Flail Mower Mower For Prairie Grass

[Freeborn]

Hi Group,

I am looking to purchase a mower for mowing prairie grass (PG). I have a John Deere 3520 with 30hp at the PTO. I have 50 acres of PG in CRP that I need to mow 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 or approximately 16 acres for 3 years in a row. My first mowing is part of my mid contract mowing requirement starting in 2016.

One of the things I want to be able to do is mow the PG fairly short so I can have additional forbs/flowers interseeded into the PG and to chop up the thatch. When I had the original PG planted 5 years ago I had mostly grasses planted because of cost. Now that I will be doing my mid-contract mowing I plan on having additional forbs planted to improve the diversity of the PG. After my mid contract mowing the mower will be used to do some strip mowing to help the flowers compete with the grasses.

My mowing requirement starts in 2016 and after reading several threads was thinking of a flail mower similar to a JD 25A. What type of knives would you recommend for prairie grass? Most of my grasses are 3-5' tall and a mix of big blue, indian etc. My soil is sandy so my stands are not as thick as very good soils but still pretty think in some areas. My land is pretty flat so not allot of change in terrain.

Thanks much!

FB

 

[flusher]

JD 3520--37 hp engine, 30 hp pto.
I assume you are not planning to bale this grass.

I'd use a 5-ft brush hog and sharpen the blade edge to 1/16" radius (like the blade on a riding mower). This is probably the least expensive implement that will handle your job and do it quickly.

On my 10 acre ranch I ran a 6-ft hog with my Mahindra 5525 (55 hp engine, 45 hp pto). To make blade sharpening easy and safe, I cut an access door in the top deck so I can quickly sharpen the blades with a 4-1/2 inch angle grinder. Eliminates the hassle of lying on my back under the mower with a grinder a few inches from my face.



Good luck

 

[Foodplot]

If your contract allows, you'll be better off strip disking rather than mowing if the ultimate goal is replacing some NWSG with forbs. You want full sun on soil, no competition. Disking established NWSG requires a heavy disk. We use bog disks. A bog disk would be an anchor for your tractor, you'd need a lot more weight and HP. I commend your wish to add forbs. Most people like the look of a PG monoculture, but a diverse prairie is much better for the birds, rabbits, tortoises, etc.
If you want to mow, wait until the grasses go dormant and follow Flusher's advice. If you can rake or burn the debris, that will help get sun on soil.

 

[Freeborn]

Yep, I can't bale the grass so I need to leave the clippings. One of the reasons I was thinking flail mower rather than brush mower was to have as small of clipping as possible so they would biodegrade quicker. I could mow late fall or early spring when the grass is very dry and I should be able to mow it much easier than when its green and lush. I just don't know if a flail can digest that much grass and if they can't then a brush mower it will be. I would interseed my forbs in early spring. I know burning is a better alternative but I have some areas near woods and buildings that make it impossible plus I am hesitant to light a match to so much fuel.

When it comes to disking I would rather avoid disturbing the seed-bank as I have seen what happens when I plant my food plots. I'll try drilling the forbs first and if that doesn't go well I may try some light disking.

Thanks!

 

[Creamer]

A sickle bar mower takes a lot less power and if you are just leaving it lay it will rot down in time. You could power a 9' and get it done much faster. it will lay it down nice and even and the grass will grow back up through it. I never liked the way my bush hog put the clippings out in bunches or a row along the left side that killed the grass. I also do not like the look of driving over it and then the mower not pulling it up to get it cut off and a week later I have a bunch standing up again in strips.

 

[Freeborn]

A sickle bar mower takes a lot less power and if you are just leaving it lay it will rot down in time. You could power a 9' and get it done much faster. it will lay it down nice and even and the grass will grow back up through it. I never liked the way my bush hog put the clippings out in bunches or a row along the left side that killed the grass. I also do not like the look of driving over it and then the mower not pulling it up to get it cut off and a week later I have a bunch standing up again in strips.

I never thought of a sickle bar mower. Have you ever inter-seeded forbs or grasses into PG? I'm just wondering about drilling through the laid down grass. I could see using a sickle bar mower after the forbs and everything are established but not certain about before. Getting germination of the newly seeded forbs is important. I may have to mow the grass again after drilling the forbs and after the grass is about 6-8" to set it back. It would be allot of mowing but not impossible.

Thanks

 

[Creamer]

Not sure when you seed the forbs. If it is in the spring I would seed early and then mow before the grass got too high to not have too thick a cover over the seedlings. If in the fall, I would mow it a couple of times with a sickle bar through the summer to keep the grass height low and then seed it.

 

[smstonypoint]

Have you investigated whether you can obtain cost-share assistance for planting forbs through the USDA's EQIP program? If not, a visit to your local NRCS office could be worth your time.

Steve

 

[flusher]

I'd check out small drum mowers like these.

Mini Hay Balers and Compact Hay Balers | Small Farm Innovators

Something like the DM 3575 would get you a 6-ft cut with your JD 3520 CUT. Nice thing about drum mowers is that they don't clog like sicklebars.

Drum mowers will produce fairly wide and flat windrows. If that's a problem, Galfre makes a drum mower with their built-in "Black Hole" conditioning system that spreads out the cuttings similar to a sicklebar without making a windrow.

Tractor Tools Direct | Galfre Compact Drum Mowers

BTW: a brush hog can be adjusted to chop the cuttings into mulch-like condition. To do this you set the front end of the mower 2-3 inches higher than the rear. That way the blades will slice through the cuttings several times before ejecting them out the side. It takes a little more pto horsepower so your ground speed will be lower in this mulch mode.

Good luck

 

[blueriver]

I know nothing about planting Forbs ... all I can say is some of the best winter grass (rye) that I've had was to spread the seed with a shotgun seeder and then cut the grass with a sickle mower ... it simply laid down and covered the seed as well it held the moisture and man that rye grass really grew.