Farmers who want to avoid the dangers of stepping in a grain bin can now pre-order the device built to do the work of leveling and breaking up crusts for them. La Vista-based agtech startup Grain Weevil has launched its first production robot available for purchase in the Midwest. Deliveries are planned to start in September in time for the fall harvest season.
Grain Weevil was founded in 2021 through the efforts of father-son duo and co-founders Chad and Benjamin Johnson. Past recognition and awards include 2022 NBDC Innovation Business of the Year, 2023 National Science Foundation SBIR Phase II Grant recipient and 2024 INEDA Startup Showcase Winner.
To learn more about the origin of the company and the earlier milestones, check out the initial story SPN published about Grain Weevil in 2023.
Since SPN last spoke to the startup, Grain Weevil has been issued two patents, with two more approved and another 17 pending. Plus, the company has expanded its team to 11 members. The additions to the team were made to ensure that areas of expertise essential to the success of the company — like agribusiness and product safety — were fulfilled.
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“My front yard growing up was a cornfield. I understand the people within the business,” said Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Ben Johnson. “But don’t forget, I am an electrical engineer.”
Beyond growth, Grain Weevil is still putting in extensive hours of experimenting and consulting to meet the necessary requirements of the Safety Certification Process at an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) testing lab, as well as completing ingress protection testing. The current roadblocks they face come from trying to fit their unique product in a box of generalized safety standards that don’t always line up exactly with their invention, according to Johnson. While they’ve completed in-house evaluations, they are still waiting for the third-party verification and paperwork.
“We’re kind of having to pave the way because the certification we are going for — the dust explosion proof testing — is typically done on small electronic handheld devices and wall-mounted devices, not a robot platform,” said Johnson.
While their current robot is not yet certified for larger commercial facilities in spaces deemed hazardous, Johnson said it is ready for on-farm use and open-air use. Flat storage settings in larger commercial facilities are also game, according to the company.
“We think we are doing it the right way, taking our time on it,” said Johnson. “Which stinks for the commercial guys because they’re begging for it, especially the version of the robot we have now that is still mostly remote operated, not fully autonomous.”
Beyond moving into all spaces where their product can be beneficial, Johnson said Grain Weevil’s goal is to create a fully autonomous device with additional attachments for the tasks consumers are requesting.
The initial release has set aside 250 robots available for pre-order with the Standard Robot Package priced at $15,500, available exclusively in the Midwest.
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