Purple Pursuit

Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed Story

A great business relationship, now a partnership, started many years ago between Spencer Ag Center and Stampede Feed Mill & Ag Supply. Friends Tim Christensen, Dennis Harman, Greg Lear and Tom Lusty all worked for the same South Dakota animal nutrition company. Their jobs consisted of providing animal health and nutrition consulting to farmers and ranchers across Iowa and South Dakota.

Coincidentally, in 2005, Tim, Dennis and Greg bought Spencer Ag Center from the previous owner and Tom moved back to Texas and started his own feed mill. Since then they have continually collaborated and shared ideas.

Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed started out as a special project between Zack Lear (a young 4-h member), Tim Christensen (Spencer Ag Center) and Dr. Fischer a PHD nutritionist. The goal was to develop a feed that had everything necessary to keep a show pig growing: strong bones, keeping great gut health, excellent body condition and bloom. Dr. Fischer has formulated diets for hundreds of thousands of commercial pigs, including sow gestation, lactation, nursery diets and finishers.

Sound nutrition was the fundamental goal of Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed. It is offered in meal form at a better value than the pelleted, non-fixed formula feeds being sold by competitive companies.

In 2008 we discussed Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed with our long-time friend Tom Lusty @ Stampede Feed Mill & Ag Supply in Tyler, Texas. Tom immediately recognized that the idea and the results with Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed were astounding. Tom agreed to market Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed and to consult, for free, with show pig people in his region. With Tom’s promotion, ideas and hard work Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed has been producing more winners and higher class placing than many of these youngsters have ever seen before in Texas.

In its first years on the market Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed was an instant success in Northwest Iowa and East Texas. All the research and feed trials paid off, resulting in awesome gains, wonderful gut health, bloom and pop on pigs of all breeds as well as crosses. Above all many class winners and champions at the county and state level shows. Zack showed this first year the Reserve champion duroc market hog at the Iowa State Fair. The Clay County show produced the Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed champion Derby pig with a 12.8 loin eye, .79 back fat at 325 pounds. The pig gained 2.69 per day, with pounds of lean gain per day on test at 1.159.

Our Vision:

We believe that the success of Purple Pursuit^TM Premium Show Pig Feed has come from many blessings coupled with our uniform vision: “To provide the youth in our communities an opportunity to experience agriculture, to work hard and have a valid chance to win.”

We all share the idea that most feed stores that offer “show feeds” don’t go the extra mile to assist our young people with their projects. We have spent countless hours working hand in hand with our youth to be successful, which is what drives us!

If the young people we are working with are learning, working, and winning then we consider ourselves successful.