Calf milk replacer and pickled onions – the year that was for our Farm Source stores
Every year, our 68 Farm Source stores deliver everyday farming supplies, important services and advice, and a return to the Co-op’s bottom line.
But in 2019, our Farm Source stores also had some big, small and let’s just say…unique…purchases.
Feeding calves is a really important job if we’re going to have a strong, healthy herd that can produce high-quality milk for consumers around the world.
So much so, the biggest single sale was for the littlest cows on farm. 3,200 bags, or 50 pallets, of Ancalf calf milk replacer were sold to one farmer!
The smallest and least expensive single item purchased was one DTS Seal for a milk vat.
Don’t know what a DTS seal is? The 65mm item with a total cost of 44 cents is small but plays a mighty important role in keeping milk cool and safe.
Not a wet foot out there with these Redband Gumboots
We all know Redbands are popular with Kiwis but did you know they were this popular with our farmers?
This year, Farm Source sold 9,933 pairs of men’s Redband Gumboots. There won’t be a wet foot out there this season!
Farm Source just sells “everyday farming supplies”, right? We thought so too until we took a closer look at last year’s sales. Two items in particular stood out.
One customer – yes, just one - bought a pair of Swanndri sleep pants. Really makes you wonder what everyone else is wearing, aye?
Our staff are passionate, local people who help make farming easier by lowering on-farm costs, providing support and advice, giving back to our communities, and as it turns out, by keeping pickle-loving customers happy.
A single store stocks a specific type of pickled onion and last year, 731 jars flew off the store shelf.
Farm Source stores are named “Our Place” and they are a really important part of the community – providing a place for our farmers, customers and local organisations to meet, have a cuppa, and connect. This year, however, one customer thought their local store also doubled as a hospital.
After the customers’ child wrapped a cable tie around their thumb, they by-passed the hospital and raced into their local Farm Source store instead. Of course, one of our speedy sales representatives was able to cut the tie off, saving a cute little thumb and helping one very worried parent. It’s all in a days work at Farm Source.
And our customers are sure to keep cool this summer with the help of the ice blocks and ice creams we sell.
Last year, we sold about 17,000. That’s equal to one ice block for every person in either Levin or Rangiora.
In the last financial year, Farm Source returned over $40 million in Reward Dollars, discounts and deals to our farmers.
It’s at this time of year when our farmers often take advantage of their Farm Source Reward Dollars for a little holiday shopping. And what are they buying with them?
Since October, 185 Christmas Ham and Turkey hampers have been purchased.
Christmas dinner will go down nicely with the redemption of rewards for 180 Cool Crafties beer packs.
And after all the festivities are over, 108 Dyson Cyclone vacuum cleaners will be on hand to tidy up.
Farm Source customers will be spending the rest of their holidays with their feet up, thanks to their 1,555 travel-related redemptions.
With a year of interesting purchases like this at Farm Source, one has to wonder, will these jerseys for jerseys make the list next year?