Cutters & Shredders in Normangee, TX

Slow down first, then work the line so the deck throws away from the wire. A rotary cutter slings whatever it hits, so walk your fence line before the first pass. Pull out loose wire, old posts and limbs. Watch the tail wheel on old corner braces. Fence rows hide a lot of buried junk. Leave a strip of grass against the posts and trim it later with a string trimmer. That's easier than restringing a stretch of fence. Call the Normangee store and ask which deck width turns tight in your fence rows.

Heavy brush is well within reach for the right cutter, not just grass and weeds. Weight matters most. Blade weight and gearbox horsepower rating decide how much a deck can chew through. A cutter set up for light mowing won't hold up against woody brush the same way a heavier-duty deck will. If your ground has gotten away from you with cedar or brush, look at the heavier end of the line instead of a light-duty deck. Same goes for the tractor. One sized to maintain a place, pressed into clearing one, gets there slow and takes a beating doing it. A shredder is built for that kind of ground work too, since it's meant to chew through thicker material in one pass.

Shredding pasture knocks down old growth, weeds and brush before new grass comes in. Cattle graze instead of picking through stemmy leftovers. A shredder chops old growth up small enough to break down, instead of leaving matted clumps standing in the field. It also clears out weeds cattle won't touch. And it keeps brush from creeping into ground you're grazing. Run a cutter or shredder over the pasture shortly before you turn cattle out, and the ground's ready when the herd gets there. It's just normal upkeep for a grazed place.

Rough, rocky or uneven pasture puts more strain on a cutter than flat, cleared ground. Ruts, stumps and scattered rock are harder on a deck and blades than open pasture. A flex-wing cutter's wings flex to follow uneven ground, instead of riding rigid off the tractor the way a single deck does. Modern Ag builds one, the 15' Predator Batwing Shredder, and our Normangee store carries the brand. A light-duty cutter won't hold up the same way against rock and root. Heavier gauge decks and thicker blades stand up to that kind of ground instead. That extra wear adds up. If your place has washouts, brush piles or a lot of uneven ground, ask about the heavier-duty options.

A cutter and a shredder do similar work, but the terms point at different jobs. A rotary cutter usually means a rear-mounted rotary mower for grass, weeds and light brush. A shredder usually means a heavier-built implement for thicker growth, cornstalks or brush that would bog down a standard cutter. You'll hear both words used for the same implement plenty of times. Names don't matter much. Deck weight, blade type and gearbox rating tell you more than what it's called. Deck width follows the tractor you run, so bring its make and model when you come look.