Since 1911, the Colborn family has been hard at work running Colborn Farms, located near Delisle, Sask. Today, as a fifth-generation family farm, Colborn Farms manages over 8,000 acres of grain land and maintains a red angus Charolais cross cow-calf operation of 450 head, as well as a 45,000 layer poultry operation.
With four out of seven family members retired from the business, Jeff Colborn, Shawn Colborn and Darren Colborn share the duty of managing the family operation.
“It’s been nice to see our family continue to build our operation,” said their father, Cliff Colborn. “The boys have recently expanded our land base, and cattle, and poultry.” And that expansion means all hands on deck.
Since the Co-op Feed Plant was established in Saskatoon in 1967, Colborn Farms has been a friend of Co-op and the Co-op Feeds Team. Having historically only purchased poultry feed by the bag at their local Co-op, the introduction of the feed plant provided the Colborn family with a more efficient and economical way of purchasing feed for their operation.
“Once the feed mill opened in Saskatoon, we began buying bulk feed,” said Cliff. “Some of the older guys were even down at the mill for the opening – we’ve been doing business with them ever since.”
The relationship between Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) and Colborn Farms is one that has not been short-lived. For the last 60 years, Co-op Feeds has been a trusted advisor to Colborn Farms and the Colborn Family.
“Having a customer for almost 60 years speaks to the relationship the feed plant team has built with the Colborns,” said Shawn McGuire, FCL’s Feed Sales and Marketing Manager. “In that time they have had different sales reps and different personnel in the plant, however the level of service and the relationship they have with Co-op Feeds has been the glue which has kept them as a customer.”
Through their weekly visits to Colborn Farms, the Co-op Feeds Team helps Darren, Shawn and Jeff with the day-to-day management of the barns by helping maintain feed records, taking and monitoring feed samples and doing weekly measurement of body weights. Not only that, the team also provides the Colborns with insights and ideas into current trends and technologies in the industry.
“They give us good ideas and changes we can make,” said Darren. “Everything’s always changing and they’re always up-to-snuff on the changes nutritionally.”
For the Colborn family, the success and longevity of this relationship really comes down to the quality of the sales team, the nutritionists and the feed.
And for McGuire, to be able to look at long-term customers such as the Colborns gives him a sense of pride, letting him know that Co-op is doing things right, things that have been right for the last 60 years and the next 60 to come.