The Roost initiative: a no-risk technology partnership for farm operators

As a farm operator in West Virginia, you face two core business challenges every day: a persistent labor shortage and tightening profit margins, driven by rising input costs and volatile commodity pricing. Finding good, reliable help is harder and more expensive than ever, and rising input costs are eating into your bottom line.

The ROOST Initiative is a professional, fully-funded pilot program launching in Hardy County. It is designed to directly address these challenges by helping you integrate proven automation technologies into your operation.

The most important detail: We cover 100% of the capital cost.

A Business-Focused Solution, Not an ExperimentThis is not an academic exercise. This is a practical, $1.75 million initiative funded by Questr Automation and our partners. Our goal is to prove, with real-world data, that modern automation is the key to making West Virginia farms more efficient, resilient, and profitable.

We are not technology developers. We are expert integrators. We find the best, most reliable automation equipment already on the market—tools for feeding, collection, monitoring, and climate control—and we manage the entire process of getting it running on your farm.

The Financial Proposition: A No-Risk Partnership

For the farms that join this pilot, the business case is straightforward:

• Zero Capital Expenditure: The ROOST program pays for all equipment, installation, and initial training. This is not a loan or a lease. You get the operational benefits without the upfront financial risk.
• A Focus on Your ROI: We are exclusively focused on solutions that provide a clear and rapid return on investment, primarily by reducing direct labor hours and improving operational efficiency (e.g., better feed conversion, reduced waste, lower energy use).

In return for this investment, we have one "ask": your partnership. We need your operational expertise and access to pre- and post-installation data (labor hours, costs, yields) so we can jointly measure and validate the financial impact.

How the Partnership Works

You are the operational expert. Our process is designed to support your business, not disrupt it.

1. Operational Assessment: We start with a confidential consultation at your farm. You identify your key bottlenecks, labor challenges, and operational headaches.
2. Customized Solution: We propose a package of 5-7 proven automation solutions tailored to your specific needs (e.g., poultry, cattle, or specialty crop). You review and approve the final plan.
3. Full-Service Integration: Questr’s technical team manages the complete installation from start to finish, working around your operational schedule.
4. Ongoing Technical Support: We provide comprehensive training for you and your team. More importantly, we provide local technical support for the duration of the 18-month project to ensure the equipment runs reliably.

Long-Term Benefits for Your Operation

• Solve Your Labor Problem: Directly reduce the man-hours required for repetitive, low-skill tasks, freeing up you and your best employees for higher-value work.
• Improve Margins & Efficiency: Gain precise control over inputs. Better feed management, optimized climate control, and reduced waste flow directly to your bottom line.
• Enhance Biosecurity & Data: Automation reduces the number of people moving through your barns, and modern sensors give you real-time data to protect animal health and improve decision-making.

This initiative is also building a local support system. We are partnered with Eastern WV Community & Technical College to train a local workforce of technicians. This means that when the program is over, there will be skilled professionals right here in Hardy County who can service and support this technology for the long haul.

Next Steps

We are currently selecting a small group of forward-thinking farm operators in Hardy County to join this no-cost pilot.

We invite you to schedule a confidential, one-on-one consultation with our team to discuss your operation’s specific needs and see if this partnership is the right fit for your business.

Dave Oberting, Managing Director, 304.679.1889 main, [email protected]​