Dealer Milestone: Killduff Feed and Grain July 6, 2021 July 9, 2021 Celebrating 25 years of service in Killduff, Iowa Killduff Feed & Grain has been in business for 103 years, having started as Fleck Feed & Grain in 1918 and using βone of the best, most modern mills in the countyβ to manufacture its own feed under the Fleck name. But when Bob Van Soelen starting working at the dealership in 1963 as an accountant, they had started to expand into cattle feed and began selling another brand. That brand quickly got bought out by a string of larger companies and, ultimately, a national chain. So when he bought into the dealership in 1970, Van Soelen decided to turn exclusively to Kent Feeds for his customers. βWhen you have those sales acquisitions of bigger and bigger companies they always say nothingβs going to change but it always does,β Van Soelen says. βKent is a family-owned company in and of itself which we liked. And the quality has never ever changed.β Van Soelen sold Fleck Feed & Grain in 2005 to Don and Sharri Huyser, and it became Killduff Feed & Grain. The name may have changed but important things have not: they are still βsticklers for quality feeds,β dedicated to customer service and β Van Soelen points out happily β the place to gather for coffee every morning. βWe were always famous for the bullpen,β he says of the informal area in the office where a pot of coffee was always ready for the regulars each day. βThatβs still going on β just customers coming in and hanging out. It makes me happy that 15 years after I left, the feed store is still active. Itβs still a fun place for people to connect, and go through a lot of coffee!β Today, David Samson manages the store, which still sells mostly cattle feed β followed by sheep, goats, equine and poultry. Even as he attended Iowa State University and majored in agronomy, Samson always knew Killduff Feed as a family. His father has worked for decades with the Huysers on their row-crop farm. Kent, he says, makes up more than 90 percent of the storeβs inventory. βWhen people get Kent products they know what theyβre getting,β Samson says. βKent is the stronghold that we rely on for all of our proteins and vitamins. Because our customers rely on it too.β Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Print Email Related Posts Jillianβs #MyTrustStory for Kent Feeds Read how Rooster and Forrest β Jillianβs rehabilitated standardbreds β inspired the recent opening of Peaceful Haven Farm, where horses can regain a healthy mind, body and soul, thanks in… Read More Charlyβs #MyTrustStory for Kent Feeds Barrel-racing quarter horses, frisbee-obsessed aussie/collies and an O.G. lady (a.k.a. an elderly layer hen) named Gwenny β they mean everything to Charly, the teacher turned stay-at-home mom who runs Forever… Read More Meet Mary Schroeder β Senior Formulations Manager Mary Schroeder oversees a formulation team that works with Kentβs nutritionists to develop new products, deliver new formulas to manufacturing facilities and evaluate costs for each ingredient. Read More