Written by: Lacie Dotterweich | September 9, 2019
What makes a feed facility “the best?” Modern equipment, efficient operations and high-quality ingredients are all very important aspects, but it goes beyond that.
Nestled in between fields and Interstate 94 in Freeport, Minn., is where you will find AFIA’s 2018 Feed Facility of the Year (FFY) winner, Famo Feeds. Famo Feeds is a family-owned animal nutrition business that manufactures and markets a full line of livestock and poultry feeds.
The FFY program is a tool our industry uses to benchmark facilities to help them improve their operations and honor the ones that go above and beyond to rise to the top each year. Last year, Famo Feeds climbed the ranks to become one of many excellent examples of how our industry is dedicated to producing safe and nutritious feed.
I had the pleasure of visiting Famo Feeds last spring to record a video about the culture at this facility. If I could describe my visit in one word, it would be “humbled.”
It was obvious that every employee there loved what they did and who they worked with and cared very much about producing feed that is safe and nutritious. They were honored for being recognized for their work and I was humbled by their dedication and commitment to creating a quality product.
“Famo Feeds does what we do, the way we do it, because it’s the way it should be done,” said Rosie Cabral, Famo Feeds’ ruminant nutritionist.
Famo Feeds has been a family-owned business for over 100 years and it’s no wonder why they have been around for so long. Every employee I spoke to described the culture of the company as “family-like.” Being a small company, everyone has to work together and wears many hats to get the job done, which has made them all the more closer.
“It’s a family run thing, everybody is a family here to me, we all work together and it seems to work out real good,” said Marvin Schneider, Famo Feeds’ plant manager.
A big part of why Famo Feeds won the FFY award is because of their strong dedication to serving their customers and treating them like family. Al Beste, father and former owner of Famo Feeds, told a story of how he and his wife would serve their customers hot beef sandwiches in the summer, because “that’s how you treat a family.”
When you consider your employees and customers to be family, you want to do right by them and do your best to make sure they are taken care of.
Famo Feeds is just one example of how our industry is committed to producing safe and nutritious feed. The industry works hard day in and day out to provide for our nation’s livestock, poultry and pets. This dedication is what sets Famo Feeds, and the entire industry, apart and is what truly makes them special.
Watch Famo Feeds’ staff discuss its company culture, what they got out of the FFY program and what sets them apart from other facilities in the video below.
Comments See our policy on comments