30/ MAY 2018 THE RIDER
GrandErie Celebrates 25 Years with Garden Center Grand Opening
As GrandErie Ltd. celebrates their 25th
Anniversary this year, they look back on the past, noting that farm & country home owner expectations have evolved over time, and how Dunnville’s GrandErie Ltd. – now known as GrandErie Home Hardware & Building & Garden Centre – has changed to meet those expectations. When Ken Zantingh began in 1984, work- ing solo, over the counter selling equine feed for a local Purina Dealer, he never imagined his future self as one of a group of owners of a 10 acre mega-retail location in Dunnville. A few decades ago most customers
mentally mapped their errand route, allocat- ing the time it would take to drive, park and shop in various specialized businesses, checking off their shopping list for home, farm, feed and stable supplies. “Nowadays, with more to do and less time to do it in, people are always looking for ways to com- bine those trips.” said Zantingh. By 1997, three partners owned Dun-
nville’s Farm & Country seed, a feed & gar- dening store on South Cayuga Street, and the Home Hardware on Main Street. One partner, Henry DeKlerk, explains. “We no- ticed a changing trend of our rural shoppers’ habits - more and more were asking us for items we didn’t ordinarily have on the shelf. Since our business’ main purpose is cus- tomer service, we began seeking out ways to expand or enhance what we offered.” It was then a long term goal was born,
says Zantingh. “Our two businesses comple- mented each other, and we wanted to make it easier for our customers. We wanted to give them a one stop shopping experience, providing most everything a farm or rural home owner would need. We wanted all our businesses under one roof.” In 2008 GrandErie Ltd. built a brand
adding in a lumber & building centre in ad- dition to a new department for their horse feed customers. “Many horse owners are riders, and
they were asking for apparel, tack and ac- cessories. We researched for a passionate brand our equine owners recognized.” said DeKlerk. “Adding a Greenhawk department was a good match for our customers.” GrandErie Ltd. was -and still is- the
first location to have a Greenhawk franchise to be merged INSIDE an existing independ- ent business. In addition, GrandErie hired the new dept.’s manager, Deb Sutor, a lo- cally well-known equine consultant and ex- perienced equestrian show competitor. While Greenhawk supplies their Farm
& Country department with products at prices that make equine sport more afford- able and enjoyable, GrandErie staff services the equine customers with what some may consider old fashioned; feed consultation house calls, weekly farm deliveries, and hosting in-store seminars with Feed experts and local Veterinarians. “I am usually out every couple weeks
for visits by appointment to do annual hay testing, review horse feeding and health de- tails and make sure all our customers equine needs are being met offer suggestions and feed ratio changes (if needed) to help bal- ance the needs of horse and owners wallet.” says Sutor, reiterating again “It’s a free serv- ice offered to existing customers, as are our Wednesday farm deliveries for orders over $100. “ It’s a pretty popular service says Sutor.
“We deliver from Wilsonville & Oshweken to Fort Erie, Lake Erie to Lake Ontario... and all the farms in between those points.” she adds. “For some folks it’s once a month, for others it’s every week.” The free seminars have covered show-
new Home Hardware store on Broad Street, manship, decoding horse habits, feeding
regimes, assessing emergency health situa- tions and other topics. The next free semi- nar is Wednesday May 16th, 6pm to 9pm, when guest speaker, Dr. Stephanie Camp- bell-Heron, Veterinarian, PhD, and owner of Green Heron Veterinary Services, whose topic will cover “Equine Conformation and Lameness” and how to strive for a square appearance. “I haven’t missed a single one of these
equine seminar events.” says Dunnville res- ident Wendy Strong, and owner of Strong Fallabella Miniature Horses. The guest speakers always have new information I can take home and put in action straight away. I especially love the personalized Q&A’s that address my individual concerns.” 2018 is a big year for GrandErie Ltd.
It marks 10 years for Dunnville’s Green- hawk and GrandErie Home Hardware al- liance, a 25th anniversary for GrandErie Ltd., and – with the recent Garden Centre Grand Opening – a celebration of a 20 year goal achieved. “All of GrandErie Ltd. businesses are
finally together at one location. We are the one stop shop we envisioned so long ago. ” says Zantingh. Local horse owners can now pop into
GrandErie and make a “house-call” appoint- ment with Sutor, pick up bulk chlorine, feed, shavings & pellets, stall mats, tack, fencing, in addition to their fill up their drinking water jugs, and buying garden, yard, house maintenance and décor needs. And more. “Or order everything over the phone
and have us deliver it all.” reminds Sutor, who winks. “For those who might like free up some time to fit in an extra weekly trail ride or two.” Dunnville Greenhawk Manager, Deb Sutor (905)774-6115
www.granderiehomehardware.ca/farm_and _country/greenhawk/
Succession planning services for
sustainable farms
By Jackie Kelly-Pemberton, Director, Ontario Federation of Agricul- ture
It can be tough for any farm family to sit down and start a dis-
cussion about succession planning. This is something I’ve had first- hand experience with, and it is not without its challenges, but planning for a secure future is a reality of running a family business. Having access to tools and resources for succession planning is one of the growing number of additional services the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) now offers to our members. As a grassroots organization, OFA has listened to what’s on the
minds of our members, and we understand the tools needed to con- tinue to support their farm businesses. We’ve heard from members who are worried about the complexities of passing their farm busi- nesses to the next generation, and it was clear to us that there was a need for programs and promotions that can help navigate the com- plications of succession planning. Because of this the OFA has recently partnered with Farm Life
– a succession planning group that only works with farm families – to help get conversations started and succession plans developed on how to pass your farm harmoniously through the generations. Farm Life was founded when the owner and his family tragically lost their father, and their family faced the consequences of not having the right plan in place and the family farm was lost. OFA wants to help members start the “what if” conversations
about succession planning, and the new partnership with Farm Life offers some incentives to help make that happen starting with a com- plimentary consultation. Farm Life brings farm families together to have courageous conversations about the future of their farm and completes a tax efficient succession plan. OFA is helping by offering preferred rates on succession planning to assist farmers to build a plan that protects both the family harmony and the legacy of the farm. OFA’s Benefit Program brings together exclusive services and
programs to complement farm businesses to offer additional value to OFA members. With more than a dozen partners, OFA members can access a wide range of special services and programs from farm vehicles to insurance, farm supply, communications and banking. Full details of all OFA’s benefit partners are available at
ofa.on.ca
Visit Our New Website
www.therider.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70
