In working on its latest product, the MK960 wide area mower — or WAM — Ventrac wanted to create a high-productivity machine.

The company set out to build a wider mowing deck than the typical 60- to 72-inch size.

Ventrac marketing manager Isaac Roth said a mowing deck wider than 72 inches is rare, because placing that large of a deck underneath a zero-turn mower is difficult. Because Ventrac’s attachments mount in front of its all-wheel drive 4500 tractor, the company determined it had enough power for a larger attachment.

The result is Ventrac’s MK960, and the company designed the mower’s 95-inch mowing deck to help increase productivity.

“It makes tall grass short, real fast,” Roth said.

Features for Safety, Comfort

Ventrac, owned by The Toro Company, designed the machine’s rear discharge feature with government agencies in mind. That feature prevents the mower from throwing grass at buildings or pedestrians. Rear discharge makes clippings come out evenly behind the mower, which also reduces incidents of thrown objects out of the side of the mower deck.

The company designed the product with rear discharge to aid in easy trimming from either side of the deck.

Ventrac designed the mower to have a cut range of one to five inches. The tool-free height adjusts quickly and easily with two levers.

The deck features a flip-up design that helps ease operator access to the underside of the deck for maintenance and other tasks such as blade sharpening and cleaning. An optional hydraulic flip-up kit is also available, which can ease the labor of heavy lifting.

Ventrac designed the mower for more efficient mowing of large-acre campuses and estates, noting the machine can mow a soccer field in 15 minutes, 22 seconds.

The company said the machine’s reduced mowing time leads to improved efficiencies and reduced labor costs for government agencies.

Additional features of the machine include five 20-inch mower blades, an offset caster wheel, and three front anti-scalp rollers.