Dealer Spotlight: Kentucky Distributor is Family Focused

If there’s one word to describe Central Farm Supply of Kentucky, it’s family. This family owned-and-operated BioZyme® distributor is based in Louisville, Kentucky. However, as a wholesale distributor to more than 700 stores from Kentucky to Virginia and points in between, its family has grown immensely since it was first established.

“We’re family owned, but every one of our dealers is part of our family. Our company was built on service, and that is still our strong suit,” said Larry Manning, Sales Manager, whose brother, Tommy, started the company in 1985.

Central Farm maintains a fleet of 10 tractors and 25 trailers. The fleet of trucks along with their 10 drivers allows them to be in control of the service they provide to their dealers, which has always been one of their strengths, but has become even more evident in the last few years in the midst of all the supply chain and distribution issues everyone experienced due to COVID.

Although Central Farm Supply of Kentucky has a long history in the agricultural industry, it is in its fifth year as a BioZyme dealer. Manning said incorporating the VitaFerm® line, and subsequently other BioZyme products, provided their customers with a premium product to offer their customers. He said with so many dealers that they distribute to, the need exists to have a product for every level of producer.

“We have to be able to offer products that fit every cattleman in our market. The VitaFerm products are premium cattle supplements that fit a lot of our cattle producer customers,” Manning said.

He suggests that every dealer discovers their market and knows who their customer is and what every customer wants in order to find success. Some will be happy with a salt block, some want the cheapest mineral they can buy, but those who truly keep records on their cattle operation will immediately see the results of using the BioZyme products.

Central Farm views their relationship with their dealers as a partnership. In order for Central Farm Supply to continue to be successful that partnership also includes their vendors. Since the early days, Central Farm has fostered the relationship between the dealers and vendors, by offering a buying show each October, so their dealers can come to Louisville to meet with their top vendors, exchange ideas and participate in “trade show specials” offered that day. Manning said it is truly a family event where dealers bring the entire family, including kids and grandkids for food, fun, entertainment and great deals during this one-day event.

The business actively uses BioZyme’s and other companies marketing tools, like Promoboxx and participates in quarterly dealer mailers. They also have four sales reps.

“I’d give BioZyme an A-plus in the marketing of their products when it comes to creating brand awareness and tying those brands to the dealers and distributors. Marketing is their real strength,” Manning said.

Family is important to Central Farm Supply of Kentucky, and it is important to BioZyme, too. We are certainly proud to have you in the BioZyme family, continuing that care that comes full circle!

The Importance of Testimonials – How to Snag ‘Em and Ways to Use ‘Em

Word of mouth marketing is one of the most important marketing tools you can use in any type of marketing vehicle: social media, website, sales letter, advertisement. 

According to socialfresh.com, “customer testimonials have the highest effectiveness rating at content marketing at 89%.” In other words, testimonials are 89% better at increasing conversion rates than other forms of marketing.

At BioZyme®, we love to earn customer testimonials, and we use them frequently. The hashtags #TestimonialTuesday or #FeatureFriday are a great way to showcase what customers are saying about the products on social media, and as you will read below, there are other ways to showcase testimonials as well. 

However, it isn’t always easy to get customers to share what they like about a product. 

“I usually find that if I start the conversation asking about their animals and their goals, they will be more open. I ask what challenges they were having and what led them to using the particular BioZyme product. Then, I ask them specific questions about the results they saw. What was their overall conception rate? How many more lambs did they wean? How many more pounds of gain did they experience with the Gain Smart mineral? Our producers are typically very data driven and keep great records and those are the stories we want to share,” said Shelia Grobosky, BioZyme Content & PR Manager. 

Below are four types of testimonials you can use in your marketing. 

  • Quote Testimonial:

The most common type, it is exactly what its name implies, a simple quote. You can get these over the phone, via email or in person, and use these a variety of ways. These are often the most read and most effective. The audience can read these quickly, and the quote gets right to the point.

  • Longform Testimonial: 

This might be a five-minute testimonial. You might record a conversation with a customer (always ask for permission before recording), and he or she has a great story. You can transcribe this for your website or even ask permission to post the entire audio to your website, as some people will prefer to listen to it over reading this long paragraph. These will also typically show more emotion, and emotion sells. 

  • Social Testimonial: 

This is another effective testimonial where you ask your customer to post their own review of a product on their own social media account, perhaps with a photo of the product. 

  • Video Testimonial: 

Like its name implies, this is a video of a customer telling you and your audience why he or she likes the product and the impact they have seen with the product. This is often the most beneficial since there is no reading involved, and the viewer can see and hear the emotion in the speaker’s voice. 

