The History Of The Hay-Mizer

My name is Dave Lovell and I build the Hay-Mizer just outside of Pella, Iowa.  I owned and operated a welding fabrication shop in Pella, IA for seven years.  In 1999, I had local cattle producers come to me asking me to build a hay feeder for them.  They had three criteria for this hay feeder:

• First, it must be durable and hold up, not fall apart like the “disposable” ring feeders that are so common. 
• Second, it must not waste hay like the other feeders – it must be extremely efficient.  
• Third, it must be affordable.  

I’m glad they didn’t want much!!

In designing this hay feeder, I spent many hours thinking, asking, studying, and watching.  I thought long and hard about different design possibilities.  I went to the local ranchers and asked lots of questions about why their other feeders were not working and what they thought would work better.  I studied hay wagons and hay rings and other design concepts and tried to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.  I spent many hours watching cattle eat – not a real exciting activity, but I learned some concepts that I would incorporate into the Hay-Mizer to make it the most efficient hay feeder on the market. 

Using what I had learned from ranchers and my observations, I designed and built the first two Hay-Mizer feeders in 1999.  We took these feeders out to local ranchers and let them try them for several weeks each.  We ran into a little problem – the ranchers did not want to give the feeders up because they worked so well!  Cattle producers loved the feeder and wanted to purchase their own. 

My first feeders cost me around $1400 to build, which was too high.  In order to make the feeder more affordable, I had to find ways to build the feeder quicker and more efficiently.  I made some design changes to virtually eliminate any waste of steel and made some other changes to make the fabrication process more efficient.  In January 2000, we made 8 feeders and sold them to local cattlemen for around a thousand dollars each.  Within a very short period of time, one of our customers, Olympic Genetics, called back and order three more feeders!  The Hay-Mizer was born!

My first customers convinced me to start going to shows and sell the Hay-Mizer feeders.  I did the patent and trademark work and have since produced and sold over 1,000 feeders in twenty three different states.  Some of my customers now have 6-10 feeders. Many customers return to buy more feeders as they see how well they work.

In 2001, my customers came back to me and wanted a Hay-Mizer that would work for feeding calves.  We did some design modifications, scaled down the size and started making the Hay-Mizer for calves and yearlings later that year.

As you can see, the Hay-Mizer works because it was designed to work!  It was designed with much input from cattlemen and who knows what cattle need more than cattlemen!  We are proud to manufacture and sell the Hay-Mizer hay feeders because we know that these feeders are helping cattlemen make money by saving their hay.

This is not just a hay feeder - it is a CAPITAL INVESTMENT!
 

The Hay-Mizer® is designed and built by David Lovell of Pella, IA.
877-828-1972    dave@haymizer.com

The Hay-Mizer® is protected under US Patent #D451649

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