Seed First, LLC is a welcome sight to many local residents not only in Fountain, Minn., where the business is located, but to many people in the surrounding area as well.
Father and son team Paul and Corey Hamann have constructed a new building on Fountain’s Main Street after demolishing the buildings on the lot that used to hold Fountain Feed & Grain and more recently, Chuck’s Feed & Grain.
The Hamanns purchased the property with plans to build a new building to house their business, Seed First, and to rent space in the new building to Chuck’s Feed & Grain, meaning customers are offered more services in one central location.
After purchasing the property in December of 2017 there was a lot of work to be done before the business and warehouse space would be completed.
The Grand Opening was held on December 5, 2018, to the relief of Paul and Corey who were anxious to get their new business underway.
“The idea was to get back in here much quicker than that,” stated Corey, but with weather not cooperating, the foundation was not able to be poured until July, setting the project back a bit.
What the Hamanns have built was certainly worth the wait, as the building is similar to the business, which is a combination of the past and the present, while also looking to the future.
The majority of the wood inside the new building was salvaged from the old warehouse on the property. Much of the wood was under layers of tin. If you look at the wood closely enough you will surely find old scribbling on the walls, math equations and more bringing a sense of the bygone days to those who take time to appreciate them.
The old scale that was used for decades in the previous businesses sits proudly on display in the new office space. On the wall behind that scale are signs which were also found well-preserved under layers of tin in the old buildings before demolition took place.
The vintage sales counter was re-surfaced for use in the new business and the top of the sales counter is a re-purposed door which was found between two pieces of plywood in the old building.
Recently the Hamann’s purchased the lean-to building that was part of the former Fountain Building Center, which will be moved so that it is facing north instead of south and will be used for extra storage for Seed First.
When asked why a seed business, Corey replied, “My dad started Hamann Seeds in 1997, so he’s been in the business for over 20 years — and I got a job right out of college with Monsanto and was instantly in the seed business,” he explained.
After growing up on the family farm near Fountain where Paul plants crops and raises cattle, and graduating from Lanesboro High School in 2007, Corey attended the University of Minnesota where he earned a degree in Agricultural Industries and Marketing.
He started out in Nebraska as a district sales manager and then moved to Illinois and was employed as a district sales manager in that location as well.
“But I wanted to get back home,” states Corey, saying, “it was a long term goal to get back home” after attending college and getting some work experience in his chosen field.
“I still had strong ties to the farm,” Corey says, and “it seemed like the timing was right” to move the business from the family farm into town, and construct a building with the future of the business in mind.
They talked with local representatives of the Dekalb/Asgrow team and there was an opportunity to consolidate some business and centralize out of a new warehouse in the Fountain location, according to Corey, which is a great opportunity for both parties.
Chuck’s Feed & Grain, which can assist with your livestock and domestic feed needs, leases space in the building, with Jerry Arnold on hand to offer his feed expertise on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. The business hours will be expanded as spring approaches. The phone number for Chuck’s Feed & Grain at the Fountain location is (507) 268-3333 (507-268-FEED), and you can reach their 427 Mill St., Peterson office at (507) 875-2247.
Seed First and Chuck’s Feed & Grain work together to give customers the best possible service. “Jerry is the expert on the feed side and my dad and I are the experts on the seed side,” states Corey.
“It’s worked pretty well so far and I think that it’s a good business strategy — we have our customer list and they have their customer list and if we just share a little information back and forth we help each other,” Corey explains. They are also proud to be able to keep these services offered locally, which helps the economy in the area, therefore benefiting all residents.
On the seed side of the business Seed First offers commercial agricultural seed including corn, soybeans, sweet corn, alfalfa, grass seeds, cover crops, small grains and native seeds such as native flowers which can be used for CRPs.
“Any seed application you can think of,” says Corey. He states they would like to get some vegetable seed packets in stock soon also.
Another exciting service offered by Seed First is Data and Technology Services. These services are offered through Climate FieldView which “collects data from all aspects of daily farming activities, allowing growers to evaluate inputs and determine what hybrids, products, and practices are most efficient and profitable,” according to the company’s facebook page at facebook.com/SeedFirst.
“Anytime a farmer goes across the field they can create a data layer,” explains Corey. “Farming is still catching up with the technology side,” says Corey, explaining further, “most of the farmers actually do have the capability with the tractors — it’s just the matter of getting it used or utilized.” That is where his knowledge can be a great asset to his customers.
What Corey would like to see is getting them to fully embrace the technology side. Once they actually do and see how well it works, they are impressed, according to Corey.
Seed First also offers field scouting using drone technology which can be vital in evaluating crops and plant health. Aerial farm photos are available as well. Another new technology offered is plant tissue sampling, which determines plant health.
As his dad is pretty well-known and has many loyal customers, Corey knows it will take some time to build relationships with those customers, as well as new customers. Since he has been living out of the area for quite a few years he needs to get to know people again and build their trust in him.
Proving that he has that same knowledge and can bring some valuable information to the table is his goal, according to Corey.
Paul and Corey are very hopeful for the future of Seed First and enjoy serving their customers.
Some very exciting news for local residents will be the addition of several basic grocery items available at Seed First in the near future, once their license has been approved. “We will offer milk, cheese, eggs, bread and butter,” states Paul, and other items will be added after hearing suggestions from residents.
After several years without a grocery store in town they feel that having some basic grocery items on the shelves will be convenient for residents and also for tourists, such as campers.
Seed First, in its early stages of incorporation, is already giving back to the community as they have offered their warehouse space for the band The Fabulous Armadillos to play during Fountain’s 150th anniversary celebration on Saturday, July 27, 2019. “We are excited for that,” says Corey.
Seed First and Chuck’s Feed & Grain is located at 109 Main Street in Fountain. To contact Seed First, phone the office at (507) 268-4344 or Corey’s cell at or (507) 273-9215.
Anonymous says
It’s worth noting that Chuck has sold his store and it’s now Sneed’s.