Cutters & Shredders in Kirbyville, TX

Pasture, fence lines, small lots and the edges where brush gets started. A 5-foot single-deck cutter is narrow enough to work between trees and close to wire, and it turns tight at gates. It knocks down grass, weeds, briars and saplings while they're still small. Around Kirbyville, where woodland and pasture meet, that edge work keeps coming back. It isn't a clearing machine for standing timber, though. Stumps and heavy growth have to come out another way first. Come look it over at our Buna store and see how it hangs on a three-point hitch.

They hinge and flex. The center deck rides on its own wheels, and each wing rides on its own wheels and pivots up or down to follow the ground. That keeps the cut even over humps and dips a rigid deck would skip or scalp. The Modern Ag 15' Predator Batwing Shredder works this way. Fold the wings up to drive it between fields or through a gate. On gently undulating ground like the Trout Creek area, one pass of flex wings does what a narrow cutter takes three to do. Set the wing wheels so all three decks cut alike.

Yes, with some care. Use a single-deck cutter, not the batwing, and hold a steady distance off the wire. Run the first pass a little wide, then come back closer once you can see the fence line. Blades that catch wire wrap it up and can throw it, so stop and clear anything you spot. Briars and vines come back from the roots, so plan on cutting a fence line more than once a season. Leave the last few inches by the posts for a string trimmer. It's slower, but your wire stays tight and your blades stay sharp.

Stay well back from the bank. A creek bank or a ditch bank can be undercut, so keep away from one even when its edge looks solid. Your tractor's operator's manual gives its limits, and that's what to follow. Leave the strip nearest the bank uncut, or trim it by hand. Watch for soft ground after rain, and for holes hidden in tall grass. Don't let a cutter throw debris toward water, livestock or people. Where the bank is steep, a hand trimmer is the safer tool for that last edge. A cutter belongs out on the level pasture.

To hold back what the blades throw. A rotary cutter's blades spin fast enough to fling rocks, sticks, wire and cans a long way. The chain guards or rubber deflectors at the front and back of the deck catch most of it. Keep them in place, and replace them when they're torn or missing. Even with the guards on, keep people and animals well clear while you're cutting. Stop the PTO before anyone walks up to talk. Near a road or a house, raise the deck a touch and slow down so less gets thrown. A guard only does its job if it's there.