6 Best Electric Windrowers for Small Farms

You’ve spent months nurturing that small patch of alfalfa or timothy grass, and now it’s ready for its first cutting. The old gas-powered mower is loud, smelly, and always seems to need tinkering right when you need it most. For homesteaders managing small acreage, the move toward quiet, low-maintenance electric equipment is more than a trend—it’s a practical shift that makes daily chores more pleasant and sustainable.

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Earthwise PowerMow 30-Inch Electric Sickle Bar

This machine is a throwback in the best way possible, powered by modern electricity. The Earthwise is a corded electric sickle bar mower, which immediately presents its biggest strength and its most significant weakness. It’s an incredibly simple, effective, and affordable tool for cutting hay.

The sickle bar mechanism is key. Unlike a rotary mower that bashes and shreds grass, a sickle bar uses a scissor-like action to slice stems cleanly at the base. This preserves the leaf structure and maximizes the nutritional quality of your forage, which is crucial when you’re feeding just a few goats or rabbits. It lays the hay down gently, ready for raking.

Let’s be realistic about the cord. Managing a 100-foot extension cord is a constant chore, and it limits your range significantly. This tool is purpose-built for a very specific scenario: a small, dedicated hay plot of a quarter-acre or less, located very close to a barn or outdoor outlet. If that’s your setup, it’s a fantastic, budget-friendly option.

EGO POWER+ Multi-Head with Brush Cutter Attachment

Many homesteaders are already invested in a battery ecosystem, and the EGO POWER+ system is a popular one. While not a dedicated windrower, its multi-head power unit paired with a brush cutter blade attachment can be a surprisingly capable tool for felling small fields of forage. Think of it as a modern, electric scythe.

The process is more labor-intensive than with a dedicated machine. You’ll swing the brush cutter to fell the grass, but it won’t lay it down in a neat row. You must follow up with a hand rake to gather the cuttings into windrows for drying. This two-step process takes more time and effort.

The trade-off here is versatility for specialization. You’re using one powerhead for string trimming, edging, pole-sawing, and now, cutting hay. For the homesteader with less than an acre of mixed-use pasture, this is a smart, space-saving compromise. It gets the job done without requiring you to buy and store another large piece of equipment.

Koppl Compakt Electric Walk-Behind Drum Mower

When you’re ready to get serious about small-scale hay production, you enter the world of two-wheel tractors like the Koppl. This is a professional-grade machine designed for efficiency and performance, offering a quiet, fume-free alternative to its gas-powered European cousins. It represents a significant financial investment, but the return is in time and quality.

A drum mower is the star of this show. Two counter-rotating drums with free-swinging blades cut the forage and immediately funnel it between them, depositing it in a tidy, fluffy windrow behind the machine. This single-pass operation is incredibly fast and produces perfectly conditioned hay that dries quickly.

This machine isn’t for the casual hobbyist. It’s for the homesteader managing one to three acres of prime hayfield who depends on that forage for their livestock. The Koppl system is a long-term investment in efficiency, allowing you to cut, rake, and even bale on a small scale with a single, powerful electric platform.

Ryobi 40V HP Cordless 28-Inch Sickle Mower

Ryobi brings battery convenience to the classic sickle bar design, creating a compelling option for many homesteaders. It delivers the clean, non-shredding cut that’s ideal for making hay, but without the hassle of a cord or the maintenance of a gas engine. This hits a sweet spot for many small-scale operations.

The 28-inch cutting width is nimble enough for navigating the uneven terrain and tight corners common on a homestead. It’s designed specifically for the tall, thick grasses and legumes you’re trying to harvest, not for manicured lawns. It’s a specialized tool that does its one job very well.

The primary consideration is your battery supply. To tackle a half-acre, you will need several fully charged 40V high-capacity batteries. If you’re already in the Ryobi 40V ecosystem, this is a brilliant and logical addition. If not, you must factor the cost of multiple batteries and chargers into your purchase decision.

