YOUVE MADE IT, BUT
YOUVE MADE IT, BUT
CAN YOU MARKET IT?
As farming settles into the
age of GPS and the
microchip, Mike Williams
wonders if there are still
money-making opportunities
for inventive farmers
MANY of the best machinery developments come from farmers and their families, and for the fortunate few who come up with a top-selling idea the royalty cheques can provide a worthwhile income.
The Rotaspreader with its flail chain muck spreading mechanism is said to have made a multi-millionaire of the American pig farmer who invented the idea. Harry Ferguson made millions from the hydraulically operated implement control system he developed after experiencing the hard graft of manual work on the family farm in Northern Ireland.
But times are changing for the inventors. The number of British-based machinery manufacturers available to take their ideas on to the market has shrunk through bankruptcies and take-overs, and the move to high tech farm equipment could make an electronics degree a more useful qualification for farmer inventors than skill with a welding torch.
There are still plenty of inventive farmers in the 1990s and they are not short of ideas, as the flow of entries to the farmers weekly farm inventions competitions shows. But what happens after burning the midnight oil, painting the prototype and posting the cheque for the patent fee? We asked some recent inventors if they found eager manufacturers waiting to sign lucrative royalty deals.
INVENTOR
Peter Feilden,
Halesworth, Suffolk
Invention: Electrified cattle grid allowing vehicles and people to pass, but not animals. Made of wire netting stapled to a 2.4m x 1.9m sheet of Stokboard –
compressed plastic waste acting as an insulator. Laid on the
ground and connected to an
electric fencer, the netting is a
barrier to cattle.
Benefits claimed: Low-cost
alternative to a proper cattle grid.
Timetable:
1992 – unit developed and installed on Mr Feildens dairy
and arable farm
1993 – a runner-up in the FW competition
There has been no commercial
development of the grid, and Mr Feilden considers it unrealistic to expect any. Being simple and easily copied, there would be no point
trying to patent it, he says.
"I did think about trying to develop it commercially, but when the details were published in
farmers weekly I got several phone calls from farmers asking where they could buy Stokboard, so it was pretty obvious they were going to make their own," he says.
Mr Feilden made the grids to use on parkland rented for grazing where there were no proper cattle grids. His chicken wire and plastic alternative cost less than £40 to make, but he no longer rents
the parkland, so he does not
need the grids.
INVENTOR
Mike Godfrey,
Wood Farm, Bluntisham, Cambs
Invention: Seed applicator
mounted on a combine harvester sows next years crop while this years crop is harvested. Used mainly for rape seed, and slug pellets can be spread at the same time. Now known as the Autocast.
Benefits claimed: savings approach £100/ha in
establishment and herbicide
costs without yield loss.
Timetable:
1993 – development work
started.
1994 – success in the
farmers weekly competition attracts interest from other farmers.
1996 – agreement signed with an engineering company to
make the Autocast which
Mr Godfrey sells direct or
through local agents.
1999 – favourable results in
trials at Morley Research Centre
in Norfolk.
Enquiries following the farmers
weekly competition success showed there was a potential
market for the combine mounted seeder, but it took Mr Godfrey more than two years to arrange a manufacturing agreement. Since then demand for the Autocast has increased with about 50 units sold last year and more than 100 for the 1999 harvest.
"The idea has attracted quite a lot of press publicity, and that has helped our sales considerably,"
Mr Godfrey says. "Evidence on our own farm and from some of our customers is that savings with the Autocast approach £100/ha
without loss of yield, and we may get a further boost from the
Morley trial results which
confirm our claims."
INVENTOR
Stephen Flaxman,
White House Farm, Sotherton, Halesworth, Suffolk
Invention: The A S Twin sledge drops round bales in pairs ready for loading in twos with a double spike attachment on a loader.
Benefits claimed: Virtually
doubles the field clearing rate compared with loading bales
individually, and reduces tractor wheelings during bale loading.
Timetable:
1997 – working on ideas to improve bale handling efficiency
on his 200ha (500 acre) arable and dairy farm.
1998 – prototype and pre-
production versions of the Twin sledge built, tested and patented.
1999 – production agreement signed with an engineering
company, and the Flaxmans start selling the sledge.
