FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- An agricultural tool manufactured in Fort Smith is being used by farmers around the United States and the world to feed livestock.
A livestock feeder, powered by the sun, releases food to animals exactly when a farmer tells it to because of a timer built into the feeder.
"A lot of farmers find themselves inheriting a farm, and they have a day job, and they still have to take care of their animals,” Andy Galbach, who co-owns the patent, said.
“There are a lot of folks now that have five acres here, 20 acres, 100 acres here and they're all spread out. So even with no electricity, you're able to remotely feed your animals,” he said.
The idea was planted more than a decade ago, when 87-year-old Hugh Wayman of Oklahoma City invented the product in his garage. Wayman won awards for the product and got the patent in 2005.
Galbach said he met Wayman at a trade show in Dallas in 2009, and later bought the patent with Carl Davis in 2011.
“He [Wayman] showed me the feeder that he had out in the parking lot, and I just love the guy to death. We made a handshake deal right there on the spot,” Galbach said.
He has since teamed up with Carl Davis and John Zieglar and together, along with their families, they've built a company. It’s called Solar Feeders Inc., and the parts are manufactured in Fort Smith at American Precision Fabricators, which Galbach owns.
“Before we started Solar Feeders, neither of us had ever been around cows, except you know, to go to a petting zoo,” Zieglar said.
For decades, farmers have been using hand feeding and gravity feeding to feed their livestock. 5NEWS asked the two how this new technology compares.
“A lot of folks thought they might lose that human touch if they got an automatic feeder. We found just the opposite,” Galbach said.
"A study by the University of Arkansas found that hand feeding and solar feeding, or rationed feeding, are almost the exact same health benefits to livestock,” Ziegler
The feeders are made and painted in Fort Smith, and so far 220 of them have been shipped around the country and the world.
"It's exciting. It’s not something I ever thought I’d be involved in. If you would have told me 10 years ago this is what I’d be doing right now, I’d tell you you're crazy,” Ziegler said.
“We’ve got a lot of fat happy animals out here right now,” Galbach said.
Galbach said one day’s worth of sunlight can power the feeder for up to a month.
Solar Feeders Inc. is one of 100 businesses across the nation that has been recognized by a yearlong campaign called the "Small Business Revolution."