Capstone Project Puts Young Farmer in the Driver’s Seat
Landen Ferris, like any farmer, wants to be part of the action on the farm. A childhood injury with a legacy of severe impairments has the medical professionals supervising his care declare that farm work is out of the question. Landon, with a little help from AgrAbility and a group of MSU engineering students is out to prove them wrong.
A senior team tackled their capstone project with the intensity of knowing they were building something real that will give Landen opportunity to do meaningful work on the family’s Ionia County farm. He will be able to topdress feed for the goats where a goatmilk creamery is one piece of the farm enterprise.
The Wheelchair-Mounted Grain Feeder designed and built by the six MSU seniors delivered beyond expectations for Landen, the Ferris Family, and the student designers.
“He is going to use this daily feeding animals,” said Landen’s dad, Roger. “He is going to be able to get outside. It gives him purpose to have a chore every day and have something to look forward to at the farm. It makes all of us feel better.”
The design team integrated four subsystems into a finished project. A Moultrie Auger Feeder was paired with a twenty-two-pound funnel for the central component, adapting both beyond what either was built to perform. A custom, 3D printed funnel centers grain on the conveyor. The built-from-scratch conveyor needed several considerations like maintaining center of gravity, preserving mobility and clearance over the dispense height. The chassis has a suspension system that adjusts for changing terrain. The dispenser controls are pre-set by a family member and can deliver from one-half to two pounds of feed per animal. Landen operates and dispenses feed from a tactile button near his powerchair arm rest. Not only were four years of education packed into building a prototype, learning also happened in the unexpected trial and error during the semester-long design and build process.
Team member James Handrich described the deep satisfaction associated with the project. “It was personal, valuable, about community, and we were actually doing good for a person.”
“It gives him more freedom, he enjoys being out on the farm and we are always trying to find ways for him to join in and help. We are very happy with what they produced,” Landen’s mother Amanda added.
The design is a working concept, ready to be taken to the next level. AgrAbility Engineer, Ned Stoller is eager to watch Landen work with the prototype and prove that he can do more on the farm with the right equipment.
For Landen, waiting for the feed system to be built was the hardest part. When it was finally attached to his power chair and ready to use, Landen’s final approval was an energetic thumbs up!