With 7000 bales to clear each year, faster loading was a priority, and the Twin sledge and a double spike on the loader cut the time taken by almost 50%. Mr Flaxman hoped for a deal with a machinery company to manufacture and
market on a royalty basis, but when this failed he settled for a
manufacturing deal and a do-it-yourself marketing approach.
"We contacted several companies, but the response was disappointing," he says. "One of the problems was the margin some companies expected would make the sledge too expensive. Selling the Twin sledge will take a lot of time and effort, but it seems to be the only way to get it on the market."
INVENTOR
Keith Harris,
Manor Farm, Silton, Gillingham, Dorset
Invention: A pendulum operated device for sampling each bucket of grain automatically during
loading. It is built into the rear wall of a grain bucket with a
sampling cup collecting grain as the bucket fills, and tipping it
into a collecting tube when the bucket is crowded.
Benefits claimed: Saves time and the danger of climbing on a loaded trailer or truck for
manual sampling.
Timetable:
1998 – prototype built and
used at Manor Farm. Category winner in the farmers weekly
competition.
1999 – began discussions with a manufacturing company.
There is plenty of evidence of Keith Harriss inventive flair on his 300ha (750 acre) farm, and his father is still drawing
royalties for a post driver he licensed more than 35 years ago to PJ Parmiter.
"I am always looking for more efficient ways to do jobs, and thats how I designed the grain sampler," he says. "It can save time and trouble, and it is much safer than climbing on top of a lorry to take samples. The
sampler has attracted interest from farmers, and there could also be a demand from other industries where granular
materials are sampled."
An approach from a
manufacturer earlier this year suggested a licensing deal might be possible, but there
has been no word from the
company for several months, and Mr Harris thinks they may
have lost interest.
INVENTOR
John Gossop,
Croft Farm, Swinefleet, Goole, Yorks
Invention: A cultivator which buries stones and leaves the tilth on the surface. Mr Gossop called it the Wonpass when he developed it on his intensive vegetable growing unit, but the production version is called Eureka.
Benefits claimed: Reduced
cultivations and fewer stones for easier harvesting of turf and crops such as onions and carrots.
Timetable:
1996 – development work
started.
1997 – a runner-up in the
farmers weekly inventions
competition.
1998 – Standen Engineering see a demonstration and later sign a production agreement.
1999 – production version demonstrated at Cereals 99. Sales start this autumn.
The farmers weekly award
provided a credibility factor which helped to attract manufacturers when he wrote to them about the machine, says Mr Gossop.
Two or three companies failed to respond, but there was
interest from others, and
Standen followed up their interest with a demonstration request.
"I think it suits them because the cultivator has shares and webs which are used in other Standen machines," says Mr Gossop.
"The machine is attracting plenty of interest, although Standens
are emphasising stone-burying rather than the reduced
cultivations I had in mind."
The agreement with Standen included an initial contribution to development costs, plus a royalty on each machine sold.
INVENTOR
Milke Stable,
Bolton Manor Farm, Little Urswick, Cumbria
Invention: A special footbath for
cattle, using butyl rubber sheet over foam to reduce chemical use. As the feet of the cattle press into the
butyl and foam they form mini sized puddles of liquid.
Benefits claimed: Reduces
chemical use by about 80 per cent and cattle walk through more willingly than a conventional footbath.
Timetable:
1990-91 – designed the footbath mainly to treat digital dermatitis. Design approved by a leading vet. Patent filed.
1992 – won the farmers weekly competition livestock section and an award at the Dairy Event. Made a video to show to manufacturers.
1993 – Paxtons began
manufacturing and marketing
under licence.
Sales of Mr Stables footbath since 1993 have passed the £1m mark and are still climbing. He has also taken out patents in Canada and the US and hopes to establish the
footbath there.
It is just one of Mr Stables new equipment ideas. His remote control to stop a tractor pto in an
emergency has attracted interest from tractor companies, but no licence agreement yet, and a device for
injecting special lubricant to aid difficult calvings could soon be a commercial success, he believes.
"Developing an idea is easy, but
getting it on to the market is more
difficult," he says. "You must be patient and persistent, and even then the rewards could be disappointing. Farming is a small market and if you want to make a lot of money you should invent a new vacuum cleaner."
