The Citizen-On The Farm, 2004-03-18, Page 29Safe, efficient
While many woodstoves are too hot to touch, the only hot
spot on the Gulutzen grainstoves is the front door and area
just above it. (Bonnie Gropp photo.)
Huron County
Farm Safety Association
"Farm Safety Means
Farm Safely"
You are worth the time, effort and
money that it takes to do a job safely.
SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
• Excavating
• Bulldozing
• Backhoeing
• Trim Dozer
• Trucking
• Loader Rental
• Skid Steer
• Mini Excavator
Suppliers of...
• Gravel
• Topsoil
• Stone
• Sand
• Fill
• Compost
Installers of...
• Septic Systems
• Water Lines
• Sewer Lines
• Farm Drainage
• Open Ditches
• Farm Ponds
Gravel pit in Westfield to serve Blyth and area
Excavating inc.
482-3783 Simon VanDriel Clinton
PAGE A-8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2004.
On the farm
One man's vision becomes family business
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
What started as a vision has
become a family business.
Contemplating the corn fires that
occur in silos, the late Alex Gulutzen
thought that there had to be some
way to capture that. "My dad was
one of those people who was always
thinking there had to be alternative
heat sources, " said Charles
'Gulutzen. "The idea of farmers
growing their own fuel was
intriguing."
By 1990a prototype was
developed and by 1991 Grain Stoves
Inc. was up and running.
Gulutzen passed away this past
year. Charles quit his job to work
alongside, mom Pauline, brother Bill
and sister Darlene Hymers. He said,
while the business had been "pretty
much a hobby for Dad, the hope now
is to get it going full-time."
While the interest for his father
may have been less career
motivated, the company certainly
hadn't been standing still for the past
dozen years. With two stoves
currently on the market, Gulutzens
have been testing a furnace this
winter, and working on a boiler.
"I'd like to see quite a few models.
I believe the potential is out there,"
said Charles. Currently the busy
time for the company is August until
February. "Anything we sell after
that we call a bonus because it's the
end of the season."
The stoves are constructed at the
factory, located on Westfield Road,
north-west of Blyth. Besides the
family, the company employs a
The former has a width of 40
inches, height of 24 inches and depth
of 16 inches. It rests on legs or a
pedestal base and heats up to 2,000
square feet in an open-concept
space.
Its smaller sibling's dimensions
are 24 inches by 30 inches by 24
inches and heats 1,200 square feet.
Gulutzen admits that the stoves,
which have a fan to blow the heat,
are not ideal for those old chopped-
up farmhouses. "It's hard to push the
heat through if there are lots of walls
and doorways."
This was the reason for the
Continued from A-7
nearby bush in their search for food.
What and how you farm can have
as much of an impact on your
attitudes towards wildlife as where
you farm.
For a cash crop farmer a coyote
may be considered, if not a friend, at
least a temporary ally. They help
keep down the mice and groundhog
population and don't feed on the
crops. For a sheep farmer however
coyotes are the enemy. To protect
their flocks the owner has to spend
money on good fences and maintain
guard animals such as dogs and
donkeys.
In 1999 the Ontario Soil and Crop
Improvement Asso,ciation conducted
a survey to investigate the economic
impacts of wildlife on agricul-ture.
The survey and followup study
indicated that wildlife damage had
cost Ontario farmers over $41
million in the previous year.
Interestingly it also indicated that
nearly 50 per cent of farmers had
planted trees in support of wildlife
during the previous five years.
In addition the Ontario warm
community spent almost $8 million
on enhancing habitat during the
same year it lost $41 million to
wildlife.
There are obvious benefits to
promoting wildlife and wildlife
furnace, which can be connected to
existing ductwork and will heat
3,000-3,500 square feet.
The fuel for the heating systems
comes "right off the field." Corn,
wheat or rye can be used, and the
ideal moisture content is 14-18 per
cent.
('This year was bad," admits
Gulutzen. "Most times you can take
the crops right off the field and put
them in the stoves."
The other plus about the fuel is
that it's a renewable source. "You
look at a tree, it takes years to grow.
With this, in the right climate you
habitat but the needs of the farming
community are every bit as
important.
could have fuel growing all year
round."
The stoves emit carbon dioxide so
they are better for the environment,
and when the clinker is removed
what's left is potash so it can be used
as fertilizer.
Gulutzen said the heat, though dry,
is constant as the auger that feeds the
fire is on a timer so it drops a few
kernels down as needed. "Not like
wood, where it's 80° one minute,
then 40°."
Gulutzen estimates that two acres
of extra crops would provide the
Continued on A-9
Cardiff may have said it best when
he stated, "There has to be a
balance."
secretary during the busy season,
Julie McCall, as well as-two welders.
The two stoves are the Grain
Comfort, the first model created, and
the Cozy Comfort.
Impact depends on what, how