Dewey County Farm Bureau member and inventor of the LT Groundloadâ„¢, LeRoy Stotts of Seiling, has developed an award winning a loading chute which attaches to livestock trucks that has earned him a new New Holland tractor.
Stotts designed the loading chute to quickly convert from ground level to different loading dock heights. He entered it in the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Farmer Idea Exchange last fall and won top honors along with a chance to compete against other agricultural inventor from across the United States in American Farm Bureau Federation’s Farm Idea Exchange competition.
In January, at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention in Charlotte, N.C., Stotts was honored as the grand prize inventor and received a year’s use of a New Holland TV-140 Bidirectional tractor. This is the 17th year AFBF has sponsored the contest, and the 16th year that New Holland provided free use of a tractor to the grand prize winner.
The northwestern Oklahoma rancher’s loading chute was selected because of its one-size-fits-all efficiency for loading and unloading livestock almost anywhere. It eliminates the need for pull-behind vehicles, including trailers and loading chutes, because it attaches to most livestock transports, straight trucks and pot-belly trailers.
“I saw the challenges in loading and unloading cattle on our operation and thought if I could create a metal loading chute that would attach to the truck it would be more economical and convenient for transporting livestock,” said Stotts.
The LT Groundloaderâ„¢ allows truck drivers the ability to unload and load livestock anywhere. It is a useful and practical device that has proven to be a success on our farm and in other operations, said Stotts.
Stotts will have the use of the New Holland tractor for one year.
For more information on the Farmer Idea contest contact Oklahoma Farm Bureau at (405) 523-2300.
