What do you do when you can't connect a John Deere planter with a vehicle to lug it?
A Southwest Ohio farmer answered that question with some ingenuity and elbow grease by retreating to his barn, where he proceeded to invent a three-point hitch that connects those two machines, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Small vegetable grower Mark Altemeier of Maineville not only saved money from not spending money on a new tractor but he also filed patents on his invention, which is known as Farmboy. For the past year, he worked on bringing the device to market via the patent offices and by marketing it at various farm shows.
"Farmers fix everything. I learned a lot about that lifestyle at a young age," he said
Zimmer Tractor in Monroe, also Northeast of Cincinnati, sells the Farmboy for $1,695. Salesman Jimmy Thornton said the likelihood of that item being a good seller is high. He said he believes Altemeier's invention is a good one.
"It's expanding the usefulness of an already popular product," Thornton said. "I believe it could be a big seller."
Faced with challenge using Deere planter, Ohio man invents hitch
When encountering difficulty linking his Deere planter with the machine to haul it, an Ohio man resorted to inventing a contraption for which he has won patents.