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Scythe mower

PROBABLY the most common use of the tractor is for cutting grass. There are many ways of cutting, from lawn mowing to hay making and cutting and clearing rough areas. Both two and four wheel tractors can be used with equal success.

The relevant choice will depend on access, area and budget. The two-wheel tractor will always have the advantage in confined areas and extreme terrain. It's turning and climbing ability cannot of course be matched by any thing on four wheels. The other major advantage is, of course, cost - a two-wheel tractor with a range of cutting equipment will be a much more economic proposition. As the area grows and hopefully does the budget, then so does the tractor. Most four-wheel tractors can cope with grass cutting on level, dry conditions. It doesn't matter how old it is, it's only got to work! If, on the other hand, you have slopes, soft ground or difficult conditions then stability, four-wheel drive and four-wheel braking becomes a must.

The method of cutting will depend on the purpose and reason for cutting, so let us first look at the various choices of equipment available and the characteristics of each implement.

The cylinder mower is a gang mower when used behind a tractor. Normally used in a group of 3, 5 or 7 it is very expensive, costly to maintain, not much use to smallholders, but the first choice for the very best lawns and sports fields. The rotary or finishing mower (similar to, but much larger and stronger than a normal lawnmower) is a much more common and affordable way to cut grass. It bridges the gap between the cylinder lawn mower and the long grass cutter. It has a PTO driven gearbox and a belt drive to two, three or five rotating blades, the cutting height is set and controlled by four wheels giving a normal cutting height of 1" to 4". This type of cutter is normally very good value for money and quite easy to maintain. Cutting widths for small tractors tend to be from 0.75m to 2.5m.

The mulching mower can be an expensive way to buy a finishing mower. The principle is a good one, a series of baffles retain the grass in the mower longer which allow it to be further chopped and so less visible grass is left behind. The principle works well, but only at the expense of output, or to put it plainly the slower you go the better the finish, which of course applies also to the finishing mower.

The grass topper is the most basic form of cutter with only one rotating blade and running mainly on skids it does as it says, it tops. It is only fair to point out that this implement was never really designed to cut grass, its principal use was in grazing fields where its high cut would allow it to top the weeds and leave the grass for grazing and for this purpose it is very good. It is also probably the cheapest option available, but because of the often poor cutting finish, it should not really be seen as a grass cutter.

The flail mower is the number one choice for clearing rough grass and keeping land tidy. Of all of the reasons to cut, this is the most popular. It is the shredding action of the flail mower that leaves the minimum mess and makes it one of the best selling mowers on the market. Alternate blades can also be fitted to scarify the grass. These mowers can handle anything from fine grass to brambles and bracken, a rear roller controls the cutting height and allows it to operate on very uneven ground. The cutting principle is the same as the flail type hedge cutter and its constant use will improve poor grassland. It is also possible to have a flail mower with a built-in grass collector to cut and remove the grass in one operation.

The cutter bar mower, sometimes known as a scythe mower, or finger bar mower, is the original design for cutting hay, consisting of a finger bar with one reciprocating blade or with two reciprocating blades (twin cut).

Drum mower

It requires very little power to drive it and gives a clean cut with minimum waste. It is the very best option for cutting hay and silage and is also used on all combine harvesters; it is really the only type of grass mower that is recommended for use on wild flower meadows.

A major advantage of some models of this type of mower is that the cutting angle can vary, down to allow the cutting of steep banks along side ditches, to vertical for trimming the sides of hedges.

Disc and drum mowers, as the name suggests, use a rotary drum or disc and although doing a similar job to the scythe mower, they can very efficiently use the power of larger tractors to achieve a much higher output. They are normally more expensive and very much the first choice of larger farmers.

Finally, cutter collectors are growing in popularity as a one pass operation, particularly where a good finish is required. The choice of cutter remains with the individual depending on his or her exact requirements.

It is probably worth mentioning that many second hand mowers are sold because they are beyond economical repair, so if acquiring one knowledge of the history would be useful.

If buying new, get a good make and look after it, it is very important that you can get spare parts for many years to come, then it should prove to be a very wise investment.

What do we do with the grass when its been cut. Hay? Silage? Compost?

Next month we look at conserving forage for the winter.

9:58am Wednesday 16th May 2007

Rotary mower

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