OK, I have to ask... why are you mowing the field ? I have farmers that pay for 6-10 acre fields near me so instead of YOU cutting grass, you could be paid and watch crops being grown and harvested.
What size tractor?
- Thread starter fransser
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I have a 2001 Husqvarna ZTH-6125 zero turn mower that I bought new. It is now 25 years old. My only wish is that I had bought it 10 years earlier.
The deck is adjustable from 3 to 6 inches (IIRC) and with sharp blades and the deck height set to 3 inches it will cut 12 inch high DRY grass with ease, even with its 61 inch cut. It will cut wet grass well, but not as smoothly as dry grass.
The beginning of the second season I had to replace all the hydraulic lines, as they leaked at the ferrules. Poor design on the part of Husqvarna. One coil went bad just last year, I replaced both with new Kawasaki units. Other than that, just maintenance items. The engine burns no oil.
For all but the last 3 years I cut 10 acres of grass weekly. The mower cut my time in the seat in half compared to a tractor and bush hog. Push mowing/weed eating is near zero because you can cut that close.
The deck is adjustable from 3 to 6 inches (IIRC) and with sharp blades and the deck height set to 3 inches it will cut 12 inch high DRY grass with ease, even with its 61 inch cut. It will cut wet grass well, but not as smoothly as dry grass.
The beginning of the second season I had to replace all the hydraulic lines, as they leaked at the ferrules. Poor design on the part of Husqvarna. One coil went bad just last year, I replaced both with new Kawasaki units. Other than that, just maintenance items. The engine burns no oil.
For all but the last 3 years I cut 10 acres of grass weekly. The mower cut my time in the seat in half compared to a tractor and bush hog. Push mowing/weed eating is near zero because you can cut that close.
I have 5 acers to mow once a week and do it with my BX2380, MMM 60" and a offset 60" pull behind (mounted to the side) finishing mower. I opted for cutting wider rather than cutting faster as my ground is not flat and has mole hills. With the offset mower, I can get under the trees and mow close to the creek. Around the house, about 2 acers, I just use the BX with MMM.
When we bought our house on 5 acres of old cow pasture, I originally ran the B2650 with a 72" finish mower and an old, sketchy ridder. The next season i was on the hunt for a zero turn. Bought a used Scag Turf Tiger 61" cut and man....that thing does such a nice job and is sooooo much faster and nimble, I don't know why everyone doesn't use one. I can cut our 5 acres in 2 hours or less most days, unless it's early spring when the grass is thick and wet.
One bad point with zero turn mowers is when they are used on hills of any significant angle. They are fine until you have to change direction, even a little bit, and then they go like a dart, straight downhill and out of control. When I bought my zero turn I lived in NJ, where everything is flat or nearly so. Now I live in WV, where you have two choices of direction, up or down.
As much as I love that mower, I'll have to trade her in on a small Kubota B series 4wd tractor with a belly mower. I've come way too close to 20-30 foot drops, and I don't bounce at 70 years old the way I did when I was 25
Agree, and will add that a zero-turn has limited additional usefulness… when compared to other, more universally-capable equipment. The money spent on zero-turn may be better spent on equipment that can accomplish additional-work zero-turns can never.
(Wanna dig a hole? Dig a trench? Pull a tree? Run an auger? Drive a generator or pump? Split logs? Carry large/heavy items? Move dirt? Re-position a trailer or an airplane?
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I mowed the same 10 acre property with a 6 foot Woods brush hog and a Ford 1920 tractor and my 6125 Husqvarna zero turn.
As far as quality of cut, there is no comparison. The zero turn is years ahead. Using the zero turn, my seat time was cut in half, my push mowing time eliminated and my string trimmer use about a quarter of what it was.
I could cut my grass at 10-12 mph with the Husqvarna, something that the Ford tractor couldn't come near.
Count me as a zero turn fanboy.
Have to ask… why are all of you spending so much time and money mowing.
I have 15 acres, and HAD a 100 hp tractor and a 16’ bat wing. Which really struggled because the grass was so thick by the way.
One day when I was mowing I said why am I doing this.
Sold the tractor, put up a fence and got some cows, now I don’t mow. Don’t want cows, get goats, sheep etc. Free meat and $$ from selling calves, plus ag exemption on land saves $ on taxes.
You don’t want to fool with cows, there are people who will rent ground and put their cows there.
Just an option.
I have 15 acres, and HAD a 100 hp tractor and a 16’ bat wing. Which really struggled because the grass was so thick by the way.
One day when I was mowing I said why am I doing this.
Sold the tractor, put up a fence and got some cows, now I don’t mow. Don’t want cows, get goats, sheep etc. Free meat and $$ from selling calves, plus ag exemption on land saves $ on taxes.
You don’t want to fool with cows, there are people who will rent ground and put their cows there.
Just an option.
Well ... I'm gone for weeks at a time, and don't like people on my property, so no renting ... Or critters running wild on there own.
I just cut my 14 acres of fields and 1.5 acres of lawn ... Tractor and rear finish mower do the fields, Z-turn does around the house and the ditch my bigger CUT can't do ...
