ÿþ <HTML> <head> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <title>Common Sense Mfg, Inc. - Your source for common sense farming products like bale feeders, calf shelters, and wire winders.</title> <meta name=Description content="Common Sense Mfg, Inc. - Your source for common sense farming products like round bale feeders, calf shelters, and wire winders."> <meta name=Keywords content="bale feeder, balefeeder, farming, bale feeders, round bale feeders, wire winder, wire, calf, calves, shelter, calf shelter, south dakota, South Dakota, Faulkton, SD, cattle, cow, buffalo, horse, horses, elk, hay, holder"> <meta name="Microsoft Border" content="b, default"> </head> <BODY background=7.gif><!--msnavigation--><table dir="ltr" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><!--msnavigation--><td valign="top"> <div align="center"> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="800" border=0?> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top align=middle> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="800" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=center borderColor=#000000 align=middle><FONT face="Century Gothic" size=7><STRONG><IMG style="WIDTH: 96px; HEIGHT: 79px" height=137 src="images/CS final logo300.jpg" width=162><IMG style="WIDTH: 710px; HEIGHT: 79px" height=91 src="images/kellybanner copy.jpg" width=706></STRONG></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <P align=center><STRONG> <TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=center align=middle><A href="index.html"><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000000><STRONG>HOME</STRONG></FONT></A></TD> <TD vAlign=center align=middle> <FORM name=jump><SELECT onchange=location=document.jump.menu.options[document.jump.menu.selectedIndex].value; name=menu value="GO"> <OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/index.html selected>Pick a Product</OPTION> <OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/balefeeder.htm>Bale Feeder</OPTION> <OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/wirewinder.htm>Wire Winder</OPTION><OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/calfshelter.htm>Calf Shelter</OPTION> <OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/fence.htm>Continuous Fence</OPTION> <OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/feedbunk.htm>Feed Bunk</OPTION> &gt; <OPTION value=http://www.commonsensemfg.com/productsinuse.htm>See products in use.</OPTION></SELECT><FONT face="Century Gothic"> </FONT></FORM></TD> <TD vAlign=center align=middle> <P align=center><STRONG><A href="contactpage.htm"><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000000>CONTACT INFORMATION</FONT></A></P></STRONG></TD> <TD vAlign=center align=middle><A href="dealerlist.htm"><STRONG><U><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000000>DEALER LIST</FONT></U></STRONG></A></TD> <TD vAlign=center align=middle>&nbsp;</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=center align=middle colSpan=4>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A href="aboutus.htm"><STRONG><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000000>BACKGROUND</FONT></STRONG></A><!-- Web Site: http://free.prohosting.com/~ric --><!-- This script and many more are available free online at --><!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com --><FONT face="Century Gothic">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <STRONG><A href="testimonials.htm"><FONT color=#000000>TESTIMONIALS</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<A href="dealerapp.htm"><FONT color=#000000>DEALER APPLICATION</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A href="showlist.htm"><FONT color=#000000>SHOW LIST</FONT></A></STRONG></FONT></TD> <TD vAlign=center align=middle>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></STRONG></P> <P align=center><STRONG>&nbsp;</P></STRONG></TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top align=middle> <P><STRONG><FONT face="Century Gothic">My name is Kelly Melius.&nbsp; I am a farmer/rancher in central South Dakota.&nbsp; I got tired of buying products that were inferior in their quality, durability, and functionality so I designed and made my own bale feeder.&nbsp; Enough people liked and appreciated my bale feeder that I decided to go through the time and expense of getting a patent on it.&nbsp; My patent was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.&nbsp; As I started to produce the bale feeders, I began to see other products that I could make out of similar materials and that I could utilize on my own farm and make available to other people.&nbsp; So to date, I make a single bale feeder for horses, a calf shelter, a windbreak, , a bottomless feed bunk, a storage/horse shelter, and a hydraulic wire winder.&nbsp; You can look forward to seeing other Common Sense Manufacturing products listed on my website for farm and residential use.</FONT></STRONG></P> <P><STRONG><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000080><A href="http://www.femelectric.coop/publications/march04/FEMmar04page%2014-15.pdf"><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000080>Click on this link for&nbsp;an article from the FEM Electric Newsletter from March 2004.</FONT></A><BR></FONT></STRONG></P> <P><STRONG><FONT face="Century Gothic" color=#000080>Read below for an article from the Aberdeen American News from 12/10/04<BR><A href="http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/farmforum/2004/12/10/news/local/10384616.htm"> http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/farmforum/2004/12/10/news/local/10384616.htm</A></FONT></STRONG></P><STRONG> <H1><FONT color=#000080 size=3>Ingenuity leads to successful business in rural Faulkton</FONT></H1> <P><FONT color=#000080><IMG height=5 src="/images/common/spacer.gif" width=1><BR></FONT><SPAN class=body-content><FONT color=#000080>By Sarah Rausch Special to the Farm Forum</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>Necessity was certainly the mother of invention for Kelly Melius of rural Faulkton. In 2000, Melius had been farming with his father, Roger, for twelve years and knew he needed to start supplementing his farm income. There just wasn&#39;t enough land for both he and his father to operate. This began Common Sense Manufacturing, Inc. in Fall 2000 with only one type of product in its inventory Ð Melius&#39;s unique style of bale feeder. Frustrated with the low quality and durability of many bale feeders he had seen, Melius decided to create his own.