{"id":95195,"date":"2019-03-01T20:38:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-02T03:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/farmers-supply-mill-a-mainstay-for-local-ag-set-to-close-in-march\/"},"modified":"2019-03-01T20:38:42","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T03:38:42","slug":"farmers-supply-mill-a-mainstay-for-local-ag-set-to-close-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/farmers-supply-mill-a-mainstay-for-local-ag-set-to-close-in-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmers Supply Mill, a mainstay for local ag, set to close in March"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n

If you wanted a historian on how the ever-changing economy has altered lifestyles in Southwest Colorado, you probably couldn\u2019t find anyone better than Con Kemple.<\/p>\n

Kemple is closing Farmers Supply Mill<\/a> this month after operating the business since 1971. He took over the mill and animal supply store from the Kroeger family. The mill was originally started by F.W. Kroeger in 1926 as part of Kroegers Hardware, which began serving Durango and the Four Corners in 1921.<\/p>\n

Farmers Supply Mill will hold an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday. And the next week, Kemple and his wife and business partner, Jacque, will begin a 50 percent off sale until Farmers Supply\u2019s stock of farm and ranch goods is gone. He plans to sell all the feed on hand and not restock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1972, there were 13 dairies in the area,\u201d he said. \u201cI made feed for all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dairies gradually were bought and moved south to Farmington. Eventually, they moved to Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, they\u2019re all gone from Albuquerque,\u201d Kemple said.<\/p>\n

\"Con
Con Kemple, owner of Farmers Supply Mill, talks with customer Meredith Wheelock, as her daughter, Cambria, 5, rides a toy pony. Wheelock says she probably rode the same horse when she was a child. Kemple, who has been in the animal feed and supply business since 1971, will retire and close the store on Sawmill Road in March. Cambria is also the daughter of Tyler Wheelock.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Many of Kemple\u2019s clients now are smaller-scale ranchers, many of whom are raising livestock naturally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first came here, everyone I dealt with was a farmer or rancher running big operations. Over the years, they\u2019ve all been cut up. They\u2019re 20 or 40 acres, and now, I deal with the little guys. They have maybe two cows, six or eight sheep or 30 chickens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s agricultural economy, Kemple said, everyone has to have a second job to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t live in the country without another job. All you have to do is look out your window in the morning and see all the people coming in from Bayfield, Ignacio and Red Mesa. They\u2019re all coming in for work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meredith Wheelock of Durango has been a regular customer \u201csince she was about 4.\u201d She was planning to stock up on several specialty products Kemple mixes on his own to help livestock thrive.<\/p>\n

She was especially eager to stock up on \u201cWinner\u2019s Choice,\u201d a multivitamin and mineral supplement for horses that Kemple mixes up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s literally the first call I make when anything happens with our horses. I call Con, and he gives me a nutritional plan for what we should do. Our vet asks: \u2018Have you talked to Con.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When Farmers Supply was still part of Kroegers Hardware in the 1920s, it originally operated out of the location now occupied by Toh-Atin<\/a> Gallery, 145 W. Ninth St.<\/p>\n

\"Farmers
Farmers Supply Mill used to be located where the DoubleTree Hotel currently stands. Kemple, who has been in the animal feed and supply business since 1971, will retire and close the store in March.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Gradually, the mill has migrated all over town. From west Ninth Street, the mill moved to the Town Plaza area, where Kroegers Ace Hardware<\/a> remains. The mill and farm and ranch supply kept traveling \u2013 to the plot now occupied by the DoubleTree Hotel and finally to its current location at 646 Sawmill Road.<\/p>\n

Kemple credits three Durango families for the success Farmers Supply enjoyed since he took it on in 1971:<\/p>\n

Fred and Jack Kroeger, sons of F.W., gave him equipment and building materials when the mill was relocated to its current location.<\/p>\n

Paul and Steve Simon, who ran a packing house that existed next to the current location for Farmers Supply on Sawmill, traded 1\u00bd acres to relocate the business for stock in the feed store.<\/p>\n

Dick Turner and his son, Nick, at what was then the Bank of Durango, provided Farmers Supply a loan in the early 1970s when no other bank, not even the U.S. Small Business Administration, would offer credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all went out of their way to help me start and stay in business. I owe a lot to those people,\u201d Kemple said.<\/p>\n

Despite health issues \u2013 a detached retina has claimed the sight in Kemple\u2019s right eye \u2013 the old hand isn\u2019t completely ready for retirement.<\/p>\n

Kemple still plans to make three specialty products he has developed over the years to help livestock owners \u2013 Bone Mender, Hoof Bio-Life and Hoof Soak.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll probably make the mixes out of his garage.<\/p>\n

\"Con
Con Kemple, principal owner of Farmers Supply Mill, says some equipment in the mill is almost 100 years old.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Two of the three specialty products were developed by trial and error to help ranchers in the area, and Bone Mender was created to help a woman heal her foot in time to participate in a barrel race.<\/p>\n

\u201cBone Mender will work with anything, horses, cattle, pigs, sheep and humans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kathy Jahnke, 74, of Durango swears by Bone Mender. She had hip-replacement surgery 16 years ago on her right hip and 15 years ago on her left hip. She said the concoction, which she took in capsules, greatly sped recovery and minimized post-operative pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the surgery, we pulled in here and got it (Bone Mender), and I\u2019ll tell you what, it works,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kemple, to stay clear of Food and Drug Administration regulations, said he always gives away Bone Mender when someone plans to take it for herself or himself.<\/p>\n

But even with all Kemple\u2019s wonder supplements, he said his 82-year-old body has worn thin. It\u2019s time for retirement.<\/p>\n

He would like to sell the business, but he\u2019s been searching unsuccessfully for a buyer since July 2018.<\/p>\n

The hardest part of closing, he said, is losing daily contact with the area\u2019s farmers and ranchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my customers are not my customers; they\u2019re my friends. I see grandsons and sons of the grandfather I first worked with,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be the hardest part.\u201d<\/p>\n

parmijo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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