INVENTOR
Alex Armstrong,
Crawfordston, Kippen, Stirling
Invention: Mr Armstrongs 200ha (500 acres) includes 80ha (200 acres) of hay grown for sale in small bales. He designed an automatic sledge to accumulate 10 of the bales arranged edge-down.
Benefits claimed: Turning bales edge-down increases stability
in the stack.
Timetable:
1995 – started development work in the farm workshop.
1996 – farmers weekly award. Visited Smithfield Show to meet potential manufacturers.
1997-8 – more development work. Won 1998 Highland Show
silver medal.
1999 – supplied trial machines
to Lely UK.
A local engineering company
makes parts for the sledge, which Mr Armstrong assembles, and he has sold several machines to other
farmers. Lely UK has had a
long-term interest in the sledge and ordered six for evaluation this year.
"Lely is interested because they market Welger conventional balers, and some of their customers have used my sledges this year. The feedback has been very good so far, and I think Lely may be
interested in some form of
manufacturing or sales agreement," he says.
"The development work has been
a lot of hassle and the total bill
for patent cover probably adds up to more than £3000. But I think I have been lucky – and Lely is a good firm to deal with."
INVENTOR
Hugh Richards,
Pullen Barns Farm, Biddenden, Kent
Invention: Big Bale Bedder which spreads big bale straw in stock yards. The bales are held in a frame and pushed back rearwards hydraulically, allowing straw wafers to fall from the back of the bedder. Handles all big bales, and attaches to teleloaders, tractor loaders and the three-point linkage.
Benefits claimed: Saves time, and the ability to use part bales allows a 10-15% straw saving.
Timetable:
1998 – prototype building and testing completed.
1999 – Suffolk Show inventions competition winner. Production and sales start.
Discussions with a long list of companies at last years Smithfield Show produced plenty of interest, but the optimism soon faded.
"I didnt get a phone call or an acknowledgement – nothing," he says, "but there was so much interest from farmers after the Suffolk Show award that I decided to have another go at a licence deal. I visited machinery stands at the Royal Show, and one company sounded very keen, but I got just one acknowledgement letter."
Although bitter about his
treatment by machinery
manufacturers, Mr Richards still believes his machine will attract customers. He has ordered a
first production batch from an engineering company, and will
do his own selling at prices from £3000 plus fittings.
"One of the problems is the
financial commitment," he says. "I spent about £2500 on patents, and the only way to get that money back is by selling machines."
INVENTOR
Edwin Hardy,
Kynsal Farm, Audlem, Cheshire
Invention: Retractable electrified fence sections to provide
temporary barriers for livestock. Can be tape or netting and
available for gaps up to
60ft (18.2m) wide. Production version is called the Electric Expander Fence.
Benefits claimed: Completely portable and easily moved and erected by one person.
Timetable:
1995 – developed idea for use on family farm, section winner in the farmers weekly competition.
1996 – started making
units for sale.
1999 – took a stand at the Royal Show.
Invention: Retractable electrified fence sections to provide
temporary barriers for livestock. Can be tape or netting and
available for gaps up to
60ft (18.2m) wide. Production version is called the Electric Expander Fence.
Benefits claimed: Completely portable and easily moved and erected by one person.
Timetable:
1995 – developed idea for use on family farm, section winner in the farmers weekly competition.
1996 – started making
units for sale.
1999 – took a stand at the Royal Show.
Mr Hardy developed the idea to help control cattle on the 95ha (238 acre) family dairy farm, and it was so useful that he realised it could have a commercial future. This was confirmed when his FW competition success brought inquiries from other farmers.
He makes the fence sections in a couple of workshops on the farm, and from a few units sold locally, his Electric Expander Fences business now has customers throughout the UK and Ireland. Currently it occupies one full day each week, but demand is
growing and export sales feature in Mr Hardys plans.
"Its a simple idea with dozens
of uses," he says. "Like keeping cows away from a bale stack
or helping mastitis control by
preventing access to bedded areas immediately after milking, and it can also fence sheep or horses. Doing my own production and marketing is the ideal arrangement at this stage."