Published: February 01, 2008 02:19 am         

Innovative feed company still thriving after 35 years

Originally published in the January 25, 2008, print edition.

When Buzz Nelson and sons Marty and Steve purchased a small feed mill in Stewart in 1973, their idea was to simply provide some pre-mix ingredients for livestock producers who could then use their own home-grown grains plus soybean meal and make their own “complete” feed. Thus began the name Form-A-Feed.

“I remember Steve and I would use our only vehicle, a pickup truck, to deliver our products,” Marty Nelson said.

Today this family-owned business manufactures and markets more than 200 different products, for every conceivable livestock species including the pet world and has 22 “bright yellow” Form-A-Feed trucks delivering products throughout the Upper Midwest.

In addition to two facilities at its headquarters in Stewart, the company also operates feed mills at Buffalo Lake and Atwater.

The company employs more than 110 workers and operates 24 hours a day with three shifts.

Four different companies are part of the Form-A-Feed family: TechMix Inc., Sci-Tech Inc., Nutri-Source Inc. and Green Pro Inc. Their combined product mix has moved Form-A-Feed into international markets, especially Japan and China, among other Asian countries.

Form-A-Feed Inc. hosted an open house last fall at its new $7 million “state-of-the-art” feed manufacturing plant. This is a food-grade production plant with computer technologies that guide the manufacture of a diverse product lineup.

Form-A-Feed’s innovations in nutrition include:
• Micros
• Premixes
• Minerals
• Specialty products
• Water soluble products
• Base mixes
• Concentrates
• Boluses
• Liquid starters
• Low-moisture Tubs
• Special concentrates
• Complete feeds

“Realizing that agriculture is constantly changing, our R and D (research and development) team is constantly examining new products, new ingredients and new production techniques on the farm so that we can always be a leader. We need to be able to sell the integrator just as well as the 50-cow, or 50-sow livestock producer,” Nelson said.

Form-A-Feed currently has three nutritionists with doctorates and five staff veterinarians, as well as eight to 10 nutritionists and/or veterinarians in key livestock areas around the country. The company also contracts with various universities and independent firms specializing in livestock nutrition work. “But the most important feeding trials are on the farm and with the larger integrators.”

A strategy that got Form-A-Feed off to a fast start was the addition of a staff veterinarian that traveled to farm customers working directly with their local veterinarian. That started in 1974, the second year of the company and has been a constant ever since.

“We always felt that if one of our vets went to the farm to see actual conditions, that gave us an edge. So this ‘hands-on’ effort by our staff veterinarians has been tremendously well received by our customers since day one,” Nelson said.

How does a smaller, regional feed company get into the international world?

“Unique products and proprietary products that deliver a benefit. That’s what livestock producers are looking for, wherever they may be,” Nelson said. “Plus we introduced a new concept that we call T.E.N. (Timed Event Nutrition) with products used for only two to five days in the young animal’s life. That concept has caught on with nutritionists and livestock people around the world. Easy-to-use products that positively impact infant mortality is T.E.N.”

These products are designed to address a time period where nutrition needs support because of life-stage, management, environment, water or facility shortcomings. Currently, Form-A-Feed has more than 40 specialty products working successfully in the marketplace. The company has growing markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan and China, especially the private-label business with Form-A-Feed doing the manufacturing for Asian firms marketing in these countries.

Probably a major test for any feed company is cracking into the swine world’s integrators, the “big boys” who currently produce about 80 percent of all U.S. pork.

“To some we may only be selling a few ounces of product, but we’re now selling to 21 of these 25,” Nelson said.

Getting into the organic feed market is also on the Form-A-Feed agenda and the National Organic Program already has certified this new Stewart plant to manufacture organic feed. Form-A-Feed is expecting to launch a major marketing effort geared to this rapidly developing organic milk and meats consumer market.

“Having food-grade equipment and technologies built into our new plant is the means of getting into this new market,” Nelson said. He said the company also is now producing drug-free products at one of their plants. “This organic thing is huge and getting bigger. We’re doing a lot of it, especially with dairy cows.”

Why this innovative spirit among Form-A-Feed personnel?

Doug Renkes, general manager of sales and marketing, said, “it starts with ownership of the company. The Nelsons are very entrepreneur-type people. Plus, we work hard at doing the little things both in products and in service that big companies don’t want to do.”

Renkes said launching the T.E.N. line of product was a big factor to crack into new markets, both domestic and overseas. “Timed Event Nutrition simply means feed a product when you need it; take it out when you don’t. So finding and fitting these niches that bigger companies don’t seem to want to focus on continues to open doors for us.”

Nelson added, “we built this new plant so that the first pound of feed that comes out is consistent with the last pound. Plus, we have gained tremendous improvements in productivity per man-hour, just like farmers have done with new technologies, bigger equipment.” Form-A-Feed manufactures products from 50-gram packages to bulk semi-loads. Product forms include meal, mini-pellet, textured, boluses, effervescent tablets, pellets, water soluble, energy bars, low-moisture tubs and liquid starters.

With the constantly changing livestock numbers, is the “market mix” for Form-A-Feed also changing?

Nelson said, “yes, and we see this as new opportunities. When we started we were probably 90 percent swine; now we’re more like 35 to 40 percent swine with dairy, beef, equine feeds, sheep and lamb products, even specialty products for the poultry and pet food industry.

“You can’t be everything to everyone so specialty products for young livestock has been a niche that has become the trademark of Form-A-Feed.”

Helping move that niche along is TechMix, begun in 1985 with a focus on veterinarian-recommended products for livestock producers. Included in that mix is BlueLite, a world-renowned re-hydration product developed by Peter Franz, veterinarian. Franz continues to consult with TechMix’s sales and marketing team on new product development.

Why did the company bring their expansion to Stewart?

“Well, because this is where we started. The quality of life is terrific in our little town. The work ethic of our people is exceptional. We have an incredible team. The philosophy of my Dad, Steve and myself since we started has been to hire people better than ourselves. That still works. That’s why we’re here and for certain that’s why we’re growing,” Marty Nelson said.

     

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