by the ease with which the grass can move. There just isnt much to react against. That high up there is only inertia of the grass and most of that is below the cut point where its least effective. You need a fast moving blade to help counter this, but there you can generate more air movement tending to blow the grass away from a direct hit. You cant win. Hay cutters that run beside the tractor and sweep the grass across the cutters seem promising. - The sweep offers some stabilizing effect near the cut point. - Another possibility/idea is an arrangement that has a "comb" located just below the cutting blade. The smooth coarse teeth would extend just ahead of cut point and terminate just after the cutpoint. The effect of the comb should be able to present an artificial ground and act to stabilize the grass to lateral motion so it cant escape a crisp cut at the chosen level. You still need to operate beside or in front of the tractor. Edit -- And, an important consideration is that this ploy does not well address the physics of the cut action of a flail mower.