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Yantzi’s looks to the future Men’s Club hears storied past of 50-year-old plus Tavistock business
TAVISTOCK GAZETTE v WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011
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any members of the Tavistock Men’s Club have been dealing with Yantzi’s Feed & Seed Ltd. in their farm operations for many generations. Company President Steve Yantzi thanked them for their continued support and, along with his son and company vice-president Ryan Yantzi, gave an outline of their history and future goals at the club’s general meeting on Thursday night, January 20. The company was established in 1958 by Laverne Yantzi, who had one mobile feed mill truck, and operated as the first ShurGain outlet in the area. From 1960 to 1964, they ran a grist mill at 53 Woodstock Street South, which had been purchased from Harry Nuttall. A second mobile unit was added in 1960 with the ability to manufacture cattle concentrates. Due to increased volume and sales, Laverne purchased a parcel of land that was formerly the burned-out Zimmerman’s box factory at 65 Woodstock Street North, and built a grain and fertilizer handling facility. With rapid growth in grain corn acerage in the area, Yantzi’s put up a corn dryer in 1965 which could handle 32,000 bushels (800 metric tons) along with space to store 30,000 bushels (765 metric tons). Since then, many additions have been made to the property and in 1981, a front office was built. Steve said his father spent only a short time working in the new office, as he died on August 4, 1982, at the age of 55. The company celebrated their 25th anniversary in 1983 and were pleased to mark 50 years in business in June of 2008. They have gone from five employees in 1960 to 32 employees today. There are 27 full-time staff and 5 part-time. In 2009, the company opened a new grain handling facility on 10 acres of land at Line 29, just east of Tavistock. It contains two 40x120 ft. and one 30x120 ft. silo, scale and elevator system. “There was a good yield this year,” Ryan said, perfect for the
new facility. The longest lineup was 45 minutes to unload corn. One day they took in 1,800 tons and shipped out 1,300 tons, the equivalent of one of their 3,100 ton silos. This is quite a contrast to the early days. Their Dorssers Millennium Dryer has a drying capacity for corn of 80 mt per hour on a 10 point moisture removal. It contains 3 burners and 4 fans that recycle head and drying air to create its efficiencies. “We can process 800 tons in a day,” Ryan said, the amount his grandpa originally did in an entire season. “Grandpa would not only be shocked with this number, but also proud of our growth,” he said. In 2010, Yantzi’s also received just short of 1,500 mt of soft and hard red wheat combined. Yantzi’s Feed & Seed Ltd. has three locations including Tavistock, Line 29 and Brunner, a retail store they bought among other acquisitions from Perth County Farm Supplies in 1990. They have one sub-dealer, Settlers Supplies in Sheffield, Ontario, and the company is a dealer for Shur-Gain, Pride Seeds, Speare Seeds and Agrico dry and liquid fertilizer. They have a large fleet of vehicles including 5 bulk feed, 1 bag, 4 fertilizer, 1 airflow fertlizer spreader and 1 grain trailer. A tanker trailer has increased their ability to deliver load sizes up to 42 metric tons in 10 compartments. The retail store in Tavistock sells pet and bird food, animal health, seed supplies, work wear, as well as cheese and meat from local suppliers. They manufacture feeds for dairy, swine, beef, poultry, equine, goats, sheep, etc. in pelleted, textured and mash form. In all, they have 15,000 metric tons of grain storage space. Ryan said the company takes great pride in supporting and sponsoring events and sports in the local community. Steve said everyone in the family has worked at the company over the years and if his dad wasn’t working each of them hard, they were either playing hockey or baseball.
CONTRBUTED PHOTO
Yantzi’s fleet now includes a tanker trailer that has a capacity of 42 metric tons in 10 compartments.
CONTRBUTED PHOTO
Laverne Yantzi (second from right) added a second mobile feed truck to his business in 1960 when the company was operating out of the former Nuttall grist mill at 53 Woodstock Street South, Tavistock. In the photo taken behind the building on Decew Street, left to right are, Menna Zehr, Don Currah, Raymond Ramseyer, Laverne, and Eldon Podann. “The feed industry is very competitive these days,” Ryan noted. “But, we feel we have a good staff in place, good relationships with our clients, and provide good service,” he added. Their partnership with Shur-Gain allows them to keep up-to-date on the most recent research with access to new technology and services, which are some of the best in the feed industry. Yantzi’s hopes to continue to grow their feed business by updating the mill, equipment and fleet. Their future plans include moving the entire crop business to the Line 29 site, adding more storage and offices. This would also enable them some day to separate the sites for harvest seasons by receiving cereal grains and commercial beans in town and receiving corn and grain at Line 29. Steve and Ryan are proud of being one of the few HACCP certified plants in the area. They also appreciate the work of their dedicated employees, and the awards they have received over the years. Doug Shirray introduced the Yantzi’s. Doug’s wife, Karen, worked in the office at the mill from 1988 to 2010. The Yantzi’s were thanked and presented with gift baskets by Keith Wiffen who recalls, as a young man, unloading bags of concentrate by hand into their barn every Wednesday. The ladies of Princess Elizabeth Women’s Institute and several young assistants prepared and served the meal to 32 members and three guests. The ladies were thanked by Jim McGregor. Duane Kropf won the 50/50 draw. Treasurer Al Calder presented the year end financial report and a budget for 2011. President Don MacDonald read thank you cards from the Cephas Roth family and from Sharon Walkom for the donation to T.A.P. at Christmas. A letter of
appreciation was also read from member Bob Elliott with a donatin to the club in honour of his late wife, Jean. Members voted to increase the number of guaranteed meals per
month for the caterers to 35. The club now boasts 43 members. Men in the community are welcome to join the club and attend the monthly meetings held the third Thursday of the month.
Yantzi’s mill on Woodstock Street North as it looked in 1965. CONTRBUTED PHOTO
www.tavistock.on.ca
TAVISTOCK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY Tuesday, Feb. 1
Tavistock Mennonite Church at 7:30 p.m. Gladioli
with Karin McDougall Black Creek Flowers, Stratford
BILL GLADDING / TAVISTOCK GAZETTE
Yantzi’s Line 29 receiving station has three 125 ft. high silos with a combined capacity of 15,000 metric tons of storage space.