5 Best Landpride Rotary Cutters For Cattle Pastures Old Farmers Swear By

You’ve just rotated the herd onto fresh grass, and you’re looking back at the pasture they just left. It’s grazed unevenly, with tough clumps of fescue and the beginnings of thistle patches the cattle wisely ignored. This is the moment that separates a well-managed pasture from a field of weeds, and your rotary cutter is the tool that makes all the difference. Choosing the right one isn’t about getting the biggest or fanciest model; it’s about finding a durable partner that matches your tractor, your land, and your goals.

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Why a Tough Rotary Cutter is a Pasture’s Best Friend

A rotary cutter, or "brush hog," does more than just make a pasture look tidy. Its primary job is to manage forage, encouraging the tender, palatable grasses your cattle thrive on while punishing the tough, woody weeds that try to take over. By clipping everything to a uniform height after grazing, you reset the field, giving everything an equal chance to regrow.

This process, called clipping, is essential for pasture health. It prevents weeds from going to seed, stops brush from encroaching, and stimulates tillering in grass, which helps it grow thicker and more resilient. But pastures are unforgiving places, full of hidden rocks, old stumps, and uneven ground. A light-duty "finish mower" would be torn to shreds in a season; a tough, well-built rotary cutter is designed to absorb this abuse and keep working for decades.

The real value of a heavy-duty cutter is peace of mind. You know you can push into that overgrown fence line or tackle that patch of saplings without worrying about destroying your gearbox or bending the deck. It’s a tool built for the reality of farm work, not just the ideal.

Landpride RCR1860: The All-Around Farm Workhorse

If there’s one rotary cutter you’ll see on more small farms than any other, it’s probably the RCR1860. This 60-inch (5-foot) cutter is the quintessential all-rounder, perfectly sized for the compact utility tractors that are the backbone of so many hobby farms. It strikes an ideal balance between size, durability, and affordability.

This model is a standard-duty cutter, but Landpride’s standard is what many others would call heavy-duty. It’s rated for material up to 1-inch in diameter, which is more than enough for annual weed control, pasture clipping, and maintaining trails. Paired with a tractor in the 25 to 60 horsepower range, it’s nimble enough to get into tight corners but wide enough to make quick work of a 10-acre field.

The RCR1860 isn’t designed for clearing a forest, but that’s not its job. Its purpose is consistent, reliable maintenance. It’s the cutter you buy when you need a tool that will faithfully trim your pastures year after year without complaint. It’s the definition of a farm workhorse.

Landpride RCF2072: Forward-Rotation Efficiency

At first glance, the RCF2072 looks similar to its cousins, but it has one key difference: forward-blade rotation. On most cutters, the blades spin so that the cut material is thrown backward. The RCF series spins the blades in the direction of the tractor’s travel, throwing clippings forward and under the deck.

This seemingly small change has big benefits. First, it results in a cleaner, more uniform cut because the grass isn’t being pushed down by the front of the deck before being cut. Second, it dramatically reduces the amount of dust and debris thrown back at the tractor and the operator. After a long, dry day of mowing, you’ll feel the difference.

The 72-inch (6-foot) width of the RCF2072 makes it a great step up for those with 30 to 65 horsepower tractors and a bit more ground to cover. The forward rotation and smooth-top deck also make it easier to clean, preventing wet clippings from building up and causing rust. It’s a thoughtful design for the farmer who values efficiency and a more pleasant operating experience.

Landpride RC3710: For Heavy-Duty Brush Clearing

Sometimes, pasture maintenance involves more than just grass. You might be reclaiming an old field that’s been overtaken by sumac and multiflora rose, or you need to maintain a firebreak at the edge of the woods. This is where a standard cutter shows its limits, and the RC3710 shows its strength.

This is a true heavy-duty brush cutter. With its 10-inch cutting width and a gearbox and driveline built to handle tractors from 50 to 100 horsepower, it’s designed for abuse. The key feature is its cutting capacity—it can chew through saplings up to 3 inches in diameter without flinching. This is the tool for aggressive clearing, not fine-tuning.

The tradeoff is weight and cost. The RC3710 is a heavy implement that demands a capable tractor to lift and handle it safely, especially on uneven ground. It’s overkill for simply clipping a well-kept pasture, but when you’re faced with a jungle, this is the machine that turns it back into a field.

