Mowing Mowing A Corn Field

[MikePA]

Once the farmer harvests his corn, I was going to use my mmm to mow the field as preparation for turning it into a pasture next spring. Any problem doing that with a finish mower?

 

[RobS]

Mike, if you are talking about mowing the left over corn stubble, I think that would be pretty rough on a MMM. Even a light duty rotary cutter will suffer in stubble like that. The other problem you may have will be the uneven ground due to the furrows. You might be better off having the farmer disc it. That will incorporate the stubble and smooth out the furrows. Hope this helps /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MikePA]

The farmer used no till, so there are no furrows to traverse, but your comment about the stalks is a good one. I was looking for more seat time /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif and I thought this might provide some. Thanks.

 

[RobS]

Here's what you need Mike...

115 Drawn Flail Shredder

Side-slicer knives provide maximum shredding and pulverizing action (drawn models)....more
Center-cut knives with center divider (drawn models)....more
Cupped knives provide lifting action for clean, thorough cutting (integral models)....more
Dynamically balanced rotor....more
Vibration and dirt-free rotor bearings....more
Spring-loaded powerband belt....more
Heavy-duty John Deere designed gearbox....more
Drive shafts....more
Heavy-duty, versatile rockshaft design (drawn models)....more
Endwise transport (drawn models)....more
Disk hitch (drawn models)....more
Safety shields help confine material inside the rotor housing....more
Warning lights (118 Integral Model)....more
Press wheel rollers (118 Integral Model)....more


Of course, you'll need a few more horses to run this thing through your field /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>Of course, you'll need a few more horses to run this thing through your field</font color=blue>

Not to mention a few more <font color=green>dollars</font color=green> /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Mike,

Either buy or borrow a regular duty {1" stuff} rotary cutter and save your finish mower... most finish mowers have 1/4" thick blades as rough cut are usually 1/2" thick...

Those stalks are pretty hefty and will win against the finish mower blades... {not to mention the thinner deck and sidewall potential damage}/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[lblair]

I wouldnt use my mmm to cut the stalk, she mowes like a fine watch would keep time. On the other hand with my KK rotary cutter id blast it off. Lots of corn fields around here are always heaving rocks so ide be carfull. I would think he would want to plow it really. Ive cleared a few achers of saplings and brush in the 1-2 inch range with out a problem. Thats with my TC21D and a 4' King kutter. It cranks!
Larry

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by lblair on 11/13/01 07:48 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[ecard]

I used my 60" Rotart cutter to mow under about 2 acres of corn and garden vegetation and it did just fine. I kept the mower pretty high to avoid the furrows as mentioned above - didn't always work though. Then I used my 2btm plow to turn the soil under to prepare for spring planting. Worked fine for me.

ec

 

[ecard]

Forgot to mention one thing - when I was in Iowa this past week I saw several farmers cutting their corn stalks and bailing just like hay for the cattle - kind of cool.

ec

 

[MikePA]

I went out to the Bush Hog site and looked through the Owner's Manual for one of the Squealer models. In the Preparation For Use section, they talk about cutting both the driveline shield and the driveline itself. Did all of you have to do this with your rotary cutters?

 

[jinman]

Mike, I typically have cut driveline shields (the bell shaped end-pieces) and also added or enlarged a hole in them so I could get my grease gun into the zerk fittings on the universal joints. On my PTO powered Bush Hog chipper-shredder, I had to cut the PTO Drive links to shorten them because the shaft was about 6" too long. When I did that, I also had to shorten the shield. This is pretty common practice for modification/configuration on different tractors. Very few tractors have the same dimensions of lift arm length, etc. which would make this a standard length. Even though the drive links are adjustable, if they are too long you have no choice but to cut them.

JimI

 

[MikePA]

What's the diameter of the shield? Gotta make sure it'll fit in my vice.

 

[jinman]

Hmmm.... Are we talking about the same thing? The driveline shield I am talking about is the plastic one that is on the outside of the driveline (typically yellow in color). I use a razor knife or tin snips to cut it. I can't imagine why you would need to put it in a vise. We gotta be talkin' about two different things, don't you think?

JimI

 

[MikePA]

I don't think so. Head to http://www.bushhog.com/agtoc.html and click on the Squealer model rotary cutter. Go to Page 8 and they show a guy with what looks like the entire PTO shaft, shield and axle, in a vice using a hacksaw to cut them.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Mike,

Did you already buy a Bush Hog Squealer or are you thinking about one...?

If you haven't purchased anything yet... take a look at the KingKutter line, it's not a "pretty" as Squealer, but built as well or thicker steel and blades... and lots better value for your wallet.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[lblair]

Your right! King Kutter is better value for the buck. I have the 48" model. It has I beam constuction on the sides and is very strong. I beat mine and its holding up well. It even came through painted blue...now thats a real plus as far as im concerned. Its heavey too. works great for rear weight when i use the loader.

 

[lblair]

I had to cut 2" off my shaft and the same with the shield. I took it to work and used our power hack saw.....BUTTER. It went on without cutting it, but when i came onto hilly ground it wanted to bottom out with it self.

 

[jinman]

Mike, now I know where you got the vice question. There are two sizes of shield. One is about 3" diameter and the other smaller so it will fit inside. If you need to change the driveline length (I've only had to do it once), you can put it in a vice as shown and cut it, or I'll bet you that your dealer would cut it for you. I used a hand-held Makita rotary abrasive cutter on the one I did and it worked just fine. If you have something like a chopsaw available, it will also work and there is normally a clamp built into the base. If you do have to do it and all you have is a hacksaw and vice, you will probably need a vice that opens at least 2-1/2". You can squeeze the plastic shield and should be able to get it into an opening that small even though it is about 3" in diameter. By the way. I also agree that King Kutter is a very good brand to buy. Tractor Supply sells a relabelled King Kutter painted red.

JimI

 

[MikePA]

Nope, haven't bought anything yet. I asked my twin sister if she had a rotary cutter. She has a Squealer, the 4 foot model, she uses with her Kubota 2400. Unfortunately, she lives too far away for me to borrow it.