RAPID
CITY, SD (Sept. 21, 2020) — Feeding cattle is about to get a whole lot
easier if Henry Wegehaupt has anything to say about it.
The
2017 South Dakota Mines electrical engineering
graduate was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the United
States Department of Agriculture to continue research and development on an
automated cattle-feeding system that he began developing while a student at
Mines. At 26, he’s the youngest person to receive a Small
Business Innovation Research grant in South Dakota.
“It’s
been pretty exciting,” says Wegehaupt. “My focus is to support the small family
farms here in the United States. Help them remain competitive.”
The
initial grant funds eight months of continued research and development for
Wegehaupt’s business, Provender Technologies, with the opportunity to receive
more funding if his work proves successful.
Wegehaupt
works part-time as an electrical engineer with Interstates in Sioux Falls and spends the rest of his time
managing the development of Provender’s system. He works closely with a South
Dakota farmer to assess the real-world needs of a family farm. He also employs
contractors and custom fabricators to do the hands-on work of creating the
prototype. Many of his contractors are also Mines graduates. “I’ve always been
more interested in the business side of being of an engineer,” he says.
Wegehaupt
grew up on a beef cattle ranch near Dimock, SD. He learned early on just how
labor and time-intensive the business of agriculture is, especially feeding
livestock.
He
chose engineering and South Dakota Mines after a department tour with
electrical engineering instructor Scott Rausch. “He’s the reason I went to
South Dakota Mines. He had industry experience, and he was so passionate about
engineering,” Wegehaupt says. Rausch became a mentor and a teacher to
Wegehaupt, who also has two sisters who are Hardrockers.
By
the time Wegehaupt was planning for his senior design project, the idea of
easing the work for small and mid-size farms and ranches was on his mind. Large
commercial operations often have automated systems, but they are outpriced for
a smaller operation like most family farms and ranches.
“I
started to realize there’s an opportunity here … there’s a need,” he says.
“We’ve seen a lot of agriculture technologies come about in the past few years
… but there hasn’t been much that’s changed for feeding and raising cattle.
It’s the same labor-intensive job.”
He
worked on the senior design idea for Provender, getting help from fellow
classmates. Eventually, he entered the
Shark-Tank style CEO Business Plan
competition on campus.
The CEO program pairs students who have solid business ideas with training and
professional mentors. After weeks of prep work, each competitor pitches their
plan to a panel of business leaders for a chance to win money and business
advice. The CEO competition also prepares competitors for the South Dakota
Governor’s Giant Vision Business Plan Competition, which Mines students have
won for the past six straight years.
Wegehaupt
didn’t win the campus CEO competition, but he tied for first in the Student
Giant Vision that year and realized that his idea had real merit. “The CEO
Business Competition is really where it all started for me,” he says.
Because
Wegehaupt is targeting small to mid-size farm and ranch operations, it’s
critical he keep his product affordable. Even so, he’s opted to add other
elements to the prototype, including improving feed-mixing processes, which
increases feed efficiencies and improves the health of the animal. “It’s going
to be exciting to see what kind of results we are going to see,” he said.
In
addition to hiring contractors who are Mines grads, Wegehaupt says he’s also
tapped into the alumni community for advice and help. “South Dakota Mines is
where I’ve been getting a lot of help … It’s a big network of brilliant people
who are much smarter than I am who have helped me.” He even hired a student
from Mines this past summer on a different project.
“Mines
prepared me for this,” he says. “You learn to be a problem solver … It all adds
up to a great education.”
Wegehaupt
has high hopes that he’ll receive funding in the second phase of the grant
program, but regardless, he plans to continue with Provender Technologies. “I
have plans to keep the business moving forward,” he says. Wegehaupt says he
hopes to have a working system by the end of the year.