From the depths of a grain bin, a robot is doing the dangerous work once performed by farmers. As it scurries across the grain, the Grain Weevil breaks up hardened surface crust and ridges, leveling out the grain and improving airflow. From outside the bin, the farmer can now remotely control the robot as it completes the once-dangerous task.
“Cleaning out grain bins and leveling grain is by far the most dangerous thing we do, so to be able to stay physically out of the grain as much as we can, that’s a huge improvement in safety,” says Zach Hunnicutt, a farmer from Giltner, Neb.
The History of the Grain Weevil
The Grain Weevil’s story begins in 2020 when Chad Johnson and his son, Ben Johnson, started working on a project to teach kids workforce skills through innovation, such as building robots. When a local farmer saw what the duo had created, he asked if they could build a robot that would keep him out of the grain bin.
From there, the father-son duo made a 3-D printed robot, complete with duct tape, and showed it to a group of farmers gathered to watch the “Silo” movie. The Johnsons took that feedback home, and in 2021, they officially started working on their Grain Weevil business.
“We knew that’s when we were going to be able to turn this little project into a startup, and now into a company that has over 100 robots deployed,” Chad says.
After five years in business, they’ve sold more than 100 Grain Weevil robots – each with the goal of making it safer for farmers when working with grain in storage. Along the way, they’ve had the support of Ag Launch for marketing, testing and getting the product to market.
“We built this robot to help keep farmers and workers out of the grain when there’s a situation where they could get hurt, entrapped or any of the dangers that go along with it,” Chad explains.
How Technology Can Involve the Next Generation
While the Johnsons have been working together in the garage since Ben was a child, seeing their partnership expand into a company has been surreal.
“It’s great, we get along very well … you couldn’t ask for any better situation than to be able to build robots with your kid,” Chad says.
Now, the Johnsons’ invention has opened doors for more parents and their children to work alongside one another. Hunnicutt is a fifth-generation farmer growing corn, popcorn and soybeans. He says it’s a challenge to include young children when working with grain because of the risks.
However, with the Grain Weevil, the robot is controlled from outside the grain bin, away from the danger.
“Without having to physically enter the grain is a pretty neat thing to be able to do, still keeping them working, but not putting them in danger,” Hunnicutt says.
Hunnicutt draws comparisons between operating the Grain Weevil and video games.
“They have a lot of similarities to video game controls, so I think it’s pretty instinctive to someone who’s played any kind of video game,” he explains.
According to Purdue University, there were 22 fatalities in confined spaces such as grain bins. Now, the Grain Weevil robot, which looks like a bug with augers instead of wheels, is working to keep farmers out of harm’s way.
