Flail Mowing

A flail mower is used for cutting and mulching heavy, dense, and overgrown vegetation, including thick grass and weeds.

The swinging hammers (flails) strike and shred vegetation turning it into mulch which decomposes much quicker than large clumps of long grass cuttings typically left by rotary mowers.

We provide a flail mowing service for small field and paddock owners using our Wessex 1.75m Flail Mower. The cutting height of which can be adjusted from as short as 30mm (1.18″) up to 110mm (4.33″).

Combined with our Iseki TH5420 Compact Tractor with turf tyres we can access most fields and paddocks, minimising soil compaction and also damage to wet ground.

The benefits of using a flail mower to cut your fields include:

• Mulches the grass into fine clippings which decompose quicker, feeding and revitalising the soil at the same time.
• Prevents ragwort and other weeds from going to seed and thus helps to minimise weeds spreading.
• Reduce fire risk. Shorter grass (ideally kept below 7 to 10 cm) lowers flame heights, slows the rate of fire spread, and makes any potential fire much easier for emergency services to control.
• Regular flail mowing creates a more sustainable pasture by managing vegetation growth and encouraging new, healthy grass to thrive, which can help prevent various grass-related illnesses.
• A thick, healthy sward provides more consistent and nutritious grazing for animals.

We are happy to mow fields from 1-acre to 10-acres in size. However, typically anything over 5-acres in size will be more cost effective mowed with a larger tractor/mower than we use

As well as flail mowing, we also offer grass harrowing to help improve pasture health by removing moss and dead material, stimulating grass growth, enhancing soil aeration, and promoting better nutrient uptake.

Flail Mowing Cost

No two jobs or meadows are the same so we like to quote for each job individually. This way you know exactly how much you will be paying regardless of how long it ends up taking us.

Our prices take into account our insurance costs, labour, and machinery costs. Diesel is included in these prices and we are not currently VAT registered so there is no VAT to add.

For flail mowing with our compact tractor and flail mower we charge £60 per hour. Grass less than 1ft in height we can cut at around 1 acre per hour. 2-3ft in height we can cut at around 1 acre in 2 hours. Taller than 3ft will take longer as will mowing around obstacles such as trees.

Travel Costs

We don’t charge extra for travel within 5 miles of DY14 0QU (Clee Hill). Additional miles outside of this area are charged at £3 per mile.

Minimum Charge

We operate a minimum charge of £150 even if the job only takes us 30 minutes. This is because of the time and cost required to load, secure and travel with a compact tractor and equipment.

Example Job Pricing

To help clarify our charges here are some examples:

• A 4-acre field with short grass (1ft or shorter), 20 miles from DY14 0QU that requires cutting with our flail mower. 4 hours work at £60 per hour. Additional mile charge £45. Total price £285.
• A 2-acre field with long grass (1-3ft tall), within 5 miles of DY14 0QU that requires cutting with our flail mower. 4 hours work at £60 per hour. Total price £240.
• A 1-acre field with short grass (1ft or shorter), 5 miles from DY14 0QU that requires cutting with our flail mower. 1 hour of work at £60 per hour. This triggers our £150 minimum charge. Total price £150.

Sounds Expensive?

Running a compact tractor and attachments does not come cheap I’m afraid, here’s a rough breakdown of our running costs for flail mowing for 4 hours (£240):

• Approximately 35 litres of diesel at £1.79 per litre (17/06/26) = £62.65
• Machinery depreciation at £5 per running hour = £20
• Insurance: £5 (average over the year)
• Servicing & Maintenance: £5 (average over the year)

So our rough costs will come to £92.65 leaving around £147.35. This is before tax and any pension contributions. It’s also assuming we never invest in new equipment!

We charge £2 per mile for travel when travelling further than 5 miles from DY14 0QU. Towing 3 ton uses a lot of fuel and this basically just covers our fuel costs.

So no, the amount we charge does not go straight into our pocket unfortunately, there are many deductions.

Our Service Area

We are based on top of Clee Hill, Shropshire and cover all of South Shropshire, North Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Occasionally we will also travel further afield. Towns covered include but are not limited to the following: