I don't own a tractor and all of my plots are 1 acre or less. I have a Swisher rough cut trailcutter that I pull with my ATV. I usually mow my clover on the highest setting, which is about 7". That said, I bet there are literally thousands of clover food plots that are successfully mowed with a tractor and a PTO driven brush hog. Avoiding the temptation to mow when conditions are hot and dry is important.
I know not everyone agrees, but Dr. Craig Harper suggests only mowing once a season in late summer...
https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsess...ars-lengthening-the-life-of-clover-food-plots
ABOUT MOWING
Craig Harper was the first habitat management expert I ever heard begging hunters to leave the Bush-hog in the shed. More good wildlife habitat is destroyed by indiscriminate mowing, he said, than most hunters realize. Neither does he believe that mowing is a primary technique for managing clover food plots.
“Mowing definitely has a place in your perennial food plots, but you can save yourself a lot of time mowing if you spray the correct herbicide at the correct time,” he said. “You can spend a lot of time mowing and still have lots of weeds, or you can spray about twice per year and mow once and have much better results.”
“With the exception of mowing weeds that have gotten too mature to be susceptible to herbicide, I only mow my perennial plots once a year, and that’s generally in August. It’s the end of the growing cycle, the clover and chicory have flowered and produced seed, and most people would say the plot looks ragged. I’m mowing a few scattered weeds, a little bit of clover, and chicory bolts. The production period of the plot is over. I’m getting it prepared for fall growth. Come October, it will look great.”
Craig notes the management timing and forage production period is different in the north where perennial clovers act realistically as a warm-season crop, producing throughout summer.
This advice on mowing differs from some food plotters, who believe in mowing clover when it is at its most productive.
“It’s a myth that you have to mow in order to have a nutritious clover plot,” said Craig. “That’s just wrong. If the clover is doing well in May and June and deer are eating it, let them eat it. Don’t mow it! The nutritive value of a perennial clover leaf that is 4 weeks old compared to one that is 8 weeks old during this time is negligible for white-tailed deer. You worked hard to produce 4,000 pounds per acre of high-quality clover and chicory. Why wake up one Saturday morning in June and mow down three-quarters of it? It doesn’t make sense! Wait until after the forages produce seed before you mow. Unfortunately, many people mow because they want to get outside and do something to manage the land. If they would redirect their effort to other management activities, they would be much more successful in reaching their habitat management objectives for deer.”
Craig’s once-a-year mowing often takes place the same time he needs to top-dress the plot, so both tasks can be tackled in one visit.