Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Need to get a tractor to cut a 9 acre (flat) field, am I right in thinking that this would be well beyond tractor mowers ? (would take ages) Initial thought is to get a "proper" tractor with a topper/mulcher. (Thought an early grey Fergie would be cool)
What do I need to do the job ?
(power/PTO/connections etc.)

D

CooperS

Get some sheep or goats instead

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

For those of us that don't reside in the land of wet & leeks, riding a tractor for an hour or two is more fun (so I'm told) than riding a goat or sheep.

D

richmilly

Dunk

A 9 acre field is fairly large for a ride on mower! Although there are a few options.

1) Look in the phone book for an agricultural contractor who will come out and cut it for you, they will have the best gear and it will be done fairly quickly and you often get to see some impressive kit, the only disadvantage is at the moment most contractors are very busy at this time of year so one cut of a 9 acre field may be put to the bottom of their to do list.

2) You could look at getting your own tractor, most manufacturers make small tractors 70-90hp e.g. John Deere (http://www.deere.com/en_GB/images/li...e_brochure.pdf, you then also need a topper, again there are many options and depending on what type of land it is will depend on what type you need, e.g. thick bracken you will need a more heavy duty topper than if it is just a grass field.

Basically the cheapest option by far is to get a contractor in, again depends on how many times you are going to cut the field, if you only want to cut it a few times a year and it is decent grass a local farmer might be interested in making hay off it?

Anyway hope that sort of helps.
Any more questions please ask, this is one area i feel i know something about!

wiltshire_boy

Could be quite quick in a Ferrari mower

Out of my way farmer boy

richmilly

Banter

Ill have you in one of these though!!

Wanna Race?

Brendan Hughes

TBH riding a tractor round and round and round a 9 acre field, esp a little grey fergie, sounds boring as hell. You know they have no accelerator?

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Not keen on being beholden to the whims of the local farmer / contractor, so deffo want to get a tractor, plus mowing is my sanctuary.
New tractors are out as I wouldn't want to that much, plenty of used & abused ones in Farm Trader....I just don't know where to start !

richmilly,
Any idea what hp I'd need to run a topper/mulcher ?

D

shaunywrx

You could buy a gang mower, and just hitch it on the back of your car.

richmilly

Dunk

Mowing is also my sanctuary, nothing better than looking back on a freshly mown field you have spent all day on! I got about 150 acres to do over the summer!

As regards to hp for a topper, a 9 acre field, you would probs get away with a 70-80hp tractor, with a relative sized topper, single rotor would suffice. It also depends on what finish you want, e.g. length of grass (do u want it like a lawn?) etc or just to get the grass under control. If its just to get the grass under control u could get away with a topper which is a lot cheaper than a mower that you would need with a grass collector/topper.

So i would think 70-80hp would be fine, but you could go anysize depending on what you want to spend, i use my uncles john deere 6110se which is around 90hp, with a teagle flail topper which can cut bracken up to 5cm thick!!

Rich