Landpride RC5715: Tackling Large, Uneven Acreage

For the hobby farmer with 40 acres or more, mowing can become a full-time job. A 6-foot cutter feels painfully slow when you have that much ground to cover. The RC5715 is a 15-foot flex-wing rotary cutter that solves the problem of scale. It’s a serious machine for serious acreage.

The "flex-wing" design is its most important feature. The two side wings can pivot up and down independently of the center section, allowing the cutter to follow the contours of rolling terrain. This prevents the blades from scalping high spots or missing dips and low spots, resulting in a clean, consistent cut across the entire width.

Of course, a cutter this size requires a substantial tractor, typically 60 horsepower at the PTO as a bare minimum. It’s a major investment, but one that pays for itself in time. What might take a full day with a 6-foot cutter can be done in a couple of hours. It transforms a monumental task into a manageable chore.

Landpride RCR1260: Reliable Compact Tractor Choice

Not everyone is running a 50-horsepower utility tractor. For the thousands of farmers using subcompact and small compact tractors in the 18 to 30 horsepower range, finding a durable, properly-sized implement is crucial. The RCR12 series, particularly the 60-inch RCR1260, is the perfect answer.

This series is engineered to be lighter without sacrificing durability where it counts. It uses a lower horsepower-rated gearbox and a lighter frame that smaller tractors can safely lift and power. Trying to run a heavier-duty cutter on a small tractor can strain the three-point hitch, overload the PTO, and create a dangerous imbalance. The RCR12 is built specifically to avoid these problems.

This is the ideal cutter for maintaining a few acres of horse pasture, clearing trails through the woods, or keeping a small orchard tidy. It proves that you don’t need a massive machine to practice good land management. It’s about having the right machine.

Matching Cutter Size to Your Tractor’s Horsepower

The single most important decision in buying a cutter is matching it to your tractor. An undersized cutter wastes your tractor’s potential and your time. An oversized cutter is inefficient, dangerous, and can cause catastrophic damage to your tractor’s drivetrain.

Here are the key considerations:

• PTO Horsepower: This is the power available to run the implement. The cutter’s manual will specify a minimum and maximum HP range. Stay within it. Pushing a 6-foot heavy-duty cutter through thick brush with a 35 HP tractor will stall the engine and strain the entire system.
• Tractor Weight: A heavy cutter can make a light tractor unstable, especially on hills. The front end can become light, compromising steering and creating a tipping hazard. As a rule of thumb, the cutter shouldn’t overwhelm the tractor’s physical size and weight.
• 3-Point Hitch Capacity: Ensure your tractor’s three-point hitch can comfortably lift the weight of the cutter. You need to be able to raise it high enough to clear obstacles and navigate uneven ground.

A 5-foot cutter (like the RCR1860) is often the sweet spot for 30-40 HP tractors. A 6-foot cutter (like the RCF2072) is better suited for the 40-60 HP range. Always check the specs for both the tractor and the cutter before you buy.

Maintaining Your Cutter for Decades of Reliable Use

A Landpride rotary cutter is an investment that, with a little care, will likely outlast the tractor you bought it with. Neglecting basic maintenance is the fastest way to turn a reliable tool into a pile of broken parts. The good news is that the required maintenance is simple and straightforward.

Commit to a pre-use checklist. Before you head to the field, take five minutes to grease the key points—the PTO shaft universal joints, the driveline, and the wheel hubs if it has them. Check the oil level in the gearbox; a small leak can drain it over time, leading to a very expensive failure.

Periodically, you need to check the blades and the slip clutch. Sharp blades give a cleaner cut and put less strain on the machine. More importantly, make sure they are balanced to prevent violent vibrations. Once a year, check the slip clutch to ensure the plates haven’t seized from rust. That clutch is designed to slip when you hit a rock, protecting the gearbox and your tractor’s PTO. A seized clutch offers no protection at all.

Ultimately, the best rotary cutter is the one that fits your operation. It’s a tool that lets you effectively manage your land, improve your forage, and build a more productive and resilient pasture for your animals. By choosing a tough, reliable machine and giving it the basic care it needs, you’re not just buying a piece of equipment—you’re investing in the long-term health of your farm.