After repairing many kinds of mowers in a commercial mower shop, there is no doubt I would buy a Walker Tractor, w/ choice of any size of grass/pickup or mulching decks.

If I had unlimited money (and brains) I would purchase
a $20,000 John Deere 30 HP 4x4 Loader and 5-6 ft
brush Hog.

Lacking unlimited funds (but still brains) I would buy
the same system used $10,000

No funds (no brains) I bought a Jinma 18 Hp tractor with
4 ft Brush Hog new $4,000.

Actually the Jinma has been great for cutting fields
And not bad for repairs, but is a toy compaired to
John Deere.

The added usefulness of a FEL will be seen as you
do things on the farm.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:139186}}

Thank you for the advice, rjsfishin and corvetteguy. Should I look at a combination of tractor+mower attached to the 3 point in the back, or would a tractor with a mid-deck mower suffice for the type of job and surface I'll need to tackle?

"this season the entire 25 acres are an open field, but starting next season there will be rows of plants spaced about 13 feet apart."

That sounds like some kind of orchard in the making. I assume after you put those plants in you are going to want to mow around them. Near me there is a 30 acre public park. It is a county park and it is mowed, or being mowed, all the time. It is mowed with a large commercial zero turn mower. I have watched the old guy mow with it. it is fast, and it is nimble. With what you describe I would want one of those with as big a deck as I could afford.

That and I think you will need a tractor too, probably a utility tractor. I'm not sure why, or what kind of equipment you will need with it, but i bet you will need one.

Good luck!

Have a 4 wheeler? could always buy either a finish or rough cut pull behind mower.

Are you going to put in permanent grass between plant rows and what kind? Personally, I wouldn't try to mow bahiagrass or coastal bermuda with anything less than 30 hp.

For Just under $20,000(MSRP $19,079) You could get a Large Frame compact Utility from Deere. Which could handle your Mowing duties rather well for that size of a place.

Here is a link that might be useful: John Deere 4105

Buy a used deere

Seems a lot of hard work to kill out black berries. I would rent, or get a neighbor with a good full size tractor and a 4-6 bottom plow and plow it a couple of times this year and perhaps next year too. That is all it should take. Not much will stand up to continued plowing. You could also run a disc over it after each plowing too.

Thank you to all of you for your input.

Tomhoffman, the topography (hillside, several draws) is not condusive to plowing, and I do not want to disturb the soil (the property has been resting since 1962 and there is very good biological activity in the soil). It will take hard work to exhaust the Himalayan blackberry through mowing, but it can be done within 4-5 years. And since I'd have to mow anyway, whether grass alone or grass and blackberry... it makes sense to keep mowing.

Sergeant, thank you for the link to the 4105. Definitely looks like something I should consider, and it also confirms what Corvetteguy and Gzec recommended. Thank you for the info on the MSRP.

Turnage, the grass that I hope to have out-compete the blackberry (and some Poison oak and various thistles) is Blue wild rye (Elymus glaucus) and Western fescue (Festuca occidentalis). They do grow tall and my stand will be seeded for a dense cover, in order to out-compete the weeds. Sounds like I'll need at least 30 hp, if not 40-45.

Johninmd, I do not have a four wheeler that could drag a mower.

Johntommybob, yes this is an orchard in the making. I believe that once we get rid of the blackberry and other invasive plants, we'll have to deal only with grass, and we'll cut it repeatedly so it doesn't grow too tall and does not compete with the young trees (for water and nutrients). At that point in time a zero turn might do the job, especially the ATV version (because the topography on my site is pretty hilly, with several draws and a couple steeper slopes).

Thanks again

Believe me some day you will definitely have
a 4 wheeler. With 50 acres I use mine every day to ride
the property to check on crop growth, bears, deer,
turkeys, ect.

A 3 point brush hog is capable of cutting down almost
anything less than 2 inches in diameter. That means
bushes, small trees, hay, blackberries will fall
anytime you want.

The advantage of a 3 point is that you can always get
a finish mower to make grass look real nice. You can
get a stone rake ($300) that is real nice for grooming.
You can get an Auger ($400) for digging holes to plant
trees, posts, etc. You can get a Box Scraper ($300)
to pull behind and make smooth pathways. A boom pole ($75)
to lift heavy objects. The used market is a good place
to get implements for 50% off new.

With the Obamaeconomy the way it is there will be a lot
of good used equipment on the auction block. It is sad
that you might be able to take advantage of this
situation, but at least you will be helping someone
who is loosing their job.