Topper and rushes?

we have a flemming semi offset 6ft, Last might I was tidying up a corner and it was cutting rushes 3ft tall. 70hp will do it.

key is keep rpm up and ground speed low, give her time to munch away

if there’s stones and roots I’d say get contractor in with a heavy duty mulcher to clean up the field and then a topper will be fine. Chat to them and make sure it’s a heavy duty mulcher capable of dealing with stones etc. Neighbors did this, they ground up stones, gorse, blackthorn suckers and now it’s can be topped easily. Think it was €50/acre

According to Abbey broucher a 65HP tractor is min for Abbey 8ft trailed. There'd be a bit more comfort with a slightly bigger tractor though.

I would imagine that a lift type topper would be better than a trailed type on wetter ground. Gives the option on lifting it clear. With the trailed the wheels might sink and lead to bogging. I personally find the disc mower good as the bed floats. With a topper you are relying on the two skids to support the weight and they sink the rotors sink aswell.

Big thing is slow forward speed.

I ran a 6ft Malone on a uncle's place a few years back, great job.

1st he Sprayed the rushes with mcpa waited 6 weeks (they died). When I went to cut them they were like match sticks. It was roughish ground so I could lift the topper easily if I encountered an osptical. Like posters here said low forward speed and plenty of revs. I took my time too.

Uncle drained and reseeded field, not a sign of a rush 15 years later.

Sharpening a topper is key to it it's very underrated

If you could get some lime out there in the coming week, it'd do more than any spray. Also target any dung on those fields.

With a set of dual wheels you'd damn near float would be a smashing job

This field doesn’t look much like it’s for a topper. Quite uneven, be constantly breaking shear bolts.

the second one looks like rushes are thin enough and control should work well.

Depends on what chemical you are using, for licking you can use the Roundup Bioactive all year round. In Summer you can use the cheap roundup clones along with a sticker (I use fairy washing up liquid).

Spraying is a different matter, the best rush kill I got was when I sprayed late September in a dry spell with MCPA, by spring time all that was left was black dead rush. The best routine is to cut first early in the year then hit them with the spray a few months later.

At the end of the day it's a War which is ongoing continuously. land Poaching is the biggest enemy and will see the return of the rush. If you get a field clear of them you still have to mind the field or it'll be back to square one in no time

Wouldn’t be afraid of the rushes, uneven ground on 6ft blade can catch and break flails or shear bolts.

As Hard Knocks has said, rushes like low ph soils.

I have heard my father say that heavy applications of lime in years past did soften the skin on the fields. I have been getting it spread at 1.75 - 2 Tonne per acre with the last 10 years and I haven't encountered that problem yet.

It's important that the contractor understands how you want it spread. Have gates open and fields/quantities planned beforehand to make it as efficient as possible for the contractor. This helps alot with getting them to spread it how You want it spread!

The trade off is worth it though.

Ordered lime here yesterday. Didn't get to put any out this time last year as it was too wet. 2 ton to the acre

Yes. Did the whole farm last back end

We are looking at a new topper in the medium term and more likely a disc mower as the ground is mostly in grass - or will be in grass after some reseeding. Are topping skids hard on the bed as it would have potential to flex as it is raised off ground (not having seen one)?

What is the price point of MJ31-250 or MJ31-280?

Ok - I thought the skids sat on each end of the bed, so that makes more sense and is a better system. tractor would be good enough for either of them toppers. Would those Cyclone toppers cut as cleanly as a disc mower or would they still be hacking the grass down like a normal topper?

It'll just be for topping stemmy grass after the cattle. The places in rushes are going to be drained and reseeded in the next few years - so should be minimal rush cutting.

Normal toppers have a reputation for not cutting cleanly in comparison to a disc mower.

Disc's give a better finish and better regrowth - reportedly. From what I've been reading if the ground is not rushy/stoney then a disc mower is a better job - cuts cleaner which promotes better regrowth. How true that is I don't know. However, I like the look of the cyclone.