Testimonials are a great marketing tool. We encourage you to use them in your marketing, and if you have a great testimonial to share with our team, reach out to Grobosky at sgrobosky@biozymeinc.com. 

How Appreciation Helps Sell Product

Care that comes full circle can start with little acts of kindness that help grow sales. But first you need to know your customers and understand what their passion points are.

Every single person has a passion point or hot button. Once you find that for particular customers that are willing to invest in the goods and services you offer, remember that hitting those passion points in a genuine way can often boost sales.

There are several ways to show appreciation for your customers. One of the most effective ways is to host a producer meeting, where you might serve a meal or appetizers while educating the customers about the benefits of the product you offer. Everyone looks forward to the camaraderie of the event, and many look forward to the meal; however, most will remember that XYZ Dealer took the effort to plan, invite and host the event and talk to the producer group. Make sure you use the Marketing Resources in the Online Dealer Center to help secure invitations and a speaker from BioZyme®.

With sale season in full swing, another way to show appreciation is to attend your customers’ production sales. Put on a logoed cap or jacket and make an appearance at a customer sale. Bring along a stack of VitaFerm® gloves or some ink pens so the buyers can pick one up – it’s also good promotion. Be sure to say a quick hello to your customer to let him or her know you are there if any help is needed, but don’t be a nuisance. Remember, this is the big pay day for them.

Sponsor a livestock show. Spring jackpot shows are right around the corner. Chances are you have customers with children or grandchildren who participate in local stock shows. It doesn’t take much financial investment to sponsor an award or back tags in return to get your name and business recognized. Your customers will be happy to see you participated in a way that gives back to the youth, and they should be more willing to invest back into your business. Community outreach and giving back can pay dividends.

Be present. Sometimes just showing up is enough to show you care. Showing up at church, the local spring concert and home opener baseball game are the little things your customers are looking for to know that you are invested in the community and there for them. When a customer knows you are invested in the community, they are more likely to keep their local business rather than drive a distance to purchase similar products.

Show your customers some appreciation and be a part of their passion points. Be present in the community.

Watch your business grow.

A Day in the Life of BioZyme® Employee Jamie Miller

Title: Director of Operations

Number of Years at BioZyme: officially 4, contractor for 17

Describe a “typical” day in your job: A typical day at BioZyme for me is probably more of an atypical day for others. Most days consist of checking orders, evaluating any needed production changes for products that are set go negative and planning fermentation runs based on current information.  Mondays and Tuesdays are almost always filled with meetings with operations teams, development staff and tolling fermentation customers.

Wednesdays and Thursdays are used to address any changes to the monthly schedules and get caught up on emails and communications.

I typically like to spend at least two full days per week at each location (Stockyards and Easton); however, meeting requests, daily challenges and priorities sometimes require travel between the two.

What is the most interesting thing you ever have done at BioZyme: Supply Chain Center and Production automation. This part of the Back Office application has really allowed us to utilize all of the data we have from multiple systems to properly plan and manufacture safe, accurate product.

What has been one of the biggest challenges: With the scaling up of toll fermentation at our Easton facility and not having any formal training in the processes that are required, the last year at Easton has been personally challenging. The learning that has been required to understand the in and outs of the equipment, processes and needs for each customer has taken a lot of effort and time. With that, we have been able to make improvements, become more consistent, and our planning is getting better each month.

Why is care that comes full circle important to what you do? When you run into someone outside of work that is wearing BioZyme-branded attire or a jacket of one of our partners and you can strike up a conversation about how they use our products in their operation, it makes you realize why we do things we do at BioZyme.

What is something you enjoy doing outside of the office? Socializing with friends, throwing darts and aspiring to become a member of the “Premiere” “Karaoke” “Air Band” called PRIME with my buddies.

Letters from Lisa

Care that comes full circle is a philosophy that postulates if you truly care for someone or something, that care will eventually, naturally come full circle back to you.

Naturally meaning if we take care of the animals, they will take care of us by ensuring we get to eat or feel unconditional love. Naturally meaning if we take care of our customers, they will remain loyal, which allows us to continue to have the resources to research new technologies for them. Naturally meaning if we take care of our vendors by communicating and staying loyal to them, they will help us during challenges. And last but certainly not least, naturally meaning if we take care of our employees by being understanding, good communicators and fair, they will passionately fuel the care throughout the company.

Care that Comes Full Circle. Those five words are the value statement that drives BioZyme® Inc. each and every day.

How can you embody care that comes full circle into
your dealership?