Critters can be the answer for some, and for others a tractor answers the question!
Yep, everyone gets to solve their own situations. Different ages, different personalities, different circumstances all get different solutions.
My wife enjoys being outside and working, so she enjoys mowing. It's relaxing for her. She likes to be done and see what she accomplished. She mows because she feels like it, not necessarily because the grass needs cut. She has a 17K zero turn. People sometimes make a comment about the cost of a lawn mower. I tell them have you checked the fees a psychologist charge, a mower is a bargain?
I "may" decide to try a few sheep once I retire ... But no way I want enough to be able to eat down my 16 acres of grass, and they really need to do "rotational grazing" so more fencing, and you gotta still cut the grass when they are in a different area ... Then I'd need to find a buyer, and probably would change my tax situation, plus state reporting of selling critters to eat ... Record keeping ... Water, feed for winter, where am I gonna store that hay? Do I make hay myself, and buy more equipment, or buy the hay?
Or ... Just dump some diesel in the tractor once in awhile ... It sits until I want it, the coyotes don't bother it either!
Or ... Just dump some diesel in the tractor once in awhile ... It sits until I want it, the coyotes don't bother it either!
You forgot to include the vet bills for the sheep. While not the same animal, in 1985 I totaled the yearly cost for my wife's horse (hay, grain, salt block, vet visits, worming paste, farrier cost and I discovered it cost more in that year than if I paid for the hospital bill for my daughter born in that same year out of my pocket.
What size tractor?
I find that the best course of action is to aquire the smallest tractor that will do the job. That way you can has perma-smug as people drive by because of all the fuel you are saving.
Also, even the most expensive oil/grease means nothing to the pocket book since you'll use so little of it.
This is every BX1880 owner:
I find that the best course of action is to aquire the smallest tractor that will do the job. That way you can has perma-smug as people drive by because of all the fuel you are saving.
Also, even the most expensive oil/grease means nothing to the pocket book since you'll use so little of it.
This is every BX1880 owner:
Just some additional information, just in case anyone is interested in the livestock route.
1. hay, it is possible to raise livestock without hay if you do it right. https://stockmangrassfarmer.com/store/product/kick-the-hay-habit
2. Fence, I have heard of but not tried using wireless fence with livestock after some training, I am going to try this myself, around some overgrown ditches with goats. It uses shock collar’s with gps.
3. Smell, my wife smells everything, and I do mean everything. She never complained once about the cattle.
4. Vet bills, based on my experience horses are much more expensive than cattle to keep. If you do rotational grazing you really cut parasite problems. Good nutrition really helps, thorvin kelp, minerals, salt will prevent health problems. Genetics are also a big variable there are cattle, goats, and sheep that all live in the wild without vets. You can and should seek out animals that don’t have health problems, they do exist. https://snowdropfarm.com/2024/05/17/how-to-get-started-breeding-parasite-resistant-sheep/
5. Being away, I often travel, as much as 2 weeks at a time. I have very good fencing, and neighbors. Have to plan my trips so that are in the bigger pastures and occasionally put out round bales before I leave to ensure that they have enough to eat.
6. since sheep were mentioned, they have hair sheep that don’t require shearing, which is a plus.
7. Time, I work two jobs and don’t have a lot of time, but cattle are low maintenance, if things are set up correctly. Automatic watering, rotating grazing, go to fence call cows, they come running, open gate and let them into next pasture. The most time consuming thing I do is castrating the bulls annually and taking them to the market.
Not saying tractors don’t have a place they do, I own 2, plus a zero turn.
1. hay, it is possible to raise livestock without hay if you do it right. https://stockmangrassfarmer.com/store/product/kick-the-hay-habit
2. Fence, I have heard of but not tried using wireless fence with livestock after some training, I am going to try this myself, around some overgrown ditches with goats. It uses shock collar’s with gps.
3. Smell, my wife smells everything, and I do mean everything. She never complained once about the cattle.
4. Vet bills, based on my experience horses are much more expensive than cattle to keep. If you do rotational grazing you really cut parasite problems. Good nutrition really helps, thorvin kelp, minerals, salt will prevent health problems. Genetics are also a big variable there are cattle, goats, and sheep that all live in the wild without vets. You can and should seek out animals that don’t have health problems, they do exist. https://snowdropfarm.com/2024/05/17/how-to-get-started-breeding-parasite-resistant-sheep/
5. Being away, I often travel, as much as 2 weeks at a time. I have very good fencing, and neighbors. Have to plan my trips so that are in the bigger pastures and occasionally put out round bales before I leave to ensure that they have enough to eat.
6. since sheep were mentioned, they have hair sheep that don’t require shearing, which is a plus.
7. Time, I work two jobs and don’t have a lot of time, but cattle are low maintenance, if things are set up correctly. Automatic watering, rotating grazing, go to fence call cows, they come running, open gate and let them into next pasture. The most time consuming thing I do is castrating the bulls annually and taking them to the market.
Not saying tractors don’t have a place they do, I own 2, plus a zero turn.