Brush hog vs mower for 2 acres of pasture?

3brianl

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Recently moved to property with 2 acres of pasture that needs mowing 1x week. Prior owner had donkeys and goats to graze, but we have none. Wife wants a couple of goats, but still probably will need to mow. Have a small lawn tractor Massey Ferguson GC 2300 (23 hp) to drag a brush hog OR get a separate riding mower. Mower idea would be to reduce logging hours on tractor. Property square and pretty level, no major obstacles, and don't think it's too rocky (but haven't walked every foot). What advice would you have (brush hog vs mower), brands and size would be appreciated. Budget < $4k. Thank you!
 

cpurvis

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Get a rear mount finish mower for your Massey. I think they're around $1500 or less and do a good job of mowing.

Or a deck mower.
 

bertsmobile1

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Any garden tractor will eat 2 acres of pasture.
A used commercial ZTR with a fabricated deck will also be a good addition at a reasonable price, but look for one with a smallish deck ( 60" or less ) as big decks get overwhelmed if trying to mow very tall thick pasture.
FWIW the landlord mows 1000 acres with some old Cub Cadets 2000 series and this was horticulture previously so the property is chockers with drainage ditches of varying depths that actually make using the real 40Hp tractors dangerous.

I can not recommend the 2000 Cubs any more because MTD has stopped making the spindle housings for them which has proper tapered roller bearings and is unique to Cub.
 

4getgto

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I'd go with the Bush hog. Like mentioned above they can be had for 1500 or less if you look around. What's it going to take ( hour wise ) to mower 2 acres ?? An hour maybe 2..? That isn't going to put many hours on your Massey. Isn't that what you got it for ? That Bush hog will outlast any rider you plan on using 10-1.
BTY... What else do you use your Massey for that you're worried about hours.?
 

DK35vince

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If you mow every week get a finish mow for the Massey.
If you let it get deep before mowing get a brush mower.
 

3brianl

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Thank you. All good feedback. Cutter or finish cutter makes better sense as I read the comments and ideas > buying another machine that requires space and maintenance. Looking at a 3-1/2 or 4 foot rotary cutter. Grass is about knee high currently (3 weeks w/o grazing). How much "self-mulching" are the cutters (rotary v finish) or do I need to rake as well? Again, only a couple of goats in field to eat.
 

cpurvis

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If you're going to mow this regularly, you need a finish mower.
 

bertsmobile1

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Mulching only works if you are lopping the top 1/4 to 1/3 off the grass.
After that you end up with windrows and a deck which is constantly choking.
I am a belt + braces type of person so would never allow myself to be totally reliant on a single machine.
The actual work required to service a used commercial mower that is doing 2 to 4 hours a week for 30 weeks a year is minimal and an annual end of season service should be fine.
The landlord greases the Cubs before every use, takes about 3 minutes but some of his blade spindles have better than 2000 hours on them.
When we are mowing anything over 1' tall, it is lift the discharge chute & throw so the grass is distributed as thinly and evenly as possible.
In a good season the tussock grass can be 4' tall between mowings as the cattle will not eat it .

On the subject of cattle.
Consider offering your paddock as "free grazing space" .
Do not allow sweet little Susie to put her pony there, but you should be able to find a greenie co-operative looking for space that they do not have to pay for.
Let them do the work for you.
Breeders will also be looking for spare paddocks for the excess males that are stud quality, cause you can not run more than 1 bull with a herd of cows.
The farm over the road gets used for this and regularly will have up to 20 bulls running around till they get sold off.

We regularly get asked if we have any spare land where charity groups can grow food and the Somali refugees now use a portion of the river side paddock where the last flood took the fence with it.
Nice people and the odd box of South African traditional vegies always goes down well, after they show us how to eat them.
 
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