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>This bale feeder, which holds the hay up off the ground, was such a hit that Melius went through the time and trouble, about two years, to get it patented. The distinctive design allows calves to eat from the bottom of the feeder rather than being unable to reach the hay or even getting caught in the middle of a traditional feeder.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>The creation of his innovative bale feeder led Melius to design other useful products for farmers and ranchers, including bottomless feed bunks, calf shelters, windbreak, hydraulic wire winders, and horse shelters. All of the products made by Common Sense are extremely heavy-duty and come with five-year warranties for breakage. &quot;We want our products to last a long time,&quot; Melius says. &quot;My products are very practical and I know they work well because I use them too.&quot;</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>Just as revolutionary as his bale feeder, the bottomless feed bunk is highly advantageous as well. &quot;When you&#39;re feeding bulky things, it&#39;ll hold more than twice as much as a regular feed bunk,&quot; says Melius. A customer can then buy fewer feed bunks, which in the long run, will save money. The bottomless feed bunk also &quot;improves maintenance time in the winter because you can move it onto new, fresh ground instead of having to shovel away snow,&quot; Melius adds. Because the feed bunk has no bottom, lifting it up completely cleans it out.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>Melius&#39;s passion for running Common Sense Manufacturing comes primarily from the creative independence it affords him. He enjoys making a product that is appreciated. While he&#39;s out on the road delivering products, Melius is constantly building new products in his head. &quot;I have tons of ideas for things that I have seen that I can improve on and make new and unique,&quot; he says. He plans to add more of his inventions to his product line over the years.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>Patience and persistence have paid off so far for Melius; he went from being a one-man gig to a business with five employees. He is now selling his products in many states, primarily through dealers in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana. His hydraulic wire winders are sold nation-wide and Common Sense&#39;s dealer list is growing steadily. There is virtually no more time for farming anymore as his ever-increasing business has taken up the majority of Melius&#39;s time.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#000080>With the cost of steel at an all-time high, Melius&#39;s competitive prices have been forced to increase due to the heavy weight of his products (his bottomless bunk feeder weighs 1,000 lbs.). Melius feels that they are definitely worth the extra money though. &quot;I am a firm believer in paying a little extra for something that is going to hold up,&quot; he says. &quot;Over time, my products are still a good buy because they are a very long-term investment.&quot;</FONT></P></SPAN></STRONG></TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top align=middle> <P><BR><STRONG><FONT size=4><BR><BR>ASK Patent Company </FONT></STRONG><BR><A href="http://www.askpatentco.com"><STRONG><FONT color=#000000 size=4>www.askpatentco.com</FONT></STRONG></A></P> <P><STRONG><FONT size=4>ASK Patent Company is here to help you in the design, development, protection, and marketing of your ideas, inventions or intellectual property with any one of the several patent attorneys he works with.</FONT></STRONG></P></TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top align=middle> <P>&nbsp;</P></TD></TR> </TBODY></TABLE></div> </STRONG> <P></P></td></tr></table><!--msnavigation--></td></tr><!--msnavigation--></table><!--msnavigation--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td> <table cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%" border="0" 2 id="table1"> <tr> <td vAlign="top" align="middle" colSpan="3"> <table cellPadding="2" width="800" border="3" id="table2"> <tr> <td vAlign="center" align="middle"><strong> <font face="Century Gothic"> <p align="left">Kelly Melius<br> 16008 357th Avenue<br> Faulkton, SD 57438<br> <u><a href="mailto:commonsense@venturecomm.net"> <font color="#000000">commonsense@venturecomm.net</font></a></u></font></strong></td> <td vAlign="center" align="middle"><font face="Century Gothic"> <img style="WIDTH: 117px; HEIGHT: 92px" height="146" src="images/CS%20final%20logo300.jpg" width="147"></font></td> <td vAlign="center" align="middle"><strong> <font face="Century Gothic">(605) 598-4157 (office)<br> (605) 216-0687 (cell)</font></strong></td> </tr> </table> <p><a href="balefeeder.htm"><font color="#000080">Bale Feeder</font></a><font color="#000080"> - </font><a href="calfshelter.htm"><font color="#000080">Calf Shelter</font></a><font color="#000080"> - </font><a href="calfshelter.htm"><font color="#000080">Wind Break</font></a><font color="#000080"> - </font><a href="wirewinder.htm"><font color="#000080">Wire Winder</font></a><font color="#000080">&nbsp;- </font><a href="feedbunk.htm"><font color="#000080">Feed Bunks</font></a><font color="#000080"> - <a href="fence.htm"><font color="#000080">Fencing</font></a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td vAlign="center" align="middle"> <p align="left">&nbsp;</td> <td vAlign="top" align="middle"><font color="#ffffff" size="1">Designed by </font><a href="http://www.waconiawebworks.com"> <font color="#ffffff" size="1">Waconia Web Works</font></a></td> <td vAlign="center" align="middle">&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table> <p><br> &nbsp;</p> </td></tr><!--msnavigation--></table></BODY>