Great information as I am new to this forum!
I bought a farm a couple years back. A ~70 acre CRP contract (brome) expired in 2020 which was re-enrolled and approved. The new seed plan calls for approximately 70% warm season grass/forbs mix, 20% pure switchgrass for winter cover, and the remaining 10% in food plots. I burnt the 70 acre brome parcel last Spring to get rid of the thatch, mowed and baled a good majority of it in late Summer/early Fall, and then sprayed a combination of Gly and 2,4-D once the stubble regrew to about 6 inches. I plan to burn the stubble next Spring and then hit it again with another dose of Gly to kill anything that survived the Fall spraying. I have a 10' Great Plains no-till drill which I plan to use to get the seed into/onto the ground once sprayed the second time and the ground temps warm-up. I am being told that I will need to mow it 2-4 times each year for the the first couple years to keep the weed pressure down while the new seedlings get established. Here's my question.... What type of mower would work best? I have a couple bush hog mowers that I can use, but I am worried about the effectiveness of mowing at 8-10" high knowing that the tires will mash down a fair amount of the grass prior to it getting to the mower. What type of mower would work best? Any feedback from those that have done this using a bush hog? Also any input regarding the conversion process itself would be appreciated.
BTW - I bought my seed from Allendan Seed Company so that piece has been secured.
Thanks in advance,
WapsiHunter
What type of mower? Batwing is best, IMO. Which is just wider winged version of what you have... A larger version of a "bush hog" type mower. It's a rotary cutter or shredder. Your "bush hog" is just fine too. 10-12" high will be just fine. You are not going to escape the tires pushing some down before it's mowed. BUT- in my experience, what the tires push down, enough still gets cut of that and what's not cut, it's a "small band" that still should get enough sunlight. I'd be far more concerned with a guy who cut their stuff "too low" and let 2-3' of trash get cut and left on top. So, smothering is more of a concern.... Don't let it get out of control before cutting. Any form of rotary cutter that can do 10" or more is going to be just fine. Only reason I like batwing is it saves a ton of time & less tire issues as they cut 15 or 20'. But, also cost a good bit more as well. It's all a cost/benefit decision for a guy. IMO - mowing 70 acres a few times, I'd want a 10' or bigger. 7-8' is doable but man is that gonna take a while!!!!
*the only way around the tire mashing things down would be: a baling type mower..... then baling it. Which usually cuts it too low and I just wouldn't do it. Or, a front mounted rotary cutter, which, I can't think of anyone reading this who is going to be doing this

For fun, go look at a Fendt tractor for example with a front PTO & A front 3 point system.... Incredible. Incredibly expensive. No one needs or will be doing that. But fun to look at.
Here's a BALING VERSION..... See what I mean by TRASH???? This is what you don't want- all the trash on top!!! But, yes, they BALE this so it takes that off. But, way too low of a cut after they take all the trash off.... Baling & CRP establishment are VERY DIFFERENT!!!!!! BALING, NOT HOW TO DO CRP!!!....