B Magazine: From pets to ports: How two Southeast Missouri innovators are transforming their industries

Southeast Missouri has many people on any given day doing important, innovative work that benefits customers both locally and across the globe. From technology to healthcare to hospitality and finance, it's an impressive display of business acumen, skill and leadership.

In this edition of B Magazine, we're highlighting two business leaders in the area who are doing innovative work that gives back to our community. Though they work in vastly different fields, their innovations are helping people and changing their work landscapes.

Cindy McDowell, Cross Point Animal Hospital

Cindy McDowell is a veterinarian at Cross Point Animal Hospital in Cape Girardeau who is adding integrative modalities to conventional medicine in her practice. This includes traditional Chinese veterinary medicine and acupuncture, food therapy, massage, medical manipulations and more. McDowell, who has been president of the largest veterinarian trade group in the nation, also teaches — remotely and in person — at Florida State University.

B Magazine: How long have you been practicing, and what made you want to become a veterinarian?

McDowell: I started practicing in 1986. Since I was 5, I wanted to be a vet. I could not choose between my favorite companion animals – they were all my favorites. I took all of my stuffed animals, drew numbers on their heads, and put them in hospital beds. I didn't get in trouble for using an ink pen to write on their heads. I guess my parents saw the potential for being a vet in me.

B Magazine: What practices in veterinary care have you seen evolve since you got started?

McDowell: When I got started, I was excited to serve farm animals. Companion animal medicine was in its infancy, and avian medicine was nonexistent. When inhalation anesthetics were developed, it changed everything. They were shorter acting so you could safely sedate a bird to draw blood and set fractures. This made many more things possible.

B Magazine: How do you see conventional medicine and integrative modalities working together and or separately for the best treatment?

McDowell: There are a number of things at play. Some non-conventional methods are better because they are safer, less cost-prohibitive and more effective. The reverse can be true of conventional medicine. Just because it's an herb doesn't mean it's safe. A lot of these modalities are not financially lucrative, so it's difficult for a company to spend resources to get approved by the FDA.

Conventional methods test lab animals and then use some human trials. With non-conventional methods, we get our info from humans, which is especially helpful in cancer treatment. Cancer is the number one cause of death in dogs and the number three cause of death in cats. Fifty percent of dogs over age 10 have some sort of cancer. This is why I'm motivated to find the best methods for treating companion animals.

B Magazine: Please list the types of treatments you recommend now and why they are beneficial.

McDowell: There are several treatments that I recommend to my patients.

Acupuncture helps restore homeostasis. It helps with pain management, reduces inflammation and creates healing. Herbal medicine uses phytochemicals that are gentle and cost-effective, and many studies have validated their efficacy. Massage therapy and medical manipulation provide pain relief.

Food therapy is huge. We are finding out that a lot of diseases are worsened by kibble diets. Nutrients are better absorbed through food therapy. I cooked for my dog for eight years, and I can vouch for its benefits.

We can customize food therapy based on your pet’s life stage, and any diseases your pet might have, incorporate Chinese medicine, and customize a plan that works for the owner's needs. A caution about making your own food: a study of 19 recipes found that only one was nutritionally beneficial. Be sure to work with a board-certified nutritionist who can advise you on the best nutrients for your pet’s unique needs.

B Magazine: Do you have a case study of a local animal to share who benefited from innovative treatments?

McDowell: One really good example is a dog who had a significant problem with anxiety during thunderstorms. In the early stages, we used acupuncture, herbal treatments, and some conventional medicine to ease the dog's anxiety. This combination made a huge difference in the dog's quality of life. It also helped relieve the dog's arthritis. At first, the dog was comfortable only in one position, but as it received treatments, it became more flexible. The treatments also helped manage the dog’s cancer in later years.

Trey Busch is owner of Bargetender, LLC.Justin White

Trey Busch, Bargetender, LLC

Trey Busch, a Jackson native, is the owner of Bargetender, LLC. After graduating from Southeast Missouri State University with an engineering technology degree, he worked in the field with companies like Proctor & Gamble, Mondi and TG Missouri, before selling robotics. In 2020, he created a technology product for the river industry that helps customers load barges safely and efficiently.

B Magazine: How did your interest in barges get started?

Busch: In 2019, a friend who is a tugboat pilot in Chester, Ill., reached out to me. A conveyor had broken down, and he invited me on-site to try to fix it. He asked me to ride along in his boat, and I was fascinated.

I got a first-hand look at how barges operate, and I learned about drafting a barge. A draft is how far the barge is under the water once it is loaded with materials. You start at 14 feet out of the water; then, you lean over the side to see how far the water goes up. This is very dangerous. At the time, automation was not possible.

Driving home, I thought to myself, “I could figure this out.” I knew the technology that was out there, and I was confident I could make it work and shape it into a real brand. I called my brother and my friend, who are both engineers, and brainstormed with them.

B Magazine: How did your idea take shape?

Busch: When the pandemic hit in 2020, we all had more time to think about this process, and we started developing models. We approached Archer Daniels Midland in St. Louis and showed them a prototype. They said, “Yes, if you can make this real.” They took a risk on us and bought it.

B Magazine: How does your product work?

Busch: With Bargetender you can talk to an iPad, and then it tells you a lot of data. This can include the commodity amounts of things like corn, wheat and rice, the load rate, how many tons per hour, and the barge registry, which includes specific details about each barge.

B Magazine: How did your product innovate the industry?

Busch: In the old days, deckhands had to talk to each other to gather and share data. Bargetender changed the industry by streamlining and optimizing this process while making it much safer.

We sold our first system in 2021. In 2022, I quit my full-time job to work on Bargetender. The company is headquartered and manufactured in Jackson. My brother in St. Louis and my friend in Chicago are business partners.

B Magazine: What has been great about developing a new product in your hometown?

Busch: The coolest thing about being in a river town is being able to give back to the community. It’s easy for many of us not to realize how much happens on the river and how important it is to our local industry. Developing Bargetender has been fulfilling because it benefits our local community and many others.

Busch: What advice do you have for young engineers with innovative ideas?

It’s important to build knowledge of your industry. This takes time and experience to get to the point where you have enough confidence to go for it. Remember that hard work pays off over time. Also, you can’t underestimate the power of a personal network. Building relationships with others is essential because it takes a team to pull off a big idea.