Category: What’s New

Hale Feeds LLC Keeps Moving Forward

“Keep moving forward.” That’s the advice that young, progressive BioZyme® dealer Tee Hale offers his contemporaries and other new dealers. “We have great products; you’re never going to lose by trying to push forward. Dive in head-first and try for the best. You’re never going to make it if you don’t try.”

Tee, along with his parents Jim and Teresa Hale, and his brother Tye own Hale Feeds LLC at Union Center, South Dakota. Tee manages the daily operations of the dealership along with the feed sales from the on-ranch “feed shed” while running about 300 momma cows with his parents. His brother lives nearby and works for a neighboring cow-calf operation.

Because he uses so much of the product himself and understands the benefits of Amaferm®, Tee said it is simple for him to sell the products to others. He can share the advantages of a high-quality program for both cattle and horses.

“I take the approach about cost, per head, per day. What are we going to put in this cow this day? What is it going to cost me? There is the opinion out there that VitaFerm® is a little costly, but it is a premium mineral, and that is what people need to understand. You’ve got your Amaferm in it, that’s a big selling point right there,” he said. “I had bought a set of 60 bred heifers last spring that I turned out on Concept•Aid® right away; and put on HEAT® through the summer. In the fall I had one open out of those 60 head. Right there I can tell that story and it gets people’s attention. For about 15 cents a day, you can feed this product and it works.”

Tee said he is excited about the new products that BioZyme is introducing; he has already begun selling the VitaFerm Concept•Aid 5/S HEAT. He said the VitaFerm HEAT is popular in his area of northwest South Dakota, as it is a cost-efficient and effective product for producers.

When Tee isn’t ranching or selling livestock feed and supplements, he likes to rodeo. He said he’s seen remarkable results with the Vitalize® products on his horses. The results he’s seen with the Amaferm advantage in his horses, has helped him promote those advantages to cattle producers too.

“There is a lot of competition in the area, and it’s all in the same price, but this one has more to it. I can feed my horse something, and I know if it works on their guts, it is going to work on a cow’s gut. And I see a huge difference in my horses,” Tee said.

Phone conversations are the most effective communication method for Tee to share his business with others. He spends parts of each day driving between his ranch and his parents’ where he has time to talk on the phone. And even though South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem never formally “shutdown” the state due to COVID-19, Tee said he likely wouldn’t have left the ranch much in March and April due to calving season. Brandings in May were really the first times people gathered, and even then, they respected one another’s space, but they don’t stress about social distancing, according to Tee.

Life will move forward as usual, and Hale Feeds LLC will have new products to market with the Amaferm advantage.

Provides Nutrition Needs To Bull Customers and Others

Cattle producers are often said to be the original stewards of the land. Their genuine passion for caring for their land and livestock is in their blood. They know if they take care of their cattle and the land, the cattle will take care of them. Taking care of his cattle before and after the sale is how Mark Rohr, Proven Sres Services, Hays, Kansas, became a BioZyme® dealer in 2014.

As the owner of Lazy H Ranch, where he markets between 100-150 registered Angus and Charolais bulls each spring, he wanted to be sure that those bulls continued to receive the best nutrition possible after the sale. That’s when he became a dealer and started recommending his customers use the VitaFerm® and Vita Charge® products to keep their new bulls healthy and reproductively sound.

“I wanted to offer the best of the best for my bull customers. At least 35% of my customers have started feeding VitaFerm, and that accounts for at least 50% of my bull sales,” Rohr said.

As a VIP dealer, Rohr not only offers the best products to his customers; he also offers top-notch service. He connects with them each monthly, if not more often and makes sure they have everything they need. He answers their questions promptly and relies on his ASM and National Sales Director for answers when he doesn’t know the answers, knowing they will respond quickly.

He suggests utilizing the ASM as a lead to new customer relationships. He appreciates when the ASM makes a cold call first to explain the Amaferm® advantage and ROI of the various product lines. Then, he can follow-up and share his own unique experiences with his customers. As a user of the products, Rohr can give first-hand accounts of what the products do, how they work and the benefits he has experienced in his own herd.

Building trust is the first step in any business relationship, according to Rohr. To build trust he shares his own experiences and works potential customers using other products into the VitaFerm products gradually.

“Offer them a product we have that their company doesn’t. Something like Vita Charge to help reduce stress with vaccinations and weaning. Or if I want them to try the VitaFerm products, I tell them not to go full-bore, but to try it on half or part of their cows so they can see the difference for themselves,” he said.

