Before launching two revolutionary ag tech companies — Precision Planting and 360 Yield Center — Gregg Sauder was a struggling farmer who became an inventor out of necessity. 

“I was never satisfied with the way equipment ran,” Sauder says. “I’d always be laying out in the driveway with nothing but a vice grip and a crescent wrench, trying to re-shape, re-build and re-weld long before we even had a farm shop.”

The Tremont, Ill., native remembers many sleepless nights spent worrying about a five-figure financial hole and inaccurate planters costing him yield. 

“Lord, I didn’t marry Cindy to bankrupt her,” he recalls praying one night. “I was stressed because I couldn’t figure out how I was going to earn. It wasn’t because I didn’t have energy. I wasn’t generating income, despite working 16-hour days.” 

His prayers were answered in the form of a phone call from Eugene Keeton, inventor of the Keeton seed firmer, the finger pickup corn meter and the brush meter for soybeans. The Kentucky No-Till Legend heard about Sauder’s challenges and said he wanted to pay him a visit.

Keeton brought his new seed firmer for Sauder to test out. Sauder duct-taped the firmer to one of his row units, and he noticed an immediate improvement in seed-to-soil contact while planting. 

“He told me he had 5 seed firmers,” Sauder says. “I planted that spring with all 5 duct-taped on, and it was amazing.” 

Motivated by Keeton’s…