“I’ve raised cattle outdoors, so I know all about the joys of heat, mud and snow,” said Lundsgaard, who also raises corn and soybeans near Aurelia. “That’s why I looked into different options.”

He considered bedding barns, which are touted as a simple way to house a variety of livestock, while being more cost effective to build than other housing systems. “When we considered the amount of labor and equipment we’d need, however, a bedding barn didn’t make sense,” said Lundsgaard, a fifth-generation farmer.

When he evaluated a slatted, pit barn from TenCorp Inc. in Marcus, he was impressed.

“These are well-built barns that protect the cattle from mud in the spring and provide shade in the summer,” Lundsgaard said. “In the winter, you just shut the curtains and garage door if you want to close up the building.”

-Messenger photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Chad Tentinger stands outside one of the TenCorp buildings. The company constructs buildings to fit today’s operation, with 1,200-head barns being more common.

This barn was designed by cattle producers, for cattle producers.

“I like the fact that the owner of TenCorp actually feeds cattle, so he knows what works and what doesn’t,” Lundsgaard said. “You can tell there’s been a lot of thought put into the design of these buildings.”

By December 2019, Lundsgaard had his own 75-foot by 260-foot slatted pit barn to hold 610 head of cattle.

“I like this gable barn versus a monoslope for my cattle, because it provides good air flow,” Lundsgaard said. “Since you can control so many of the climate variables, it’s awesome how the cattle stay on feed consistently.”

Cleaning the barn twice a year provides valuable manure that helps Lundsgaard trim his commercial fertilizer bill. While the new barn wasn’t the cheapest option he considered building, it was the best choice for his goals. “It’s helping me build equity, which is important, because I want to have something to pass on to my boys,” Lundsgaard said. “I’m hoping I can build another barn like this.”

-Messenger photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Leann Bush, TenCorp Inc. office manager, visits with Chad Tentinger, founder and owner of the business, at their main office in Marcus.

These stories inspire Chad Tentinger, 44, the founder and owner of TenCorp.

“Helping farmers build equity is a key to keeping rural Iowa strong. This also creates opportunities for the next generation to make a living in farming,” Tentinger said.

Building a better way

to feed cattle

Tentinger has long taken an entrepreneurial approach to economic development in rural Iowa. The youngest of five children, he grew up on a crop and livestock farm near Cleghorn during the 1980s farm crisis.

“I learned how hard farming can be,” said Tentinger, a fourth-generation cattle feeder. “I also knew I wasn’t going to go to college but wanted to work in ag.”

He didn’t wait long to get started. After working at Wells Enterprises, he began operating heavy equipment for Schmillen Construction in Marcus. By the time he was 21, he was married with four children. When his career later took him to a construction firm in the Des Moines area, he was quick to spot a new opportunity.

In the mid-2000s, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources required 1,000-head feedlots to have a lagoon to control run-off. This impacted his brother Nathan, who was farming in northwest Iowa. Tentinger used his construction skills to build his brother’s lagoon. Soon, other cattle producers in the area started asking if he could build lagoons for them.

Tentinger also began pouring concrete to help feedlot operators improve their feedyards. At that time, confinement cattle barns with bedding packs were growing in popularity, but Tentinger wasn’t convinced of their merit.

“We felt they created a ton more work,” he said. “You’re always cleaning and hauling manure and moving corn stalks for bedding.”

Tentinger considered pit barns. These had started to become more common in the 1970s and early 1980s, until the farm crisis hit, when farmers considered them too costly. There were also challenges with ventilation and cattle hoof issues.

That didn’t mean the concept of slatted-floor barn couldn’t be redesigned to suit the needs of modern cattle feeders. Tentinger worked on a design and added rubber mats to diminish foot problems for cattle. He also incorporated a gable building style to help improve air quality within the barn. He worked with Marcus Lumber to devise a roof with plywood and tar paper on the underside to increase the building’s durability.

“A dry barn is a long-lasting building,” Tentinger said.

By 2007, he established TenCorp, Inc. in Marcus with a mission to revolutionize the way livestock producers feed cattle.

“We partner with you to build a better way to feed cattle,” Tentinger said. “Come to Marcus, and I’ll show you what I mean. We know these buildings work, because we use the same designs in our cattle feeding operation.”

Growing throughout the Midwest

While 500-head barns were fairly standard when Tentinger started his business, 1,200-head barns are more common today. These barns include side curtains that can be raised or lowered with the touch of a button.

“We don’t just want to meet the bare minimums,” said Tentinger, whose company includes 13 full-time employees and contracts with engineers to design TenCorp barns. “These are 40- to 50-year barns.”

TenCorp has grown its clients base throughout Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota. Among these clients is Brian Tuttle, who farms north of Marcus.

“I started out eight years ago with a cow-calf operation, but there’s not a lot of pasture ground available in my area. I wanted to build equity, so I started looking at options for feeding cattle.”

TenCorp’s barns stood out from the competition.

“You can feed cattle in dirt that turns to mud, but a barn like this means you don’t have to rebuild mounds,” said Tuttle, a fourth-generation farmer who built his 600-head barn in 2019. “These barns aren’t the cheapest, but they are the best money you can spend.”

It matters to Tuttle that TenCorp is an Iowa company that uses local suppliers like Marcus Lumber. He also appreciates how Tentinger and his family are fellow cattle producers who understand how livestock can be part of a sustainable farming operation.

“All the grain I grow goes into the cattle,” Tuttle said. “The manure goes on my land to fertilize the next crop. That’s my definition of sustainable.”

Success is in the details

While a TenCorp barn costs more up front than other cattle feeding options, it’s actually more cost-effective in the long term, Tentinger said.

A TenCorp barn costs approximately $1,500 per head on day one, compared to a dirt lot at $500, he noted, but don’t forget to calculate all the maintenance involved each year, including hauling bales.

“The last thing you want is a lot of maintenance,” said Tentinger, who added that the total cost of a dirt lot as the years go by can easily reach $2,000 per head. “When you figure all those costs over the long term, a barn like ours can be the most economical, plus it appreciates in value.”

TenCorp barns are also designed to enhance cattle performance.

“In a slatted floor, every slat needs to be covered with rubber for cattle comfort,” Tentinger said.

That’s why Tentinger and his team have been developing a new mat that not only contributes to the cleanliness and comfort of the cattle, but offers more durability. The mat has built-in channels to help manure drain better and is made from a better grade of rubber.

“Our mat is 25 percent heavier than the competition,” Tentinger said. “While many mats last six or seven years, we expect to get 10 years out of this mat.”

Success is in the details when it comes to succeeding in the cattle business, Tentinger added. This philosophy guides his company’s other divisions, including field tiling, excavation and commodity trading.

“If you’re going to feed cattle, you’re going to use the board of trade at some point, whether you’re locking up your feed supply or hedging,” Tentinger said. “We can help.”

He and his team are also working on plans to build a packing plant in Iowa.

“This plant will be based on a profit-sharing model,” said Tentinger, who’d like to break ground on the plant in 2022 or 2023.

All these enterprises share one common goal: create a total system to help farmers succeed.

“I’m never satisfied with the status quo,” Tentinger said. “We’re trying to fundamentally change cattle production for the better to keep farms and rural communities strong.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News
• Obituaries

Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

• Yes
• No