Dakota Midland Grain sits on the windswept plains of North Dakota, where snow, wind, ice, and subzero temperatures turn outdoor tasks into serious safety hazards. The biggest concern: manual railcar lid operations, which force employees to climb onto icy railcars during loading.
With a team of only seven people, including office staff and grain buyers, staffing pressure is constant: especially during harvest, when late-night train loads are often followed by early-morning truck dumping.
General Manager Kayla Burkhart has seen the risk and strain firsthand:
“Seeing employees working outside on top of icy railcars isn’t a job that I love doing, and I know nobody enjoys being out in the cold weather or working at heights.”
Turnover is high, the labor pool is small, and the most dangerous task in the facility is also one of the hardest to staff. Dakota Midland needed a way to keep people safe, reduce fatigue, and ensure reliable operations year-round.
RAYHAWK’s autonomous railcar lid-handling system offered a direct, practical answer to all of these challenges.
Kayla first encountered RAYHAWK at an industry meeting:
“I saw RAYHAWK leadership introducing the technology, and I was sold immediately.”
She followed that early impression with deeper evaluation: visiting installations, seeing the system live, and meeting the RAYHAWK team behind it.
“Seeing it functioning in Canada, seeing the passion behind the RAYHAWK team, and knowing they want to get it right was what sold me.”
Unlike other industrial automation solutions, RAYHAWK stood out for blending technical sophistication with installation simplicity. All it required was a commitment to eliminating a problem that had existed for years, without a major lift from her team.
“It’s a very complicated concept, but RAYHAWK has made it very easy and user-friendly to install. The work they put in behind it to make it a successful launch was a big selling point.”
The rise in top-of-railcar incidents across the state made this a top priority.
“There’s been an increase in incidents on top of railcars in the state recently… I wanted to eliminate the risk entirely.”
With few workers to choose from, making the job safer and more appealing was essential.
“Help is hard to find. We have high turnover. We wanted to mitigate less desirable tasks.”
Automation frees staff for higher-value work and ensures consistency during long or overnight train loads.
The board sees RAYHAWK as a first step into broader innovation.
“We want to be the leader in automation and technology for the grain industry.”
RAYHAWK helped them move toward that future faster and with confidence.
This was Kayla’s top priority and the single biggest reason to invest.
“If we can have everybody inside when loading a train, that would be ideal.”
Especially during harvest, RAYHAWK allows the facility to reassign people to tasks that most directly support producers.
The most dreaded job at the elevator disappears overnight.
“I think we’re going to see employees really enjoy not having to do this task anymore.”
Automation means fewer sleepless nights worrying about employees on icy railcars.
“When we have trains loading, I’m not asleep. I’m constantly concerned… It will be a huge relief to know everyone is safe and inside.”
For Dakota Midland Grain, RAYHAWK isn’t a gamble. It’s a practical solution to real, pressing problems: safety, labor availability, staff fatigue, and operational reliability.
“It’s going to be a huge relief to know everyone is safe and inside.”
As the installation approaches, the team is confident that RAYHAWK will not only make the facility safer, but also more efficient, more resilient, and better positioned for the future.
Kayla encourages other grain leaders to think beyond traditional ROI spreadsheets:
“It’s not just about cost savings. You have to consider the reduction in safety incidents, improved morale, and reduction of manual tasks.”
Automation, she explains, requires a commitment to safety, modernization, and people.
“You have to be on board with it being a commitment to safety and technology growth.”
.png)
