Bush Hog, Inc. is the leading North American manufacturer of rotary cutters, finishing mowers, landscape tools, and tractor-mounted implements used in the agricultural market. Located in Selma, Alabama for 68 years, Bush Hog’s products have earned an enviable reputation for their ruggedness and durability in the most challenging work environments. The “Bush Hog” brand is associated with rotary cutters and the act of cutting itself, having invented the brush mower over a half-century ago, and is often used as a generic term to describe a rotary cutter or the cutting of a field.

For this project, we have revived a legendary cutter, the 4215, for sugar cane farmers in Louisiana. This cutter is a 15 foot wide rigid deck rotary cutter, which is primarily used in the sugar cane industry to clip cane regrowth in February. Due to the shear size and weight of the cutter, there are few farmers with tractors large enough to run the unit effectively. Due to this limited demand, Bush Hog ceased production of the original 4215 cutter in 2010. Now, the market has demanded that the unit be revived. 

Sugar cane is planted between July and August. In October through December, the plant is harvested. After the plant is harvested, while the field sits idle, the plant will re-sprout. In February through March, the farmers use the cutter to clip the regrowth as close to the ground as possible. This cuts the stalks back down to green growth, allowing for easier spraying of the plants. The sugar cane row beds are about 60 inches to 72 inches wide and 16 inches tall. This row spacing allows the 15 foot cutting width of the 4215 cutter to cover 3 rows at a time.

Due to the height of the row beds and farmers’ desire to cut the sprouts as close to the ground as possible, the cutter’s adjustable height is set so that it regularly encounters the dirt. This creates a sandblasting effect and over time, cutters used in sandy regions or at low cutting heights have to withstand severe abrasion to the bottom of the cutter deck. This results in the removal of paint, exposing the raw sheet steel to oxidation, and eventually failure of the cutter deck due to rust. Currently, Bush Hog cutters are powder coated to provide longevity of the cutting deck for the typical customer. But for this application, we desired a more robust coating than standard powder coat. So, hot-dip galvanizing seemed the obvious choice considering its reputation for durability and longevity.