Tractor Cutter vs. Mower: Which Mows Better?

We want to help you understand the difference between a cutter and mower and which mows better.

And as a quick aside --- we are here to help you purchase a new tractor when the time is right.

Let’s get started.

What’s Best?

What’s the difference between a 3-point-mounted or pull-type finish mower, a mid-mount mower, or a rotary cutter?

Which one is the best for your needs?

Mowers

A finish mower for a compact tractor is a heavy-duty commercial mower. It is designed for a fine cut on larger areas.

It’s a great implement for those wishing to keep their land nice and neat without spending too much time and effort on lawn mowing.

A mid-mount finish mower does essentially the same job as a mounted or pull-type finish mower, except that it mounts underneath the tractor instead of behind it.

Mid-mount mowers tend to be better for novice operators who may not like adjusting to the tail swing of a rear-mounted finish mower. Mid-mount mowers give a sub-compact tractor the capabilities of a riding lawnmower --- but with built-in tractor strength and durability that surpasses almost any riding mower.

The compact tractor/mower combination is a much more versatile machine that powers a loader, 3‑point attachments, and PTO-powered machines. They accomplish various landscaping, tillage, and vegetation management tasks.

There are a variety of Yanmar finish mowers to help you quickly cross of any mowing jobs that may be on the to-do list. The Yanmar 3-point-mounted finish mower options start at 54 inches and increase to 84 inches in mowing width. Some tractor owners find that a 3-point mounted finish mower is easier and faster to take on and off the tractor than a mid-mount mower.

If your finish mowing job requires more width, ask about the pull-type, flex-wing finish mower options available in a 12.5-foot estate-duty model, and 12-foot, 15-foot, and 17-foot commercial-duty models. How much lawn mower productivity is there in a 17-foot lawn mower? If you average 5.5 miles per hour, that lets you mow more than 10 acres of grass every hour.

Cutters

When your vegetation management, landscaping, or “mowing” job requires heavy-duty clearing and cutting --- a rotary cutter is the preferred implement. A rotary cutter does not produce as fine of a cut quality as a finish mower. Therefore it should be used where the finish quality and appearance are not as important.

A rotary cutter is what people clip their “back forty” with when they want to keep the land in a pasture/meadow/prairie state and not need to have to turn it into brush land or forest.

Are patches of thistles trying to take over your beef cow pasture? Want to avoid herbicide use? Hit those pasture polluters with a rotary cutter. Very satisfying. Your lawn mowing equipment will thank you and live to mow another day.

Yanmar offers rotary cutters in several cutting widths and machine weights to match the jobs at hand, as well as the available tractor power. The single-spindle, 3-point-mounted cutters range from 42 inches to 84 inches in cutting width.

If this is not wide enough --- Yanmar pull-type flex-wing rotary cutters are here to the rescue.