Myburgh Toerusting is well-known for their inventive farm equipment solutions that makes farming not only easier and more cost efficient, but also safer.

One of their implements that helps farmers to make their farms safer is their firebreak rake.

Jannie Myburgh explains that they designed the first rake for a customer with pine plantations.

“Pine trees shed needles throughout the year and the fire risk in plantations is extremely high,” explains Jannie.

Even if a farmer makes a firebreak, the trees shed so many needles that in less than a month there is enough material on the ground to enable a fire to jump over the firebreak.

The result is that the firebreaks must be cleaned regularly. A grader or a disc harrow is usually used for this, but Jannie says that these are not sustainable solutions.

With a grader you scrape away a portion of the soil every time you scrape away the needles. This results in digging a deeper trench every time.

The problem with a disc harrow is that roots of pine trees are very shallow. With a disc harrow, you can damage these roots and hamper the growth of your trees.

“Both the operations are quite expensive and you need a bigger tractor. The advantage of the firebreak  rake is that it is a cheaper tool and you do not need such a big tractor,” says Jannie.

Now you can clean your firebreaks once a month by simply moving the pine needles.

“With only two runs you make a really wide firebreak,” says Jannie.

Why is this rake suitable for farmers?

You do not have to have a pine plantation to use this rake. It also works on the farm with your pastures.

It is not just an ordinary five-wheel rake. The angle of the rake is much more aggressive. Myburgh Equipment’s rake wheels also each have 80 fingers which means a cleaner action.

The rake’s arms are also heavier to be able to handle more and heavier material more easily. Each spindle is on its own arm so that the rake can handle rougher terrain better.

“The rake is designed for firebreaks, so it has a very sharp angle, but you can still use it with grass too,” adds Jannie.

Contact Myburgh Toerusting today to find out more about this firebreak rake and all their other ingenious implements that make the farmer’s work easier and improve his results.

Visit their website at www.mtoer.co.za, or send an e-mail to mybtoer@gmail.com, or contact 082-417-0175.