New Tool Removes Brush With Minimal Ground Disturbance

New Tool Removes Brush With Minimal Ground Disturbance During his teen years in the 1960’s George Garton’s job was to hand dig brush from pastures with a mattock Grubbing the brush and roots was the most effective method for long-term elimination Fifty years later in 2013 Garton had a tissue biopsy performed The dermatologist used a sharp curved metal blade that easily and quickly scooped out the tissue and it also healed faster than with a scalpel A few days later Garton had an “ah-ha moment” and thought that such a curved blade could work on a tractor’s 3-pt hitch and skid steer as an implement to remove brush He decided to design an implement that in addition to easily removing brush would have minimal soil disturbance be affordable have few moving parts require minimal operator skill and reduce or eliminate the use of chemicals The goal in designing the implement was to simply be able to drive over the brush drop the implement scoop out the brush with its roots and then move on to the next one After performing several tests in different soil types with the Brushband as he calls it Garton was encouraged by the results The soil passed through the band and scooped out the brush while leaving the soil intact leaving no holes in the ground He also recognized that a few modifications would increase its effectiveness especially when removing larger coppiced stools and roots Garton has filed a patent He made the implement’s 3-pt hitch from a discarded sub-soiler and the band was water-jet cut out of 1/2-in steel at a machine shop and rolled to the desired shape When he builds the next one Garton will make the band wider have a sharper cutting edge and add tractor weights to assist in cutting the roots of much larger brush After a year’s use Garton’s pasture looks better is healthier and grows more grass which means a larger stocking rate per acre He believes the Brushband would have a short payback time and it could have other uses around the farm as well Contact: FARM SHOW Followup George Garton 6512 Blue Quail Rd NE Rio Rancho N M 87144 ph 505-206-5679; georgegarton46@yahoo com

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