Wes Buchele (1920–2017), inventor and advocate for safety in agriculture

Wes Buchele came to Ames in 1963 to be an agricultural engineering professor at Iowa State University. Having grown up on his family farm, Buchele was passionate and knowledgeable about everything in agriculture, particularly how to stay safe.

Throughout his career, he was greatly involved in farm safety associations often being asked to consult on cases involving farm equipment accidents. As a professor, Buchele developed the nation’s first agricultural engineering safety courses. He designed safety devices for various forms of machinery, including lawn mowers.

Buchele has 23 different patents including the large round baler and axial flow-threshing cylinder for combines, both of which are now part of standard practice. Aside from machine improvements, Buchele developed ridge-till farming to prevent soil erosion — “It’s a sin to plow!” being one of his famous catch-phrases.

–This short biography is provided by the Ames History Museum. To see more notable people from Ames and what they achieved, visit the Ames History Museum, 416 Douglas Ave.