Come late summer, downtown Fountain will have a new store adorning it’s Main Street. Father and son, Paul and Corey Hamann have plans for a new home for their agricultural business, formerly Hamann Seed, and the two are thinking outside the box on how it’s going to happen.
After looking at a number of available locations, the two purchased the site January 15. It was originally home to Fountain Feed & Grain Services and most recently Chuck’s Feed & Grain. Previously owned by Mike Eidenshenk, proprietor of Chuck’s Feed & Grain, of Peterson, Hamanns have plans to construct a new a 144×80-foot warehouse with two 40×40-foot offices facing Main Street.
Eidenschenk operated the feed business out of the building until mid 2017, at which time customers were notified the site would be undergoing an overhaul and business would be conducted out of the Peterson site until further notice.
Paul Hamann is a lifelong resident of the Fountain area, farming just off County 8, where he raises crops and both Red Angus and Limousin cattle. In 1999, he added his Dekalb Seed dealership as an alternative revenue stream for his farm. Corey is a University of Minnesota graduate, with a degree focused on ag industries and marketing. He spent the last five years working as a district sales manager for Monsanto, before moving back to the area eight months ago.
The two have discussed modifying the business into a locally licensed agriculture company for sometime, but recent industry changes served as the major catalyst for the change. “There are technology changes that are coming that need to evolve in a bigger location; a more commercial location,” says Paul. “It’s time for that transition.”
“Financially, it makes more sense to expand to a commercial operation, rather than on the farm,” says Corey. “To start over rather than retrofit.”
“With that type of infrastructure, there’s more value having it in town,” adds Paul. “We knew it was the right time.”
The idea for the site is to reclaim a sort of frontage appeal, butting the building site up to the sidewalk area, with a landscaped front, as opposed to how it formerly sat with a large gravel lot along the prime downtown area. “We want it to be storefront, like it fits here. We hope to create flow,” says Paul. “We spent many, many hours reclaiming lumber that we intend to use inside of the offices, piecing back some of the old.” The two also hope to give the offices a somewhat rustic industrial look, doing some of the metalwork themselves.
The office spaces will be divided with Seed First, LLC, a seed dealership and consultancy operation, on one side and Chuck’s Feed & Grain leasing the other side, resuming their animal feed business in the city. Additionally, the two hope to be able to explore and later add availability of other farm-related products. “We want to serve farmers individually,” adds Paul. “Using technology and resource allocation to put resources where they can best be utilized.”
Providing a wide array of agronomy services, encompassing all growing season, the two hope to increase availability of options to local farmers through the addition of grass seeds, small grains, and with an emphasis on expanding cover crops in farming operations. “It’s used lightly right now, but with some of the Department of Agriculture regulations, we can help farmers to increase efficiencies and their bottom line, while also increasing soil and water health to better steward the land,” says Corey.
With better practices, conservation, and results, the business will help farmers adjust their programs. “We want to be on the forefront of technology,” adds Corey. It’s difficult to say when the technological industry changes, some eventually mandatory, will be coming, but they estimate it may be in the next few years. One method for helping farmers collect that data may be through the use of drones. Corey recently purchased one and is intending to utilize mapping to help reduce fertilizer applications, conduct population counts, identify and plan for weed and disease problems, and even assist with insurance claim needs. “At the very least, it’ll help with crop evaluation.”
The former buildings at the site were demolished in early March. With all permitting in place, the next steps for the project will be to bring the lot to grade and address waterflow at the site. From there, they’ll be working with Stateline Insulated Concrete to pour footings and frost walls. Once materials and crew from Fountain Building Center are in place and available, it’s estimated it will only take a matter of weeks to construct the new building.
In the meantime, Corey is working hard on developing the company logo, Facebook page, and website. A grand opening and customer gathering will be held at the conclusion of the project, but no official date has been set.
“We’re a small, independent business,” adds Paul. “We want to serve our customers with personal, individual service.”