The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: DIGGER on April 08, 2011, 09:35:40 am
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Hi All,
I have got to get the grass cut on my 4 acres, it looks a mess and the fencing is not up yet so grazing animals is not an option at the moment even if it was in good condition. Could anyone recommend someone to do the job or know of a good hire centre in Caithness. I am considering hiring something like a power scythe or other suitable Equipment.
Any advice on this subject would be appreciated,
Digger :dog:
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Not an expert but power sythe would be quite slow for 4 acres - 3 foot cut and walking pace. I would look to hire a ride on lawnmower if the ground isn't too lumpy; Many of these cope well with overgrown an weedy ground but can move faster.
I once hired a power sythe to do my acre and it took most of the day.
Or maybe ask a local farmer if he can make hay out of it?
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We mow with a quad bike and a powered mower towed behind (Quad-X) and are often asked to do other people's fields. So it might be worth putting an ad locally (we're too far away!) and see if anyone has this sort of set-up and would be prepared to help.
Or if you can wait, the farmer-for-hay could be an option?
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4 acres? depending on what you intend to use the land for it might be best to invest in a small compact or ride, on a mid mounted kubota would do it in a couple of hours and its fun
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Go for a compact and flail. For four acres I would head into the 25hp bracket with a four or five foot flail. Most dealers in grey Japanese will do a package for you, Coleys right, Kubota, Yanmar or any good Japanese will not let you down.
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Topper would be better, flails are good but they will annihilate any wildlife sheltering in the grass :wave:
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I do contract work on tight paddocks, the flail will get closer to corners and isnt as bulky for me. Agree about topping and wildlife though. As they say though " the customers always right" and they are paying........
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Wish I knew someone in Clackmannan who could cut my grass for me - my ride on mower battery has died and I've been waiting 10 days for a replacement.
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Our land was/is very tussocky and when we first cut it we used a borrowed flail and we were amazed to find where we had been cutting was attracting a heap of crows, when we had a look the amount of dismembered frogs put us off flails for life :( so now we use the Topper on a high setting at this time of year then keep the grass short with the kubota
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ride on mower battery has died and I've been waiting 10 days for a replacement.
Have you tried a local motor cycle dealer? I got a battery from there for my (now deceased) lawn flite
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It's still under warranty so have to get it from the supplier. They'll be closed today but I'll be onto it again tomorrow.
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Coley, I flail my own 2 acre paddock every fortnight, the customers every month or so ( depends if they have the cash! ) The flail will give a stripe finish and I keep it short for free range poultry. The only topper I have liked was a Big Bee from the US, they are quite compact. I frankly dont like them much as the sheer bolts break too easily. The flail will only jam usually and they are easier on the linkage for travelling, the toppers tend to put more strain on it on the road due to implement swing.
Just my two pennorth!
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If you are starting out with shortish grass then a flail gives the better finish but we are going at 40 acres with a high density of frogs, and nesting birds, the topper we have is a 5' job on the back of a shire 30 hp, know what you mean about implement swing, nearly had a disaster when it was mounted on an old izeki on a two wheel trailer, got to 40 MPh and the whole lot started to fishtail, needed new underpants that day :)
We leave the topper up there these days as it is just to cumbersome to trail back and forwards, hopefully the local thieves will regard it as to much work to pinch it
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cautionary tale there 40mph in an iseki the legal limit for tractors is 18mph :o :o :wave:
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Sorry, the izeki and topper were on a two wheeled trailer pulled by a disco, both the izeki and trailer have gone to the great scrapyard in the sky :) mind I didnt know there was a legal limit for a tractor? I usually pop around at about 22/24mph, saying that I am generally bouncing around so much I cant focus on the speedo
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Most compacts true speed is around 15 mph even without an implement. I drive a Fastrac occasionally and its a flyer at around 38 mph my mates got a Ford Big 6 conversion and even with a 5 bladed plough mounted he will leave a modern JD 6430 standing on the road.
Coley the trouble with a lot of Japanese compacts like mine ( Yanmar F17D ) is the bottom link arms are so long, they are mounted just behind the axle, theres not a lot of swing but fast speeds take their toll on the ball joints.
I would love to have seen the trailer wobble, reminds me of an old 135 I had, used to pull a 5 ton grain trailer and anything above 10 mph was a nightmare, our Fenland roads are not the most tractor friendly, anyway this thing had more ripples than Fatima the belly dancer. I was poodling along one day and the drawbar snapped, I went one way and the trailer and grain ended up in 12 feet of water in a dyke. At least the ducks and fish had a good feed!
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Aye, compacts are marvellous machines (and fun) but I have always found their biggest drawback is overheating when asked to do anything strenuous, so now we are looking at the possibility of getting something bigger MF or JD as we are doing a lot of drainage and need something with a FL and capable of pulling a 5 ton trailer, will be keeping the various compacts and ride ons for the grass cutting though, might even look at doing some contract work as grass cutting is being handed over to parish councils.
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I have never had an overheating problem, I "over service" though and never allow any sludge to build up, anti freeze is changed every year and I cost myself an arm and a leg in oil though! ;D I ran a JD 1020 for ten years, grand but the parts are daft prices now. Might be worth you looking at the smaller Fords with a f/l. Some of the ex golf club stuff has had an easy life just loading bunker sand. Tractor and Farm traders a good place for that stuff. That said there are a lot of Internationals around at the moment with loaders, but you hit the running an older machine problems.
If you have got spare cash TYM the Korean company have a good range about 40 hp mark, they are well put together and seem reliable.
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There is some good stuff around and reasonably priced but its all in Devon or Somerset or other parts of the 'deep sooth' and I would like to try before I buy, re' the ex golf club gear, perfect, but its always a case of "I wish you had rang last week" ???
TYm seem good but as you say pricey, will just keep on looking picked the worst time of the year though ;D
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Try JJ Cook Farm Machinery at Lincoln, decent lad with a good range of kit. Prices are good on Fleming and Oxdale stuff and its British made. Best ring around the golf clubs and ask what they are flogging. Fact is if they have got a list of folk it cuts the middlemen out.
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Cooks has nowt suitable at the moment, Qf at york is offering me a canny deal on a MF with loader plus a 3 ton trailer, doing a discount if I buy both also half price delivery which is another big saving, would have gone down today except this wedding has eveything on hold ::)
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Good luck with it then!