A fair question after every minute of every day statement is, if something takes this much energy, is it really worth it? If you Google “care that comes full circle,” you will either find items about BioZyme (which made me quite proud), or you will find items about caring for an aging parent. So, at first glance I guess it doesn’t really have a role in business where money usually tends to be the main driver. However, think of this well-known statistic: “A customer who has had a good experience will tell two people, but a customer who has a bad experience will tell 12 or more people.” This is true of vendors and employees as well. I like to refer to vendors and employees as internal customers. They deserve the same care as external customers. Care starts and ends by embracing the four items below and yes, they apply to a chicken and horse as well as a human.

  1. Listen
    Make yourself available to hear with as many touch points as possible. Take a genuine interest in what the other person or animal seeks to deliver to you.
  2. Respond
    Hearing is one thing, responding is another. Be an ally, putting the other person’s needs first. Ensure emails are followed up with in a timely manner; phone calls are answered; waterers are full, feed stays consistent, and time and attention are given where they are needed, when needed.
  3. Resolve
    What good is a response if it doesn’t make something better?
  4. Follow Up
    Seek and be ready to hear honest feedback, and then remain committed to making whatever it is better, happily remembering that this is a cycle that never ends.

Care – we know it is an important component of life, but we often forget one of the simplest principles: to show we care is to find out what people or animals need and then deliver on those needs. Getting started is a matter of holding yourself accountable to the above four actions. If you take the time to do this, I promise it will come full circle.

Two Minutes in April

By Shelia Grobosky, Content & PR Manager

The adage April showers bring May flowers might need to be changed, depending on the part of the country you are in. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor and colleagues I’ve spoken to recently, April showers would barely settle the dust in parts of Nebraska, Western Kansas, Oklahoma and the northern tip of the Texas Panhandle. Meanwhile, California is facing devastating flooding. The Dakotas are digging out from yet another April blizzard, which means once all the snow finally melts, they will have some green grass AND flowers.

Mother Nature can be brutal, but dealing with her mood swings is part of the risk those of us in agriculture take every day. Spring is officially here, and in my home state of Illinois, when farmers aren’t cleaning up from the recent tornadoes, they are getting equipment ready to start working ground and planting.

Of course crop production has a direct impact on feed prices for all classes of animals, and we are in the nutrition business. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its Prospective Plantings report on the last day of March that summarizes producers’ planting intentions in the U.S. and reflects expected profitability levels for various crops. Most notably, corn acreage was estimated to increase by roughly 4% from last year – to just under 92 million acres. By comparison, soybean acreage was projected to be virtually unchanged from 2022.

Feed prices are currently high, and significant change is not likely before harvest. Additional corn acres would undoubtedly be seen as a positive from the perspective of livestock feed prices. As long as those additional acres are planted, Mother Nature plays nice this Summer, and harvest is good, producers could see feed prices decrease. If not, remember to use the increased digestibility of AO-Biotics® Amaferm® as a marketing tool to help livestock get the most benefit from the feed producers do have available to them.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) introduced legislation the first week of April to repeal the federal estate tax, often referred to as the Death Tax. According to a statement from NCBA, “Ensuring a farm or ranch can be passed to children or grandchildren is a priority for family-owned farms, ranches and agricultural businesses. It is critically important that producers and business owners have permanent relief from the Death Tax. Current Death Tax relief is set to expire at the end of 2025, and it is vital that Congress takes immediate action to provide permanent relief for agricultural families.”

Dealer Spotlight: Oklahoma Dealer Shares Passion for Products

Some might call it fate. Others might say it was destiny. However, it came to fruition, Wood Cattle Company, Vinita, Oklahoma, is sure of one thing – the timing was right, and they are glad to be BioZyme® dealers.

Patti and Chad Wood are long-time users of the VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® products. They had used them for years on their registered Red Angus herd in Wisconsin. When they relocated to Oklahoma, where the feedstuffs and forages were totally different, they were instructed that they would need to switch up their mineral program.

“We didn’t use it for a while, and the Genex rep who breeds our cows for us, told us to go back to the VitaFerm to see if we noticed changes. It was a night and day difference with the Concept•Aid. Not only in our conception rates, but in our feet, in our hide and hair. Down here in the heat and with the fescue, the HEAT mineral makes a world of difference, too,” Patti said.

No one nearby consistently kept the mineral on hand. Patti’s father-in-law was also bringing them commodities to mix their own feed. That is when they discovered an Umbarger dealer close to him. However, once they tried and decided they liked the Umbarger feeds, that dealer decided to quit his business, too. So, the Woods family took matters into their own hands.

They contacted Umbarger and became a dealer and opened a feedstore on their farm. They have been BioZyme dealers since 2018, and according to Patti, were thankful for the timing with the pandemic hitting just two years later.

