Mowers

The size of tractor you need to run a grass mower depends on the mower’s working width and the type of mower. As a general rule, the wider the cut, the more power you’ll need, but the type of mower makes a difference too, so two mowers of the same width won’t always need the same tractor.

•             Disc and drum mowers for silage and hay range from compact rear-mounted models, which suit smaller tractors, up to front and rear mower combinations that need a larger tractor with front linkage and a front PTO. Drum mowers and models with a conditioner generally need a little more power than a standard disc mower of the same width.

•             Rotary mowers cover wide areas for relatively little power, and trailed models carry their weight on their own wheels rather than the tractor’s linkage.

•             Flail mowers need more power for each metre of cut, and offset models need a heavier, more stable tractor to carry the cutting head out to the side.

•             Reach mowers for hedgerows depend more on tractor weight than horsepower, as the arm needs a stable base to work from.

It’s also worth checking your tractor’s PTO speed and linkage category, as these vary between models.

Because requirements vary from one model to the next, the best way to be sure is to check the spec for the mower you’re looking at, or speak to one of our team. We can look at your tractor’s horsepower, weight and PTO and match you to the right mower for the job.

For most silage and hay work, a disc mower is the better all-round choice if you want speed, a lower power requirement and a clean, low cut. A drum mower makes more sense if you’re regularly cutting heavy, laid or wet crops, or you’d prefer a simpler machine with fewer moving parts to maintain.

How a disc mower works

A disc mower has a low, slim cutterbar with a row of small discs, each carrying knives, driven from underneath by a gear train running in oil inside the bar. Because the cutterbar is slim and the discs spin quickly, disc mowers give a clean cut, can work at higher forward speeds and need less power for every metre of cut. Massey Ferguson’s DM range runs from 1.66m to 9.60m across the Farmer, Professional and Heavy Duty series, covering everything from a small livestock unit to a contractor running a triple mower set-up.

How a drum mower works

A drum mower has fewer, larger rotors, four on each of Massey Ferguson’s M Series drum mowers, driven from above with the gearbox sitting over the drums rather than in a bar underneath. The drums ride on large skid plates, which helps them glide over the ground and push through heavy or flattened crops without blocking, and they leave the cut grass in a tidy swath. The trade-off is more weight and a higher power requirement for the same width. MF’s drum mowers come in 2.86m and 3.06m working widths, front or rear mounted.

The main difference between a rotary mower and a flail mower is how the blades are arranged and how they cut. A rotary mower spins a small number of heavy blades horizontally around a vertical shaft. A flail mower spins a horizontal rotor fitted with many small hinged flails, which strike the vegetation vertically and chop it as they go. That difference in build shapes what each machine does best.

Rotary mowers: the Spearhead Multicut range

Spearhead’s Multicut mowers use heavy spring steel blades on free-swinging holders under a welded deck. On the Multicut 300, twin rotors with 12mm thick blades running at a tip speed of 85 metres per second can cut and mulch scrub up to 100mm thick. Working widths run from 2.84m on the Multicut 300 up to 6.28m on the Multicut 650 Proline, and the wider models fold their wings hydraulically for road travel.

•             Benefits: wide working widths for big acreages (Spearhead rates the Multicut 650 at over 8 hectares an hour), low power for the width, a wide cutting height range for topping, and the ability to handle light scrub with thicker stems.

•             Drawbacks: a less refined finish than a flail, and a greater risk of throwing stones and debris, which is why full-width safety chains are fitted. Less suited to tight spaces and roadsides.

•             Best for: topping pasture after grazing, set-aside, stubble management, rough grass and light scrub across larger fields.

Flail mowers: the Spearhead Sniper range

Spearhead’s Sniper mowers carry between 20 and 40 heavy-duty hammer flails on an electronically balanced rotor, belt driven, with a full-width rear roller and scraper behind. Standard Snipers cut material up to 40mm, the Sniper HD models up to 60mm, and the Sniper HD Offset models up to 80mm. Working widths run from 1.60m to 3.00m.

•             Benefits: a fine, mulched finish that breaks down quickly, an even, rolled cut as the rear roller follows the ground, and material that’s chopped down inside the cowl rather than thrown out, with full-width front protection flaps to contain it. Flails cope well with dense, tangled growth like brambles and rank grass.

•             Drawbacks: narrower working widths, so slower across big acreages, a higher power requirement for each metre of cut, and more wear parts (flails and belts) to keep an eye on.

•             Best for: field margins, verges, paddocks next to roads, footpaths or buildings, and anywhere a tidy finish matters.

The best mower for hedgerows is a reach mower, like Spearhead’s Twiga. For ditches and steep verges, an offset flail mower like the Spearhead Sniper Offset is usually the right starting point, with a Twiga reach mower taking over where the ditch or bank is deeper, steeper or further from the tractor. Each of these jobs has its own challenge, whether that’s cutting a vertical hedge face, reaching down below the tractor into a ditch, or following the angle of a bank.

Hedgerows: Spearhead Twiga reach mowers

Hedgerows need cutting on the side, and often the top, which means working at height and at an angle. The Twiga range mounts a cutting head on a hydraulic arm, with maximum reach running from 2.6m on the Twiga Mini S26 to 8.3m on the Twiga Orbital, and vertical reach of up to 5.4m on the Twiga Mini S37. Features that help with hedge work include:

•             Parallel arm geometry, which keeps the cutting head at a consistent angle as the arm extends, so you get an even cut up the hedge face.

