Fence posts and grass cutting

[LauraD]

Hi everyone!  We're working on our land in southwestern Missouri and have a couple of questions.

For a 4.5' fence, how tall do the T-posts need to be? The ground is around 12" soil, with red clay under that. (It was a cow pasture many moons ago.)

We have around 7.5 "cleared" acres. How big of a tractor and brush hog are needed to keep the place mowed down without it being overkill? Of note, we would want a tractor that can also do some grading and other basic chores around the homestead. We're both neophytes when it comes to tractors, so any input would help.

Thanks!

[Deleted]

18" taller than the fence. Any tractor that will handle a 4' rotary mower will work. Mower needs to be as wide as rear tires. You can always 1/2 lap and/or cut tall in very heavy grass if power is a problem. After that the wider the more horsepower you need. the faster you can get done. I like 30 horsepower and a 5' mower....or....bigger is better but for 7.5 acres, 25 hp and 4' will get it done. Get a diesel, loader, some rear weights, power steering and 3pt, you will be good to go for many years....James

[LauraD]

Thanks, James! That helps a lot!

[graywolf]

James is on track

If your ground is muddy, steep or needs snow moved, think 4-wheel drive.

If you will be working on much of a sidehill, set the tires as wide as they will go.

Then consider having the rear tires filled to add some weight.

Brush hogs and all PTO implements are dangerous. Be careful! And keep kids and pets a LONG way from an operating brush hog. (I had a 6' mower on a larger tractor that could throw a 1' piece of a tree an easy 75'). Get to know how it throws stuff before you get close to buildings and vehicles. Or just don't.

Get lots of shear-bolts or a clutched PTO shaft. Have fun. (It IS fun)

[LauraD]

Thanks for the additional info, Graywolf. I'll definitely keep those things in mind!

[oxankle]

I want to second Graywolf on safety. The mower should be as wide as the tire tracks, and it should have either chain guards or metal lower than the blade everywhere except in front. I have had a mower throw a piece of barbed wire THROUGH a tractor tire. Remember to keep the mower as low as possible when traveling but not mowing across a hillside--the weight of that mower down low will reduce the chance of overturning. Tires weighted with a liquid will enhance traction but cut deeper into wet ground. STAY AWAY FROM THE POWER TAKE OFF SHAFT WHEN IT IS TURNING. Even covered shafts can catch the unwary.

Graywolf is right about the four wheel drive, too. That four wheel drive will make a small tractor operate at twice the usefulness of a two wheel drive tractor of the same HP. My opinion is that useful tools, in order of usefulness are loader, mower, a utility basket for the three point hitch, a box blade and post driver. If you move hay with a small tractor a rear end spike works, but you may need weights for the front end if you have a small tractor. With my first tractor I had to chain a big log to the front of my 27 HP Ford in order to move 1200 pound bales. Three 90 pound weights cured that.

[LauraD]

Wow, Oxankle. Definitely something to keep in mind. Thanks for the advice!

[melissarrt]

For a small acreage like you've got, were I you, I'd look into 4 wheelers and the implements that go with them. Might fit what you want better...
On the t-post, my advice is don't go shorter than 6' posts.

[LauraD]

At this point we're thinking of having a professional fence company come out, as there's a steep, VERY rocky hill that the fence will need to go down.

We still haven't gotten a tractor; our poor riding lawnmower is getting really beat up on the property, but it's doing the job for now. I'll check into the 4-wheelers; can they do grading and snow removal?

[melissarrt]

Yes. They have most all implements as tractors but at a fraction of the power. Things like tillers have their own power source. You can find them online. I don't have a recommended website.

[graywolf]

Talk to a few people who have used utility vehicles or atv for grading and snow removal before you buy. They can push/pull a small amount of dirt or snow but just don't have the weight to get enough traction to do much real work. The light weight, compared to 4-wheel drive tractors, also means they will have a hard time steering straight when the blade is at an angle. It won't take much wet snow or dirt to stop them from working like you think they might.

[LauraD]

Just a quick update. We finally hired someone to put in the fence, which looks great. Still haven't gotten a tractor. Will do a bunch of maintenance on the riding lawnmower and hope it makes it through one more season.

[Deleted]

LauraD , I agree with the others on their recommendations. We are currently mowing around 5 acres & got a John Deere D170 riding mower, about 6 yrs ago, it's got a 54" cut & has worked great, but we also needed something a little bigger to maintain our dirt lane leading to our place & move downed trees & such, so we got a John Deere 1023E tractor with a 60" removable mower deck & front end loader & 3 pt hitch, it's Diesel, has adjustment for 2 or 4 wheel drive & there are several more attachments you can add as well, so far it's working great, not too big or too small. You might check out something like that, several of the tractor dealers, like JD, Kabota, etc., have specials where you can get a packaged deal, that's what we did.

[LauraD]

Thanks, @cntrywmn! We'll keep that in mind when we start looking seriously. We haven't bought anything yet; guess it hasn't risen high enough in the priority list. Maybe after we get the well in and the siding on the shed...