Cost of mowing

[frazzlehead]

I'm trying to do a bit of an ROI calculation on my sheep. Just out of curiosity, mostly but ...

My neighbours have 5 acres and they come out on weekends mostly. They have a trailer here (5th wheel) and a small building with plumbing etc in it. They really seem to enjoy their time out here, but every weekend, they mow the whole 5 acres.

Really. They mow it. This seems to make them very happy, and hey, who am I to judge? but ... they mow it. All of it.

They have an ATV with a pull-behind mower, and a set of harrows. They have turned their lovely pasture into a beautiful 'yard' - picked the rocks, put down some dirt and planted ... something (haven't gotten close enough to see - presumably my guardian dogs are scaring the deer away enough that they haven't eaten whatever they planted in this garden).

So I got to thinking, if I was to have chosen to mow this land instead of fencing it and putting out the sheep, what would it cost me to keep it in some semblance of civil order?

An ATV is about 4K, and a pull behind mower is about 1K (CDN here). I think. I could probably get something for a bit less, I just did a quick search. Thoughts on the up front costs?

Then there's operating expenses. How many litres (gallons, I can convert) of fuel does it take to mow a chunk, say 3 acres, of rough land (this is hilly pasture land, you couldn't take hay off of it with anything but a scythe and even that is hard work with all the hills & valleys & divots)? What would I need to budget for maintenance, oil, attachment replacments, etc?

This is entirely academic ... but I'm curious.

[logbuilder]

Seems like to me you have to question first whether the frequency is right. I have 5+ acres and brushhog (not mow) once a month during the summer only. Last in late fall and I am good till May. Not a 'lawn' but suits me fine. If you were to do the calculation of cost on my frequency and the equipment I use, it costs me < $100 per year. But hey, goats would be a bunch more fun!

[lgslgs]

We figured out our gas savings from livestock "mowing" a while back. See this thread. http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=189694

Lynda

[moonwolf]

It depends a lot on the weather and how fast, and type of grass is growing.
Last year, with the drought that began in June, I was only able to mow twice all summer.
This year, with lots of rain, I can hardly get out when it's dry enough to cut overgrown grass.
However, my story might be quite different.
I purposely 'mine' grass rather than just mow a few acres. I use the clippings prodigiously on my no till gardens. I use a garden tractor with a 48 inch mowing deck. Behind that is the sweeper bag collector for the clippings. When it's full, that's about a hundred pound of prime mulch I dump for the gardens to spread out, make compost and use every bit of it, even for the chickes to feed where it's cut off of good clover and trefoil for feed.
How much does it cost. I roughly figured it like this for my use.
A gallon of gas to cut on the 'average' field for 4 inch height and collect 10 loads of grass clippings is half a ton, or about 3 dollars. I might get more or less, depending on the growing conditions as mentioned. My garden is about 7,000 sq. ft. To keep it with the right mulch layer will take about 50 loads or so. That's $15 worth of gas to deliver all that mulch. It would cost me more to get that and have it brought in from elsewhere. The other benefit is cut grass keeps the weeds close to the premises from forming seed heads, and that helps both garden for weeding, and also it keeps down the constant bugs that would be much worse for human 'comfort' if the tall weeds were left to grow.
I'm not into sheep raising, but I do raise turkeys. They also utilize pasture from the cuttings. So, I try and maintain a mowed couple acres to keep the trefoil and clover coming in better than the golden rod that almost took over in previous years.

So, like I said. It depends on your purpose, and what you want out of it for mowing.
I bet your neighbors like it kept mowed to help keep bugs down for one thing, besides their 'aesthetics'. To each their own, and what they can maintain.