Innovating for safety and efficiency

January 6, 2025 | Kriss Nelson

AgriNet is the brainchild of Caleb Renner

At just 22 years year old, Caleb Renner of Klemme is making his mark in the world of ag innovation with his invention of the AgriNet — a solution to keep farmers out of grain bins during the clean-out process.

Renner is carrying on the family tradition of farming (he’s the fifth generation) while also managing his business, Renner Ag Solutions, and exploring a passion for innovation.

Have you always embraced innovation?

Renner: I would say I have always had an innovative mind and I have always been fascinated with technology. I think everyone has a little bit of innovative juices flowing through their bodies, but it takes the right environment to cultivate those thoughts to come up with ideas.

I probably get a lot of my forward-thinking abilities from my dad (Iowa Soybean Association At-Large Director Brent Renner). He has always been innovative, and that quality has been passed down to me.

What is AgriNet and what does this new product mean for farmers?

Renner: I was helping clean out a bin, thinking there should be a more efficient and safer process and I came up with the idea for AgriNet.

AgriNet sits on the bottom of the grain bin and is lifted with a series of pulleys and electrical winches, disturbing the grain’s angle of repose, causing it to trickle to the center sump. Gone will be the days when you will need three to four people working in a grain bin sweeping and shoveling; instead, you will push a button on the outside of the grain bin, and it will essentially clean itself.

How are you taking your invention to the next level?

Renner: As a student at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), I entered the “Every Day Entrepreneur Challenge Pitch Competition” hosted by the NIACC John PappaJohn Entrepreneurial Center and received first place. At that point, it was just an idea, but winning that competition made me confident this idea had some merit and was worth exploring to a larger degree. Since then, it has exploded and turned into something way bigger than I ever thought it would be.

I have developed prototypes, and this winter, for the first time in grain storage history, the AgriNet will be used to clean out a grain bin, eliminating the need for a farmer to enter the bin to sweep up the remaining bushels.

AgLaunch, an affiliate of Ag Ventures in Mason City, accepted me into an accelerator program. This summer, I will team up with farmers who will test my product. I hope that by 2026, AgriNet will be available in the marketplace.

What’s it like to be young and an entrepreneur?

Renner: I’m in the most exciting period of my life. I want to continue coming up with new and innovative ideas, adding them to my portfolio, cultivating my company and seeing what the future has in store.

Who do you attribute to your early success?

Renner: I’ve been fortunate to have great mentors who provided valuable advice, not just on farming but also on business.

Jayson Ryner, founder of ReEnvision Ag. Inc., an instructor of entrepreneurship at NIACC, and a longtime family friend, has provided invaluable mentorship and connections throughout the early months of starting my business. My dad has played a major role in guiding me, offering advice and brainstorming various ideas.

I have also taken advantage of learning from my grandfather, Tom Renner. It is neat to get the older generation’s perspective on how they farmed and how much farming has changed. It puts agriculture innovation into perspective because the ag industry constantly evolves. As much as some farmers may not like to admit it, this is an adapt-or-die industry, and it’s better to be ahead of the ball instead of behind it. Agriculture is not a stagnant industry. Innovation is constantly changing, and I want nothing more than to be a part of it. 

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