•             Hydraulic breakaway, which lets the arm swing back if it hits a post, tree or other obstruction, with auto-reset on the Twiga Mid and Orbital series.

•             Variable forward reach (VFR) arms, which let you bring the cutting head forward of the tractor for a clearer view of what you’re cutting.

•             230 degrees of head crowd movement on the Twiga Classic, for cutting the sides and top of the hedge.

•             305 degree Rotorflex head rotation on the Twiga Orbital, so you can cut on either side of the cab and switch sides on the move.

•             A choice of cutting attachments, including flail, saw and cutterbar heads, depending on the thickness of the growth.

Ditches: Spearhead Sniper Offset

Cutting a ditch means working below tractor level while keeping the tractor’s wheels safely on firm ground, away from the edge. The Sniper Offset uses a variable parallel arm to move the cutting head up to 1.46m to the side on the Sniper 160-OS and 190-OS, and 1.51m on the Sniper 225-OS. The cowl then angles 90 degrees up and 55 degrees down, so it can follow the side and bottom of a ditch. For deeper ditches, or ditches on the far side of a fence, a Twiga reach mower with a flail head gives you the extra reach.

Steep verges and banks: Spearhead Sniper Offset or Twiga

On a steep verge or bank, the challenge is keeping the cut consistent as the angle of the ground changes. The Sniper Offset’s variable cowl angling follows the contour of the bank, while its rear roller keeps the cutting height even. For verges alongside roads, the offset models also have a full-width front rubber flap with a secondary length of chains to contain material. The heavier-duty Sniper HD Offset handles thicker growth up to 80mm, with up to 1.09m of offset. For banks that are too steep or too far from the tractor for an offset flail, a Twiga reach mower is the better fit.

For field margins with trees or other obstacles, even a standard Sniper flail mower has 400mm of hydraulic side shift to work around them.

To maintain your mower and keep getting a clean cut, keep the cutting parts sharp and secure, the drivelines lubricated and the machine clear of debris, with a quick check before each day’s work and a full service at the end of the season. Always carry out checks with the PTO disengaged, the engine off, the key removed, and the mower lowered to the ground or safely supported.

Daily checks before you start

•             Blades, knives and flails: look for wear, cracks, bends or missing parts, and make sure blade bolts are tight. Blunt or damaged blades tear grass rather than cutting it, which slows regrowth and can affect silage quality. Replace flails in matched sets so the rotor stays balanced.

•             Cutterbar and discs: on disc mowers, check the discs and knife holders for damage, especially after a stone strike.

•             Gearbox oil levels: check the oil in the cutterbar, splitter and rotor gearboxes, top up with the grade in your operator’s manual, and look out for leaks.

•             PTO shaft and pivot fittings: grease the PTO shaft’s universal joints and sliding tubes, and the headstock, wing and arm pivots. Check the PTO guards are intact and the slip clutch or torque limiter is working.

•             Belt tension: on belt-driven flail mowers like the Spearhead Sniper, check the belts are correctly tensioned and in good condition. Slipping belts lead to an uneven cut and extra wear.

•             Clearing debris: remove wrapped grass, twine and build-up from around rotors, drums, rollers and bearings, and from under the deck. Build-up affects the cut and can lead to overheating.

•             Skids, rollers, guards and chains: worn skids change your cutting height, so check them regularly, along with safety chains, flaps and guards.

End-of-season care

At the end of the season, give the mower a thorough clean, change gearbox oils, replace worn parts and store it under cover, so it’s ready to go when the first cut comes round.

Let our team take care of it

If you’d rather leave it to the specialists, our service teams offer seasonal servicing and machine health checks for Massey Ferguson and Spearhead mowers, carried out by technicians who know both ranges, with any repairs using genuine parts. Booking a pre-season service before your first cut is one of the simplest ways to avoid a breakdown at the busiest time of year. We can also talk you through a service contract to keep your maintenance planned and your costs predictable.

Massey Ferguson mowers are supported from our Forfar and Huntly depots, and Spearhead mowers from Forfar, Glenrothes, Huntly, Kelso, Muir of Ord and Perth. Get in touch with your nearest depot to book a service or health check.

Yes. Scot Agri is an authorised dealer for both Massey Ferguson and Spearhead, so we supply genuine replacement parts and full servicing for both ranges, from blades, knives and flails to gearboxes, belts and PTO components.

Here’s what you can expect from us:

•             Genuine parts: we hold genuine Massey Ferguson and Spearhead parts, so your mower keeps performing the way it was built to.

•             Full seasonal servicing: pre-season and end-of-season services to keep your mower ready for the first cut and protected over the winter.

•             Emergency breakdown support: if your mower breaks down mid-season, call your nearest depot and our team will work to get you back in the field as quickly as possible.

•             Service contracts: planned maintenance with predictable costs, tailored to how hard your mower works.

•             Factory-trained agricultural technicians: our technicians are trained to manufacturer standards across both the Massey Ferguson and Spearhead ranges.

•             Warranty support: we handle warranty work on new mowers bought through Scot Agri, and can confirm exactly what’s covered for your model.

Scot Agri covers Scotland and the North of England from 11 depots. Massey Ferguson mowers are supported from our Forfar and Huntly depots, serving Angus and Aberdeenshire, while Spearhead mowers are supported from Forfar, Glenrothes, Huntly, Kelso, Muir of Ord and Perth, covering Angus, Fife, Aberdeenshire, the Scottish Borders, the Highlands and Perthshire.

To order parts or book a service, contact your nearest Scot Agri depot, call us on 01307 474001 or email enquiries@scotagri.co.uk.