DR Power PREMIER 300E Electric Field Mower

The DR Power name is synonymous with clearing tough, overgrown land, and their electric model continues that legacy. However, it’s crucial to understand what this machine is—and what it isn’t. This is a powerful rotary deck mower, essentially an electric brush hog.

Its rotary blade is designed to chop and mulch its way through thick weeds, saplings, and dense brush. While it will certainly cut tall grass, the violent chopping action is rough on delicate forages like clover and alfalfa. This can shatter leaves and stems, leading to nutrient loss and longer drying times, which is not ideal for high-quality hay.

Think of this as a pasture management tool, not a haymaking one. Use the DR Premier 300E to reclaim an overgrown field, maintain walking paths, or cut tough bedding material for your animals. It’s a workhorse for general land clearing, but for making quality winter feed, a sickle or drum mower is the superior choice.

Kersten K-Series Electric Two-Wheel Tractor

Similar to the Koppl, the Kersten K-Series represents the pinnacle of electric walk-behind land management systems. It’s a German-engineered two-wheel tractor built around a powerful electric drive unit. This is not a single-purpose machine; it’s the heart of a comprehensive equipment ecosystem.

The core advantage is modularity. You purchase the electric power unit and then choose from a wide array of attachments: a sickle bar mower for hay, a flail mower for brush, a tiller for garden prep, or even a snowblower. This allows one machine to do the work of four or five, justifying its premium price tag for a diversified homestead.

Choosing between a system like Kersten or Koppl often comes down to local dealer support and specific attachment needs. This is a "buy once, cry once" investment for the homesteader who plans to manage their land for decades. It provides a powerful, quiet, and fume-free solution for nearly every major task on a small farm.

Key Features in a Small-Scale Electric Windrower

When you’re choosing a machine, the single most important factor is the cutting mechanism. Your choice directly impacts the quality of your forage and the efficiency of your work.

• Sickle Bar: Delivers a clean, scissor-like cut. Best for preserving hay quality.
• Drum Mower: Cuts quickly and forms a windrow in one pass. Best for efficiency.
• Rotary Mower: Chops and mulches. Best for clearing brush, not for making quality hay.

Next, consider the machine’s physical design. A wider cutting deck means you’ll finish the job in fewer passes, which sounds great. But on a homestead with rolling hills, tight trees, and rocky patches, a narrower, more maneuverable machine is often the better, safer choice. A 28- or 30-inch mower is much easier to muscle around than a 40-inch beast on tricky terrain.

Finally, look at build quality and adjustability. Can you easily change the cutting height to adapt to different forages or field conditions? Are the wheels large and rugged enough for your land? A machine with a heavy-gauge steel frame and simple, robust controls will outlast a lighter-duty model and prove far less frustrating to use season after season.

Battery Life and Power for Small Acreage Tasks

Let’s be blunt: the run-time estimates printed on the box are wildly optimistic. Those numbers are based on cutting sparse, dry grass on a flat surface. When you’re wading into a dense, thigh-high stand of orchard grass after a morning dew, your battery life will be cut in half. Maybe more.

The only way to work efficiently with cordless electric equipment is to have a battery surplus. For any task that takes more than 30 minutes, you need a system. Plan on having a minimum of three batteries: one in the machine, one fully charged and ready, and one on the charger. This rotation is the only way to avoid long, frustrating periods of downtime waiting for a single battery to recharge.

Your acreage dictates your battery strategy. For a small quarter-acre plot, you might get by with two high-capacity batteries. If you’re planning to cut an acre or more, you need to think like a pro. That means investing in multiple rapid chargers and a deep inventory of four, five, or even six batteries to ensure you can work through a good weather window without interruption.

The shift to electric on the homestead is here to stay, and cutting hay is no exception. Success isn’t about finding a single "best" tool, but about honestly assessing your goals—whether that’s making premium hay for your animals or just taming an overgrown field. By matching the right cutting technology and battery strategy to your specific piece of land, you can get the job done quietly and efficiently.