Rohr hosts a customer appreciation event each summer. He also makes sure to have plenty of BioZyme and Amaferm information available at his sale so his customers can leave with the information they need about a high-quality nutrition program.

As the industry becomes somewhat more volatile, Rohr said sharing key benefits that can be looked at as opportunity costs of the products will be even more important than ever. For cattle producers those include conception rates, especially for those utilizing A.I. and embryo transfer, calf vigor at birth and cows cleaning themselves at calving. Bull fertility is also key.

“I am in partnership on another set of bulls on feed at another location, under different management but the same mineral program, using a different vet service, we had 100% semen check there, and that vet wanted to know what we do to make that happen. As far as fertility in our bulls, the VitaFerm mineral and Amaferm advantage has been awesome,” Rohr said.

With results like that, it’s easy to see how Rohr can use personal experiences to build his customer base and help his bull customers at the same time. Thanks for being a part of the dealer network, Mark!

Second Generation Dealer Provides Services and Answers to Livestock Challenges

Providing a quality product to customers while delivering top-notch services are traits that come naturally for second-generation BioZyme dealer Jeff Cluxton, at Ripley, Ohio. Jeff’s dad, Tom, started using VitaFerm® products in 1974 and became a dealer. The family has appreciated the impact that the BioZyme products have had on their 175 head cow herd and have shared that with their peers.

“VitaFerm’s been good to us. It’s a product that we strongly believe in as users of it, so it helps us be able to sell it to people. We’ve always used the product here on the farm, so we know what works best for people.

If they are in the embryo world, we try to direct people to Concept•Aid® products. Even our commercial cattle producers, will use the Concept•Aid 8/S or the Concept•Aid tub,” Jeff said.

Perhaps the thing that differentiates Jeff and assists him in helping others is the relationship that his family has had with local veterinarian Brian Cowdrey. According to Jeff, Dr. Cowdrey’s parents used the VitaFerm products and now he uses them too. And when a client has a challenge that can be fixed with the help of a nutrition product, the vet sends his client Jeff’s way, which Jeff says makes for a unique situation.

“If the customer will be obedient and do what the veterinarian recommends, we get a lot of business from Dr. Cowdrey. Word of mouth from the vet drives a lot of my business. About four to five years ago we had an outbreak of anaplasmosis here in the county, and word of mouth and VitaFerm offering CTC and IGR became a very popular product around here,” he said.

But that isn’t the only relationship that has helped Jeff grow his business. He said he’s been able to market the VitaFerm Gain Smart® Stocker and Vita Charge® Stress Tubs to the Buckeye Valley Beef Cooperative. The group of local, younger beef producing families are working to raise beef for the consumer to buy from the farm or through local retail outlets, with the knowledge that this beef is locally sourced and has never been treated for sickness. This group of progressive cattle producers has used the Gain Smart Stocker to help ensure the cattle they are feeding for their ultimate customers put on healthy, efficient pounds and meet their strict criteria. He said they use the Stress Tubs at weaning.

As an on-farm dealer, Jeff says he is always available to help his customers. He does chuckle that his wife suggests he set some office hours, but he says he’s here to help. For instance, he has an old truck that he’ll leave a bag or two of mineral in if someone is in the area at a kid or grandkid’s ball game and wants to pick it up. He even tells about a customer who drove out of his way to get 20 bags because Jeff had the product he wanted on hand.

“I won’t turn down a customer. I will help someone out. People are busy, but you can gain a lot of business by being flexible,” Jeff said.

He shares a story from last Christmas. Since he’s also an Umbarger dealer, he has the chance to sell Weaver show supplies. Somebody had ordered a show box for Christmas gift. He offered to wrap and deliver to the customer’s front porch on Christmas Eve when that family was at another Christmas celebration. The customer was overjoyed by the service Jeff provided. He said by providing that type of service, he sees the potential of a return customer for show feed or breeding mineral in the long-term.

One of the most valuable lessons Jeff learned from his dad, and one he shares is to always be willing to find out the answer to a question when you don’t know the answer.

“Always be truthful and honest to your customer, and they will always come back to you. If you don’t know the answer, be willing to say you don’t know but you will find out. That goes a long way for you.”

Jeff Cluxton & Sons is a dealer that shows care that comes full circle while differentiating his business through long-time user experience and outstanding customer service. He’s sharing the knowledge from his dad with his customers in Western Ohio. Thanks for being a great dealer, Jeff!