Farm-Built Field Burner

Farm-Built Field Burner MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 25-6-44 With more than 1,000 acres of wild blueberries, Bill Guptill of Guptill Farms, Wesley, Maine, has had to find ways to make plant care easier. One of the best tools he's found is a home-built diesel-fueled burner. He says pruning blueberry plants by burning off their tops encourages new, fruit-bearing growth the second year after burning and also kills bugs and renews the fields. Commercial burning machines are available but Guptill had this one built to his own specifications. In fact, he's built eight burners in all. Some use diesel, some burn gasoline, and some are actually fueled by straw. His tractor-mounted burner, built five years ago, is designed so he can control the fuel and air mix from the driver's seat, as well as the direction of the three flame tubes protruding from the back of the machine. With these controls and by adjusting tractor ground speed, he can precisely control the amount of burning in the field. The burner consumes some 25 gal. of diesel fuel an hour. When conditions are right, a good operator can burn off an 80-acre field in about an hour. While a burner is operating in a field, Guptill stations other workers around the edge to watch for and control any fires that might get out of control. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Guptill, Guptill Farms, Guptill Rd., Wesley, Me. 04686 (ph 207 255-9000). Story and photos excerpted from Rural Delivery, Box 1509, Liverpool, Nova Scotia (Website: www.countrymagazines.com).

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