Any Farmers here?

[Gavin Allan]

Well, I've been doing a bit of brushogging lately. This is kind of a new experience with me, as most of my previous farm mowing experience has been cutting hay with a sickle mower, or using a flail mower to cut pretty tame extended yard.



Here's a bit of my experience so far:



Day 1.

Long story, but got stung by a hornet. Tractor got stuck in a deep hole by the pond ($151 to extract by wrecker service). Rock flung by brush hog put $675 dent in side of my SportTrac. Went through three shear pins.



Day 2.

Loose pin on 3-point nearly ripped brushog to pieces, but I caught it quick enough. Had to buy a new 3-pt pin due to threads torn up. Put permanent twist in PTO driveshaft due to 57 HP tractor driving cheap brushog rated for 30 HP and me mowing too low (3-4") ($140 for new and heavier shaft). Bent up sides of brush hog (rubbing trees?), but 16 pound sledge made a few adjustments. Muffler fell off tractor (tired of hitting branches)- got muffler straightened and welded for $10. One shear pin this day.



Day 3 (yesterday). Mowed all day with little trouble. Lots of trees 2" diameter and bunches of brush, cedar trees, multi-flora rose bushes, black berrys etc. Hilly and rough (I am sore today--probably from leaning and balancing on seat). Only one shear pin on another pile of hidden rocks. Got back to shed and discovered rear caster wheel hub is busted out and wheel is hanging on for its life. Got wheel hub welded back together for $25 this morning. Nothing else is loose or broken.





In these three days I have gotten about 20 acres mowed that were not mowed last year. I've been learning the hard way about brushogging (started out too low--now I have gotten the hang of it better and don't hit nearly as much stuff). I've spent a hell of a lot of money fixing things that get torn up (including my truck), but I've learned that even a very bad day at the farm is much better than the best day at the office!



Do you guys have as much mechanical trouble as I am having? I have pretty new equipment and try to keep it in good shape (grease every day, etc.) I know I am being pretty aggressive on land that hasn't been mowed in a couple of years, but dang-- I am getting tired of fixing stuff all the time. AGCO-Allis 5660 tractor, Taylor-Pittsburg 6' rotary cutter.

 

[Brian Curry]

The old saying......... Farming made me a millionare......but when I started was as a billionare

 

[Gypsy me]

Hi Gavin! I think you need to be a welder

All I know about farming is...it's hard work and work is never done.

Good luck to you!

 

[2]

Gavin - I reclaim oilfield leases so I always different types of heavy machinery working for me. Stuff always breaks. Doesn't matter if it is new or old. Well maintained stuff doesn't break as often, but ---- still happens. That is what happens when you are using brute force.

 

[Wes Davis]

LOL Gavin I checked out your profile so I could see what area of the country you are in and then I saw this ' I have three Maine Coon Cats and a Bichon Frise! '. Please post some pictures of the family. LOL

 

[Gavin Allan]

Got a few pics of the cats in my library.

 

[Gerald Pierce]

Gavin, It's been a few years (about 25) since I did any farm work -- the guy I worked for had about 800 acres of scrub bottom land that he wanted to plant with bermuda grass (hay to sell) and I know what you ahve been going through. Bushhogging is tough work, and for those that were raised "not to tear things up", it goes against every grain in your body to drive over small trees and such with a large "mower" -- knowing tht something is bound to break. I learned the hard way about parking to close to the field with a nice vehicle... I launched a nice big rock through the front windshield of my 79 Bronco the same way.



As Olaf said -- stuff breaks. That's why there are shear pins in farm machinery.

 

[Ron N]

Welcome to farming 101. If it can break, it will.If you take very good care of it, it brakes faster. That is just apart of it. To tell you a few stories, A friend of mine was told to cut his CRP grass. He drove out to the middle of it to check it and the pickup exhaust started it on fire, did several thousand dollars of damage to the pickup, but solved the grass problem. My dad spent several days cutting his overgrown field, then the rain came in and flooded it and blew out his dam on the pond. I could give you lots of other problems that have happened, but they still don't out weigh the good feelings of getting things done on your land._Ron O and don't park too close, we had an old pickup ran over by a plow.

 

[Wes Davis]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the blood, guts and fur yet. I am not farm raised but have family that is and I have heard the mowing/brush hogging horror stories.

 

[Gavin Allan]

No guts or fur yet. I did rip my finger open on a burr while straightening out the bent deck of the 'hog. Yes, there is blood on the mower!

 

[Greg Stuhlsatz]

I tend to buy green. This causes me to treat my equipment like my trac. I baby it. With experience you will tear up things a lot less.

 

[user 62394]

Gavin, I think you have probably learned the biggest lessons already -- not being overly aggressive and cutting too low. As for the shear pins, hey, that's what they're for. The rock in the side of the truck, that is just pure, bad, dumb luck.



Rocks

 

[Bill V]

I grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, and did tons of field work. But today, in this post, was the first time I ever even heard the term "brushhogging".



That said, yes, equipment breakdown, repair, and maintenance is part of the farming world. You learn very quickly to get mechanically creative on the fly. I can't tell ou how many times on the farm I had to make a PTO shaft out of a handful of fenceposts and an arc welder. Or perform a C-section on a cow using a jacknife and bailer twine. Or use a crowbar held in my teeth to get enough force to release my fingers out from under a hay wagon. Or...



After eighteen years of that life, it's amazing that I (or anyone else who's experienced it) have any limbs or digits left...

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Bill V,



"Brushhogging" is done a lot in northeastern dairy farm countries. I grew up on a small farm and my uncle owned a very big farm. Cows do a good job of keeping pastures clear of grass, but not so good when it comes to weeds and thistles. That's where brushhogs come in handy.



Also, many people I know are fortunate enough to have several acres of "lawn". My stepdad is a good example. The house he lives in has a back-yard that is about 4 acres...3 of which are only brushhogged once a year, rather than mowed.



TJR

 

[Gavin Allan]

Brushog is a brand name for rotary cutters, just like Kleenex is a brand name for tissues.



Around here we use the brand name all the time, i.e.: "What kind of Coke would you like-- we have Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, A&W Rootbeer, or 7-Up?"