Young entrepreneur works to make grain bins safer with new invention

5th-generation farmer Caleb Renner is focused on making farming safer while establishing himself as a young entrepreneur in the agriculture industry.  The 22-year-old started his own company, Renner Ag Solutions, in January 2024. He describes himself as a natural problem solver.   “I’d say that I’ve had a somewhat of an entrepreneurial tendency my entire life,” […]

5th-generation farmer Caleb Renner is focused on making farming safer while establishing himself as a young entrepreneur in the agriculture industry. 

The 22-year-old started his own company, Renner Ag Solutions, in January 2024. He describes himself as a natural problem solver.   “I'd say that I've had a somewhat of an entrepreneurial tendency my entire life,” Mr. Renner said. “I get that primarily from my dad. I think both my dad and I love to invent, create things, come up with solutions to problems in creative ways.”  While working on his family farm in rural Klemme, Iowa, Mr. Renner’s idea for his flagship idea and product — the AgriNet — came to him as he was cleaning out a grain bin.  Grain bins, which store hundreds of thousands of pounds of grain like corn or soybeans, are one of the most dangerous environments for farmers, Mr. Renner said. Along with the grain itself, the interior of each grain houses free-spinning augers called bin sweeps, which must be worked around with a shovel and broom. However, if things go awry, bin sweeps can result in serious injury or death.  “If you would happen to ever shake my grandfather's hand someday, you'll notice that he's missing three fingers on his left hand: that was from a bin sweep incident,” Mr. Renner said. “So this is not only kind of a passion project of mine, but it's also a little personal. We had a friend of ours, a neighbor who nearly lost a leg from a bin sweep injury. So this is a real prevalent thing in the farming industry.” 

The AgriNet is a parachute-like net that allows grain inside a bin to be lifted and moved without involving farmers themselves, Mr. Renner said. The device acts as a literal and metaphorical safety net for grain bins, keeping farmers safe from an otherwise potentially deadly job. Since coming up with the idea and acquiring a pre-patent, Mr. Renner said he has been on a statewide “tour” of sorts to pitch the AgriNet to investors, other farmers, and programs like the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) Venture School. Earlier this summer, Mr. Renner and the AgriNet won 3rd place at the Venture School Statewide Launch Day in Cedar Rapids, landing him $6,000 to create his first prototype. “I've won nearly 10 grand in funding that has all gone to this prototype, has gone to a preliminary patent, and has made connections for me with engineers, with financial advisors, with other really, really intelligent people who have kind of led me towards where I'm at right now, which is actually really good position,” Mr. Renner said. 

Though Mr. Renner said he has run into plenty of functional issues with the AgriNet, the prototype has ultimately been a massive step forward in Mr. Renner’s entrepreneurial journey. Still, the product’s main obstacle currently revolves around weight. Because over 270,000 pounds of grain must be moved during the clean-out process, the AgriNet must be able to hold this amount while also not tearing down an entire 16-foot grain bin from the inside.  “Just the mere fact of trying to get the net to lift up the grain without collapsing the grain bin is going to be an engineering hurdle that I'm going to have to try and work around,” Mr. Renner said.  He noted that he is working with an engineering firm to make progress on the prototype, and is confident that they will overcome this particular challenge.       Eventually, Mr. Renner said the ultimate goal is to sell the AgriNet commercially to other farmers in the region. He said his next four to five months are going to be very busy as he continues to meet with various parties who could help out with investments and planning out his next steps.  “Right now, I'd say I'm sort of in the funding phase, or the pre-seed development stage of my company, where I'm trying to raise money to afford the engineering to develop this,” Mr. Renner said. “And also, I'm not done with pitch competitions either. So it's just going to be a lot of everything.”  He said he could potentially see another $25,000 from an Ag Ventures safe loan as soon as this week, and also hopes to see up to $125,000 this fall from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) as part of the IEDA Proof of Commerical Relevance fund. Mr. Renner also said he expects to see some funding from the “Three F’s: family, friends, and fools," or anyone Mr. Renner knows personally that might support him and his idea.  “Honestly, I think is the most exciting period of my company, so far as things are actually happening. And really it's the most exciting part of my life,” Mr. Renner said. “Here I am. I'm so excited and so curious to see what happens next.”