Eye on Agribusiness spotlights Stull Feeders

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Stull Feeders

By Julie Turner-Crawford History: Stull Feeders began in 2007 when Randy and Cathy Stull introduced n Owners: a line of gravity flow feeders mounded on Josh and Ashley HoppisATVs and UTVs. In January 2021, the Stulls sold the company to Josh and Ashley Hoppis. n Location: Harrison, Ark.

“Randy is a customer at our family hardware store, and I have always been interested in his product,” Josh said. “My wife and I own some farms and we needed a little more to keep our employees busy, and we approached Randy.”

Since taking over, Josh said they had to hire more employees to keep up with orders during their business season. Products: Stull Feeders came about after founder Randy was injured while feeding his cattle. He had to roll under a feed bunk to keep from being trampled. The incident led Randy to develop the Stull Feeder. Grain or cubes can be loaded in the top of the feeder, and livestock is fed through a chute, which is long enough to reach feed bunks. The producer is not carrying bags of feed through their herds and can remain safely seated. Feeders start with a 200-pound capacity, gravity-flow feeder that can be mounded on an ATV. The line then goes to a 300-, 400- and 600-pound feeders for use on UTVs that have augers or are gravity flow.

“My biggest sellers are the auger models,” Josh said. “So many people have UTVs now and are finding ways to utilize them on the farm>

Being a producer himself, Josh said he has found the feeders to work well in his operation, and wishes he would have bought himself one mush sooner.

“I had to have back surgery last month. For me, I wouldn’t be able to feed my cows for 6, 8 or 12 months because I can’t lift buckets or carry a 50-pound sack of feed,” he explained. “This way, I can load the feeder, go out to my cows and push a button. My kids and wife and go feed the cows now.

“I get people calling me all the time about these feeders, and it’s mostly older gentlemen. They thank us for the product because it kept their wife or kids from selling their cows. They don’t want to get rid of them, but their family doesn’t want them out there feeding with bags.” Future plans: Demand has been steady for Stull Feeders, and Josh said there has been a demand for truck feeders, but he is happy making with the smaller feeders.

“We’re trying to improve on what we are doing,” he said. “I think we are going to take year and run things like they are and try to figure a few things out before we take the next step.”