Rear finish or MMM

[Dougw133]

Caught a change up in my buying scenario. Was about to acquire a home on 8 sloping and wooded acres. Was set on the 72" MMM of a B2920. NOW. That deal fell through but moving quick another on 20 level mixed wooded acres. There are tow long football field style lenghts of grass probably about 8-10 acres. The previous owner is moving to England and I noticed a nice sized TYM tractor in the garage. He had a smaller MMM and a Zero turn for the smaller areas. The area's that would be mowed are long and level. There is ALOT of grass. With going from 8 to now almost 21 acres I am feeling I might step up to the B3030. The are around the house will still need either a push mower a small rider. With big open grass what would be better. MMM or Rear finish? I want to get as much done in the least amount of time while remaining cost friendly. Is there a nice compromise where I'd be in the middle? There are some trees but they are sporadic and spaced out. Recommendations?

 

[TripleR]

I would hate to mow that much every week, so personally I would see if someone wants to hay it or go with a rotary cutter or flail mower and mow it less often.

If pressed, I would choose a RFM, we have used them for years in addition to MMM and the RFM is much easier to dismount and will in all likelihood be much cheaper.

 

[whistlepig]

I mow about that much yard and it does get old mowing grass 5 to 6 hours a week. I have always used RFM mowers and prefer them. Mostly because all the dust and dirt is blowing up behind me instead of underneath me.

 

[sal64]

Caught a change up in my buying scenario. Was about to acquire a home on 8 sloping and wooded acres. Was set on the 72" MMM of a B2920. NOW. That deal fell through but moving quick another on 20 level mixed wooded acres. There are tow long football field style lenghts of grass probably about 8-10 acres. The previous owner is moving to England and I noticed a nice sized TYM tractor in the garage. He had a smaller MMM and a Zero turn for the smaller areas. The area's that would be mowed are long and level. There is ALOT of grass. With going from 8 to now almost 21 acres I am feeling I might step up to the B3030. The are around the house will still need either a push mower a small rider. With big open grass what would be better. MMM or Rear finish? I want to get as much done in the least amount of time while remaining cost friendly. Is there a nice compromise where I'd be in the middle? There are some trees but they are sporadic and spaced out. Recommendations?

i use a 62inch mmm around my house and my fields i have both 72 inch rear finishing mower and brushhog, the brushhog does a better job, i mow the fields at about 18 inches high.

 

[PapaPerk]

You want to mow 10 acres for a lawn?!

 

[boggen]

for that much lawn, i would see about a 2 tractor deal. one for grass cutting and another tractor for everything else.

granted it raises costs up front, but one machine geared and setup for mowing that much cuts down seat time. and another machine setup for other various tasks can do a lot more.

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if i had the cash myself, i would more likely go with "gang reel" mower. with about 8 to 10 foot wide cut width. though gang reel mowers, from understanding you need to keep up with the cutting, due to tall and problems cutting from understanding.

since the cost is so high and i do not see gang reel mowers listed on auctions as much or for sale. my option has been use a regular finishing mower for right around house, and around a cabin on a lake. then let everything else grow, and either use a bush hog "rotatory cutter" or recently bought sickle mower.

tend to see alot of threads here on TBN were folks go with a zero turn for grass cutting, then a regular CUT or utilty class tractor for other things.

to hit back on 2 machine doings. one machine for grass, = turf tires that do not tear up the grass, easier and quicker turning. and second machine with say r1 or r4 tires to get through mud.

pending on manufacturer there is a difference in main frames of tractors when you jump from i want to say SCUTS (sub compact utility tractors) up to CUTs (compact utility tractors) were the entire frame is higher off ground. better 3pt hitch setups or at least default setups from manufacturer. plus normally larger diameter tires.

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when you compromise going to a single machine, tires, weight, power, mowing, other tasks. can all get blurred, many folks are happy with a single machine, but there is a good amount of compromise. at least to me. though my opinion more likely bias due to what i need to do here on the farm / woods / etc..

 

[PHILIP8N]

Fence in 10 acres, get 5 cows, and 1 bull. Fill your freezer every year, sell off 4 cattle every year. Just took care of half your mowing problem and put a profit in your pocket after 2 year investment. Philip.

 

[MHarryE]

I had 7 acres of lawn, 2 near the house which I did with a 48" lawn tractor and 5 that I mowed with a 72" rear finish mower. My reasons for selecting the RFM were dealer recommendation and lower cost. The rear finish mower did fine for me covering the large area because I had the lawn tractor to trim.

 

[whistlepig]

Fence in 10 acres, get 5 cows, and 1 bull. Fill your freezer every year, sell off 4 cattle every year. Just took care of half your mowing problem and put a profit in your pocket after 2 year investment. Philip.

I have been thinking about this.

