I just bought a used Landpride 90" finish mower. It has solid blades on it that I’m going to change to swing blades. It came highly recommended by a couple of people who have farms around here. My tractor is a bit bigger than 40 HP but when I looked at buying a new one the same size it was rated for 40 HP. It’s really nice!!! When I was younger I used to use rotary drum mowers. They were great for finish mowing and are really safe in they don’t throw objects, but they really sucked at knocking tall fields.
I use a brush hog. But my pastures are rough, very rough. I haven’t killed the brush hog yet, but I have done damage to it. It is a tough beast, still works.
Bumping this up again. I’ve been toying with the idea of trading my tow-behind brush hog in for a mid-mount finish mower. The perceived benefit is that I could keep the mower on the tractor for the full mowing season rather than unhooking the brush hog to drag the fields or arena, only to hook it up again to mow. The brush hog also takes up a lot of space in the hay/equipment garage and I’m sick of tripping over it. My pastures are well-maintained enough now that I don’t feel I need something that can handle brush. I realize I won’t be able to get into the corners as well with a mid-mount. Any other considerations? Good idea? Bad idea?
How high can you set the new mower? Many of the lawn mower type cutters do not cut the grass tall, which is better for the plants. 5 inches is a good mower height, giving good protection ts the plant roots. Doesn’t stess plant by removing too much leaf at a time. Stressed plant needs recovery time after mowing shock, is not productive in growing until recovered. I cut grass when it gets about 8 inches tall, before any seed can set.
For myself, I want that plant growing all the time for good grazing to feed horses. We graze pastures heavily, not feeding hay in summer. Production counts here, so I have to cut them properly to get heavy growth.
Being still able to cut grass tall would be my concern in changing mowers.
Good question, should have mentioned that as it was a concern of mine too. The deck for my tractor goes up to 5".
