Time to cut
tractorbuyer
Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 30 Oxford, MS |
2005-07-14 113472
Howdy all! I'm doing some back-of-the-envolope math here but lack the experience needed...stepping up from 4 wooded acres.
How long will it take to finish mow an acre (I recently acquired 42 of them) with a 60" finish mower? The land is rectangular and well groomed already, having been maintained to a very high standard prior to my purchase. Relatively flat, few trees--essentially well groomed pasture land. My tractor is pretty quick--as quick as I've ever wanted it, but I've never measured the speed.
Guesses? Thanks!
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denwood
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 542 Quarryville PA |
2005-07-14 113474
I hope you are retired. I know someone here can tell you a good aprox. for time but way too long in my opinion. I consider a 60 inch mower adequate for 1-5 acres of yard. I use a 72 inch and I have only an acre open. I 'd say you need a 10 footer or more. ....
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kskwash
Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 58 Texas |
2005-07-14 113477
I have a TC30 and when I use my finish mower, it takes me about 35 to 45 min / acre. ....
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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon Pics |
2005-07-14 113483
A friend rents a mid-frame JD with a six foot mower and it takes him about eight hours to do 10 acres. ....
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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee Pics |
2005-07-14 113485
I was thinking 4 to 5 days depending upon how many hours you put in during each day. I have a hay pasture about that size and it takes about 3 days to get it all cut with the hay conditioner which I believe cuts 72" at a time. Might be 84" .......I'll have to check. Unless you like mowing; you may want to look into an 84" rotary cutter or finish mower. ....
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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa |
2005-07-15 113488
A long time. At 3 miles per hour you will do a short 2 acres per hour. Maybe some sheep or calves could take care of it easier with just some cleanup mowing. Frank. ....
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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998 Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ Pics |
2005-07-15 113491
About 28 hours. ....
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tractorbuyer
Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 30 Oxford, MS |
2005-07-15 113492
Thanks to all who responded. I'm seriously considering the sheep option. I'm not sure a 25HP with a 60" is the way to go. :) Maybe an excuse to buy a new one...
....
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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan Pics |
2005-07-15 113493
A friend of mine has lots of acreage and was using a 12foot reel type mower. That always needed sharping, etc. to perform well and only worked if you kept the lawn real short. Recently he found a used Land Pride foldup style gang mower which basically is three 48" decks and ends up doing 11 foot at a time. It was a trade-in from a church. He picked it up for $2,500.00. He is running it with a MF135 (35HP gas tractor) which just has enough power to do the job. The mower is rated for 35-75HP tractors.
If you want to mow the acreage, that is the way to go. Goats, sheep and cattle solve one problem and create two others. ....
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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada Pics |
2005-07-15 113495
If you want to cut finished turf fast nothing beats a dedicated commercial cutter.
Even our 'small ones' which are only 60" cut will do 3+ acres an hour on flat open land.
The bigger ones (read spendier) will do 15+ acres an hour.
To go back to your original question, the math is simple, look in you owner's manual, it will tell you fast your tractor goes in each gear at PTO speed. Take the mph and mulitiply by 5,280 (feet in a mile) then multiply that by the width (in feet) of the mower. The answer, divided by 42,560 (square feet in an acre) is how many acres per hour you would cut, but does not take turning, dodging trees, climbing hills, etc., into account.
Frank is probably real close with 2'ish acres per hour.
Best of luck. ....
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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee Pics |
2005-07-15 113502
Another option you may want to consider is approaching a local farmer and ask if they would be interested in cutting hay of the property for no cost. The only issue to get ironed out would be that they should apply fertilizer and lime periodically as needed. That is what am doing currently on the ranch. I just don't have enough time or equipment to do it all myself and they are real happy to have the hay which normally costs them about $2.50 per square bale or $20 per round bale. I am happy because it keeps my fields and pastures cut and in good shape. If I didn't do this; it would not take very long before the black berry patches, honey locust trees, and other weeds start to pop up. ....
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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998 Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ Pics |
2005-07-15 113505
Ditto Randy's comment. What I have seen look really good is for you to finish mow 25 feet or so along the perimeter and drives and larger areas near the house and any other area you wish to groom for looks, and let the farmer hay the rest periodically. ....
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brokenarrow
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1288 Wisconsin |
2005-07-18 113619
My six foot brush hog has mowed my 8 acre hay field in around 4 hours and that actually was taking it easy trying to get a uniform cut. I think you may want to consider a tree farm plantation on half that field. LOL ....
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