Three new Grasshopper mowers help Kansas college cut grass, collect leaves, and plow snow

Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas, is a small school of roughly 400 students. The 50-acre campus is on the smaller side too, although over 20 of those acres contain turfgrass that needs to be mowed on a frequent basis. As of spring, the grounds crew has been relying on some new Grasshopper® mowers to mow it.

“We’ve been using all three of our new Grasshoppers all year long,” said Tim Schrag, grounds specialist at Hesston College. “They have been really solid machines that leave an amazing cut.”

Schrag and his crew of part-time and seasonal employees have been running two 300 Series MidMount™ mowers and one 900 Series FrontMount™. Each is equipped with a 61-inch deck and set of HighLift™ notched blades, which are a great match for side-discharging in a variety of conditions.

Hesston College’s new Grasshoppers aren’t just used for mowing grass, though. The grounds crew actually started using its first Grasshopper mower long before the over 20 acres of turfgrass had even turned green.

“We needed a new snow machine this past winter,” Schrag said. “We had an old mower and plow that needed to be updated. We decided on a Grasshopper FrontMount with a dozer blade. We also got the heated cab, which is a really nice accessory. It doesn’t snow a lot here, but we had a couple decent snowfalls where this new setup came in really handy.”

Great mower, even better partner

Once winter was over, the FrontMount was converted to a mowing machine. That’s also when Hesston College received their two MidMount mowers.

“The other mowers in our fleet were also getting pretty old,” Schrag said. “Repairs were getting more frequent and expensive. We thought about sticking with the same brand we’d been using for years, but decided to take the opportunity to consider other options”

Schrag grew up in nearby Moundridge, Kansas, the home of Grasshopper, and was well aware of the company’s reputation.

“My supervisor at the time asked what I thought about Grasshopper,” Schrag recalled. “I said ‘absolutely, let’s give them a look.’ I’d driven by the Grasshopper plant hundreds of times in my life, but I’d never stepped foot in the building until they invited us for a tour in the fall of 2025. I was blown away. I always knew it was a smaller, family-owned business. But I never realized what a large and impressive operation they had.”

Forrest Miller was also involved in the early discussions with Grasshopper representatives.

“We liked the fact that Grasshopper was a homegrown, family-owned company that was heavily involved in the community,” said Miller, who was the Hesston College grounds manager for 24 years before stepping into his current role as development officer. “From the very first meeting we had, we felt at home and heard. By the second meeting, we knew Grasshopper would be a great partner.”

How Hesston College is using their Grasshopper zero-turn mowers

Mowing

After those initial meetings, Grasshopper representatives brought some machines to the Hesston College campus so the grounds department could try some different options. Schrag said they chose the three mowers, as well as the deck size and blade style, because they best matched the mowing applications his crews face.

Roughly 10 acres of turfgrass contain fescue. Those lawns are irrigated regularly and mowed at least once per week. Another 5 acres of sports fields consist of bermuda grass and are mowed multiple times per week.

In addition to leading the mowing effort, Schrag has his applicator’s license and spearheads the fertilization program throughout campus.

“We definitely try to maintain our grounds to a high standard,” Schrag said. “The new Grasshoppers have made it easier. All three of our mowers do a fantastic job of spreading the clippings out. We’ve never had to go over any area twice.”

Schrag says the comfort of a Grasshopper has also been a big plus and that “all of our Grasshoppers are very smooth machines, and the seat is extremely comfortable.”

Schrag and his crews like to use the 900 Series FrontMount on turf areas that have ditches and slopes, as well as areas with a lot of shrubbery and trees. Grasshopper FrontMounts are known for their ability to handle uneven terrain, and to reach under things like trees and fences to reduce string-trimming time.

As for the two 300 Series MidMounts, Schrag said they are used on the sports fields and other wide-open areas where operators can take advantage of the mower’s combination of speed and cut quality.

Fall leaf cleanup

Schrag plans on using at least two of the three mowers through fall.

“We’re going to add a PowerVac™ Collection System to one of our MidMount mowers for leaf cleanup,” Schrag said. “Then, on our FrontMount mower, we’re looking to get a Remote Vac™ which is basically a big hose that can mount in place of the deck. It looks like a great tool to vacuum up leaves in areas a mower can’t go, like doorways.”

Snow removal

When leaf cleanups are complete, the FrontMount mower will have the dozer blade put back on so crews can plow snow all winter.

Aerating?

Schrag said there is also some discussion about getting additional attachments for the FrontMount mower in the future, including an AERA-vator™ Coreless Aerator that could help crews more efficiently aerate the 5 acres of sports fields on campus.

It’s all part of a new partnership between Hesston College and Grasshopper, a partnership both Schrag and Miller are happy to be a part of.

“Even when Grasshopper delivered our mowers, it wasn’t just some delivery guy or even just the sales guy,” Miller said. “Several of the people we had met earlier came along on that delivery just to be part of that and thank us again. It is clear that this company and its people have high integrity, which is the perfect fit for an organization like ours.”