Total Feeds: The Best in Animal Nutrition

Total Feeds The Best in Animal Feed Products

BY DAN GUTTENPLAN

Total Feeds is dedicated to providing the highest quality animal feed products for a wide range of animal species. Dr. R. Harry Anderson’s 50 years of experience formulating animal rations and his endless search for the best ingredients come together in every Total Feeds formula. From the first product, Total Equine®, produced in 2000, to more recent specialty formulas and supplements, the focus has always been on optimum health and performance through excellent nutrition.

Dr. R. Harry Anderson recently joined Cowboy Lifestyle Magazine for a Q&A.

WHAT SEPARATES THE TOTAL FEEDS PROGRAM FROM OTHER ANIMAL FEED PRODUCTS?

• “Three things. No. 1 -- Everything we make is extruded. In the manufacturing of the feed, it’s the ultimate processing. It’s far more digestible than pellets or whole grains. No. 2 -- We use nothing but chelated trace elements. They are the most biologically available form of minerals. Very few companies use them. It’s so efficiently absorbed and used by the animals. No. 3 -- We use Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed from the North Atlantic.

It’s a cold-water species. It has a profound effect on the immune system and improves the digestibility of fiber in animals. It saves anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of the hay that an animal eats. Those are the critical points of why it works so well.”

HOW DID YOU GET IN THE BUSINESS OF PRODUCING ANIMAL FEED PRODUCTS?

• “I’ve been in the teaching, manufacturing nutrition and consulting business for 50 years.

Twenty years ago, somebody asked if I could make a formula. I was a beef cattle consultant at the time. I felt I could do something that hadn’t been done before. It worked. I started selling Total Equine myself, then expanded into a small family business with my wife and two sons -- owned and operated. It’s grown to something more than a small business. We’re in 50 states; we have 1,300 dealers nationwide.”

• Total Feeds Founder Dr. R. Harry Anderson

HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO ENSURE THE SAME QUALITY AS THE BUSINESS HAS GROWN?

• “We created a unique business model -- something the feed industry hasn’t seen before. We do everything through independent distributors. We don’t have one field employee calling people. We also believe the people selling for us should make as much money as they want.

There’s no cap and no reduction to their geographic barriers. If they make too much, I couldn’t care less. The more they make, the happier they are, and the company does well. I don’t have to motivate field salesmen. If they don’t sell, they don’t make money. There are no contracts.

It’s a personal agreement.”

HOW HAS YOUR BUSINESS BEEN AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC?

• “We haven’t noticed any major blips in the marketplace. It did not falter one bit. We’ve seen a little increase from last year. People stayed home with their horses, looked at them, and maybe fed them a little more or a little better. Something has motivated horse owners to spend more money on feed.” The YouTube Campaign

THE ANDERSON family has created a Total Feeds YouTube channel with more than 450 video testimonials from satisfied customers.

Visit the YouTube channel at www. youtube.com/user/ TotalFeeds

“We have personal interviews with customers who have great stories to tell,” Anderson said. “It’s quite a marketing program. It takes a little time and effort, but that’s how it’s worked for all these years. The personal contact and personal attachment people feel watching these videos helps us reach the public.”

Total Feeds is also a sponsor of the National Finals Rodeo live broadcast on the Cowboy Channel.