Zero turn mowers for flat pastures

[fordtraktor]

I have a ZT and use it in my pastures with the deck fully raised. I get 6 inches of clearance. I love it and use it extensively in my pastures. It has a 60 inch deck,but can go so fast I halved my mowing time.

i have a belly/finish mower for my JD 3020 I used to use at the 6 inch position. It was just too heavy to use for my farm, as it tore things up if the ground wasn’t dry. I have clay, though, which I am sure matters. I am getting ready to sell it because with a ZT and a Brush hog, I can handle whatever I need.

i bought a Bad Boy prof grade. It was half the price of a JD, and is very, very tough. I am ruthless and will mow anything smaller than a tree, and it humors me well. The frame of this thing is comparable to any of the pricey brands.

One thing I will say, but something that you have a local repair person for. I live 1/2 mile from a JD dealer and can drive my tractor there. But I bought the Bad Boy in part because the guy I use to help me with everything farm has exactly the same mower and is thus able to fix mine easily when something goes wrong. There isn’t any learning curve to it when he knows it inside out already. Saves me time and money. He owns a landscaping business and is very happy with the Bad Boy.

[Cynical25]

I used a $2,000 Cub Cadet 50" riding mower on 6.25 acres (4.5 dedicated pasture) for four years - I overworked the heck out of that machine and it took many hours each week, but it’s what I could initially afford.

This summer I bought a $9,000 Scag TigerCat II zero turn and I’m in love! It zips around the bumpy pasture beautifully, and the suspension seat absorbs a ton of the motion. I mow at 3.5 to keep our N TX pasture nearly as well manicured as the lawn, but the deck can definitely go higher.

[Wickedorder]

Just wanted to update this. We are going with a 2011 JD Z950A commercial zero turn with 750 hours and a 31 HP Kawasaki engine and suspension package. I’m pretty excited to try it out and hope it lasts many, many years. Thanks to everyone for your input! [h=1][/h]

[Goforward]

Congrats on the purchase. You won’t be sorry you went with a commercial model. I have a commercial zero turn and a tractor with a rotary cutter. I’m glad to have both for my big pastures but I’m amazed at how much abuse my zero turn will take. I run over some rough crap and that mower hardly ever complains. My only problem with the zero turn is that is doesn’t have a cab! My air conditioned tractor is far nicer to spend a Florida afternoon mowing than out in the heat on the zero turn

[seabreeze]

@Wickedorder

Just wanted to update this. We are going with a 2011 JD Z950A commercial zero turn with 750 hours and a 31 HP Kawasaki engine and suspension package. I’m pretty excited to try it out and hope it lasts many, many years. Thanks to everyone for your input! [h=1][/h]

Enjoy!

[crosscreeksh]

We started out with a Gravely…it was okay on the flat areas, but “gutless” on any sort of side hill/slope!! I slid into the fence MANY times before we lost it in a fire…Not sad!!
We now have a Hustler, 54" cut and I LOVE it. I do the yard, grass riding ring, small pastures and the fence line along the road and between pastures. Saves a lot of weed eating and/or spraying. We need out tractor with the FEL, but I couldn’t/wouldn’t live without the zero turn!! The difference in the width of the cut …down from a bush hog…is made up by the handiness on the turns…no wasted time turning around corners.

[crosscreeksh]

People give me funny looks when I liken a Zero Turn to a REALLY handy ranch horse. With a little practice you can learn to turn on the haunches, forehand and sidepass to open and close gates without dismounting!!! As one advocate told me before we bought our first…“They are so handy, you can trim around a T-Post!!” Very true!

[Bluey]

@crosscreeksh

People give me funny looks when I liken a Zero Turn to a REALLY handy ranch horse. With a little practice you can learn to turn on the haunches, forehand and sidepass to open and close gates without dismounting!!! As one advocate told me before we bought our first…“They are so handy, you can trim around a T-Post!!” Very true!

I carry a grabber stick on mine and I can reach most anything with it, something I don’t want to run over, open or close most gates, all handy to pick up and move, without getting off.

[crosscreeksh]

@Bluey

I carry a grabber stick on mine and I can reach most anything with it, something I don’t want to run over, open or close most gates, all handy to pick up and move, without getting off.

Me too!! And a garbage bag between my knees!! The seat sensor is so sensitive that you can hardly wiggle without shutting the engine off!!

[Bluey]

@crosscreeksh

Me too!! And a garbage bag between my knees!! The seat sensor is so sensitive that you can hardly wiggle without shutting the engine off!!

It has four or five different seat sensors, that is why at the least you raise, something shuts it down.
It is a safety feature and a real nuisance, is it.

Zero turn mowers beat little riding mowers hands down.
Much smoother and so easier on your body, faster to mow by double and easier to work on if something quits or breaks.

[crosscreeksh]

@Bluey

It has four or five different seat sensors, that is why at the least you raise, something shuts it down.
It is a safety feature and a real nuisance, is it.

Zero turn mowers beat little riding mowers hands down.
Much smoother and so easier on your body, faster to mow by double and easier to work on if something quits or breaks.

Absolutely!!! But my gets jammed up if I try to drive or slide through deep swales in our yard or along the road!! And the bad part is you can’t get off and PUSH!! Hubby has pulled me out several times when the mower deck got snagged in a low place…But the “good times/benefits” far outweigh the faults!! I consider it one of our best investments!! And our Hustler has the “guts” of a big tractor when it comes to mowing tall grass/weeds…It NEVER chokes up with tall/green/wet grass!!

[SusanO]

The people across the street have been using a ZT for their 10 acres for years. Their property is semi-hilly and that machine rocks! They can do all 10 acres in a few hours. It is not a pasture now so they are not mowing over poop piles and in the summer they mow about once a week. Looks so much better than my pasture that I struggle to find somebody to mow.

I have a tractor but have not gotten a bush-hog yet. I am not thrilled about mowing on hills with a tractor. Maybe my next lottery ticket will be a winner and I will buy a ZT. I am impressed with the neighbor’s commercial grade Kubota ZT and would get one if I could.