“We never intended to have a feedstore. We moved from just outside Madison, Wisconsin, where there are lots of people and activities to Big Cabin, Oklahoma, which is very remote. Some of our best friends are the people we have met through our feedstore. We were busy through the pandemic, and this just fell into our lap,” Patti said.

She added that the products sell themselves, and she would never sell anything she doesn’t use or hasn’t tried herself, one of the reasons she feels like her sales have grown. She was hesitant about the Backyard Boost® line until she tried it at first. Now, she carries it and highly recommends it.

“Backyard Boost Defense is simply amazing! I picked up chicks from the post office. They were lethargic, droopy eyes, and I thought I would definitely lose some. I dipped all their beaks in water, and they fought me. I then took the water and added Backyard Boost, I walked out and left them. I came back 15 minutes later, and all the chicks were drinking and had drunk half of the water I put in with the Backyard Boost in it. All my chicks are alive, healthy and happy,” she said on one of her social media posts.

Patti relies on social media and word of mouth as her primary marketing tools. She also offers service and advice whenever needed. If someone comes in asking for Concept•Aid, for example, she will ask specific questions to learn their challenges to discover exactly which mineral they need. She also offers delivery, lives right at the farm so if someone needs “emergency mineral” can get it for them on a weekend, and her customers can see the Vita Charge® Stress Tubs in her kids’ show calves pens so they might ask questions, leading to more education and sales.

Her ”old school mentality” of service helps her gain customers and sales. Since her family does show, she will look for customers at the shows and offer them advice and help, as she wants to see everyone succeed.

“We’ve used the products. We know they work, and we believe in them, both from a seedstock operation and show program perspective. We have a passion for them, and for dealers to be successful, they need to be able to share that passion, too,” Patti encouraged.

Thank you for your passion, Patti. You are an example of care that comes full circle!

A Day in the Life of BioZyme® Employee Kevin Glaubius

Title: ASM – Nebraska

Years at BioZyme: 27

Describe a “typical” day in your job: Begin by checking daily plan and then on the road meeting with prospective clients and existing dealers. Road time goes by fast with incoming and outgoing phone calls. This winter Northwest Nebraska had 4 feet of snowpack, so driving conditions not always the best. Typically see six dealers face to face daily on my route. 

What is the most interesting thing you ever done at BioZyme: Research projects using Amaferm® are always interesting with something new to learn. I have been involved in a few over the years and always learn something new.  

Share a funny story about one of your days at work: First phone call I ever got from Butch Ehlert in 1995, he asked me where I was? I told him in the office (he didn’t know that was the name of my boat). Then I told him, and he said at least you’re honest; I knew you were on an annual fishing trip in South Dakota as I just talked to Merrill Neary.    

What has been one of the biggest challenges: In 2022 it definitely was the drought. Really had to focus on the value of Amaferm as a feed savings tool to maintain and grow sales with record high feed prices as producers struggled.

In 2021 it was simply driving and covering a whole state where most of the cows are 500+ miles away from where I live

Why is care that comes full circle important to what you do? Because without care that comes full circle people you touch wouldn’t continue to support our product lines.  You reap what you sow, so plant plenty of seeds and then nurture those accounts to be fruitful. 

What is something you enjoy doing outside of the office? My 4 grandkids and catfishing when I can find time! Typically fish one tournament per year and biggest fish is still a 85 lb. Blue Catfish caught on the Kansas River near KC. 

Changes Coming in April

HYALURONEX® AND TRIXSYN® PRODUCTS BECOMES PART OF VITALIZE® FAMILY

Exciting changes are in store for Hyaluronex® and Trixsyn® joint health products as they officially become part of the Vitalize® brand this month. The products that many equine, dog and cat lovers have come to know and trust still consist of the same great formulas, but now are labeled under the Vitalize name and have a brand new label and look.

BACKYARD BOOST® DAILY ESSENTIALS NOW INCLUDES AO-BIOTICS® EQE

AO-Biotics® EQE will be added to the Backyard Boost® Daily Essentials in April, in addition to Amaferm®. EQE is the first-and-only postbiotic designed specifically for layers using patent pending technology. This addition will help enhance egg quality, number of eggs and egg mass. This will be a rolling change as inventory of the current stock is sold.

ANTIOXIDANT ADDED TO SELECT PRODUCT LINES

Starting in April, a new antioxidant will be added to the granular VitaFerm®, Gain Smart® and DuraFerm® product lines as part of BioZyme’s effort to continual enhance quality. Dealers and customers may notice the addition of these ingredients on the labels.

MORE BAG CHANGES IN THE FUTURE

As packaging inventories are depleted, customers will see some changes in the Vitalize® and Sure Champ® bags. We will be moving away from the paper bags to the poly bags to make packaging higher quality and more consistent across brands.