LOOSE CREEK — SFG Backes Feed Inc. officially changed hands on Friday, Dec. 30. The long-running Loose Creek company goes into 2023 with a new name — Osage Feed and Supply — and new owners, the Dave and Ellen Lottmann family. 

SFG Backes Feed sent out a letter to existing customers in early November announcing the sale of the business with the original transaction date set to occur on Nov. 28, but that timeframe was delayed. SFG Backes Feed has been in business for over 25 years and was owned and operated by brothers Sylvester, Francis, and Gerald Backes. While Sylvester is officially retiring with the sale of the company, Francis and Gerald will stay on to help with the transition and possibly longer. 

Sylvester and his wife Evelyn cited the advancing age of the brothers as the main reason for the sale of the business. 

“Well, I’m 83, Francis is 68, and Gerald is 66,” Sylvester explained. “The next thing was trying to find a buyer for our type of business, which is just an old feed mill. It’s a lot of hands-on work.”

 Evelyn Backes also explained that it was getting harder to find employees. “That’s not an easy thing anymore,” she said. “People don’t want to get dusty and dirty anymore.”

Sylvester explained that he and his two brothers had always been the core of the business but relied on a group of good employees. At the time of the sale, SFG Backes Feed had two full-time and two part-time employees. 

“We’ve been fortunate to have all our employees,” Sylvester explained. “They are really good people.”

Employees will continue working for Osage Feed and Supply. Sylvester noted that they wouldn’t have sold the business if the new owners hadn’t retained employees.

The last day of business for SFG Backes Feed was a busy one. Sylvester noted that many people were in and out of the store that day.

“It has been a really good business,” Evelyn said. 

“And we had the best of customers,” Sylvester added. “The customers, that’s what is hard to let go of. Some people have been doing business with us since we were in Bonnots Mill. But it’s just time to let go.”

Sylvester and Evelyn purchased the Meyer-Masfeld Mill in Bonnots Mill in January 1976 when they first started in the feed business. At that time, feed was hauled in by railroad, so the Bonnots Mill location made a lot of sense. The Muenks Feed Mill in Loose Creek came up for sale in 1997, and Sylvester, Francis, and Gerald bought the business together and came up with the name that combined the first initial of each of their first names. SFG Backes Feed has been serving local farmers with custom poultry, hog, and cattle feed, as well as being dealers for both Kent and Purina feeds.

The Backes brothers think highly of the new owners. The Lottmans will continue with the tradition of serving the community as a family-owned business. Dave and Ellen Lottman will be running the new business with the help of their son, Colten, and his wife, Emily. 

“They are younger, and we are at the age where there is a lot of stuff that could be done to go out into the country and try to sell like we should, but we just don’t have the resources,” Sylvester said. “We do good to get all the work done for the customers that we have. We have a good customer base, but there are more customers out there to go get.”

Dave Lottman brings over 30 years of experience in the animal health and nutrition industry into the business. He has been selling premixes and livestock medications in the area.

“He knows this area like the back of his hand, and he knows the business,” Sylvester said. 

Sylvester and Evelyn have been so busy finalizing the sale of the business that they haven’t had much time to think about what they will do in retirement. 

Sylvester plans on doing a lot of fishing, and they may plan a trip together. 

But, for the most part, they hope to see the new owners and the new business continue to grow and expand. 

“I think the new people coming in will do a really good job of it,” Sylvester said. “We really want to see their business grow. We wish the best of luck to Dave and his family.”

The hardest part of retiring and selling the business is not seeing their customers every day.

“We really hate to leave our customers behind,” Sylvester said. “We really had the very best customers, and they stayed with us for a long time.”

Sylvester and Evelyn feel lucky that they had a family-owned business all these years and could lean on each other through good and bad times.

“Above everything else, we want to thank our customers because they were what made our business,” Sylvester said. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most.”