 

[BeezFun]

There are some trees but they are sporadic and spaced out. Recommendations?

I attach a 5' Swisher trail mower offset to the back of my 5' bush hog, so I get a total cutting width of just over 9'. It pops off with one pin so I can reduce the width to mow in tight areas and around trees. You could attach it to the back of your RFM, or to a 3pt receiver if you decide on a MMM. I pulled the swisher behind a 48" craftsman riding mower for 2 years before I got my tractor. That gave me an 8' cut and was a cheap solution to mowing a lot of property.

 

[Dr. Bob]

With that many acres, I'l go with the low effort option mentioned above: get a farmer to hay it. You get some cash and there is no effort on your part. They will keep it looking good. They hay 3 times a year and it never gets very high. The hay fields around here look great.

 

[XSKIER]

deal fell through but moving quick another on 20 level mixed wooded acres. There are tow long football field style lenghts of grass probably about 8-10 acres. The previous owner is moving to England and I noticed a nice sized TYM tractor in the garage.

Why not make an offer on the equipment that is already there? A football field is only one acre.

 

[sixdogs]

As mentioned, to mow that much is a lot but if you are determined it can be done without the hassle expected. You will need somehing of a regular mower for around the hose and between trees.
In my case, I have an older 38" Deere F510 zero turn mower I bought for between trees and tight spaces. I also have a MMM Kubota B7800 @ 60" to mow the 2 acre basic yard but wish I had a ZT. The B7800 is a good compromise.

We no longer mow the extra acres but I have a Woods 7 ft 3 pt RD 8400 finish mower I used. For these "field" acres I simply set the mower at a high level of maybe 5 or more inches and just mowed every few weeks. Less often in the summer and that was mostly for clipping weeds. This method of high mowing caused the grass to look less scraggly as it grew and cut my mowing time. As long as it is cut level, the height of field doesn't seem to matter. In fact, taller grass looked better in summer and made it more difficult for weeds to start. We also sprayed weeds with 2,4-D every fall.

We did the cow thing for a while and out worked but you have to fence and feed, water, etc and this is a time, labor and potential liability issue open to debate. Unless you have the time, labor and leaning curve required with large animals and marketing, you will likely lose money and take greater risks.

Today, we rent our extra acres and they are grain farmed. But I still did like the look of an expansive "lawn".

 

[TripleR]

I just can't see paying the property taxes on essentially a ten acre lawn with the attendant maintenance costs.

We have a three acre "field" next to approximately two acres of yard that I bush hog every two weeks. Due to its shape, it can no longer be farmed due to the size of equipment used. If it wasn't for my wife's allergies, we would have it hayed.

 

[BeezFun]

The previous owner is moving to England and I noticed a nice sized TYM tractor in the garage. He had a smaller MMM and a Zero turn for the smaller areas. Recommendations?

If he's moving ask him to throw in the tractor and other lawn equipment. What's he going to do with it? I got my riding mower and other lawn stuff for free with our house, the people were retiring, I asked them to throw it in with the sale and they said sure.

 

[Dougw133]

I dont want a TYM tractor :ashamed:

OK. Much appreciate the advice here and I have to say I possibly am off on my acreage that is lawn. Lets say 6-8

Here is a picture. There is another lawn below the one you see. Do I want to mow for 6 hours a week? No...But I don't really want to let it go to hay either. The property is just too awesome!

 

[BeezFun]

I dont want a TYM tractor :ashamed:

How about a free TYM tractor?

Hard to tell from picture but ground looks pretty rough, finish mowers only mow up so high, so some if it might get scalped. A bush hog would allow you to mow it longer, also healthier for the grass.

 

[Dougw133]

How about a free TYM tractor?

Hard to tell from picture but ground looks pretty rough, finish mowers only mow up so high, so some if it might get scalped. A bush hog would allow you to mow it longer, also healthier for the grass.

Well....FREE changes things I agree. BUT I doubt he's gonna throw his tool collection in for nothing.

 

[jakell2010]

That doesn't look like its mowed with a finish mower,,,,,,it looks bush hogged,,,,,and you can run a 72" RFM On a 2920,,, or a 5' hog

 

[bp fick]

I just can't see paying the property taxes on essentially a ten acre lawn with the attendant maintenance costs.

We have a three acre "field" next to approximately two acres of yard that I bush hog every two weeks. Due to its shape, it can no longer be farmed due to the size of equipment used. If it wasn't for my wife's allergies, we would have it hayed.

Agreed. Land should either be allowed to go natural with prairie grasses/wood lot, etc, or used for some agricultural purpose and provide a return of some kind.

4-10 acres of lawn is a black hole of maintenance costs. That's just me. Some guys love looking at acres and acres of groomed lawn. I'm just not one of them. I'd rather see crops growing, hay being baled, or hamburger and steaks on the hoof.