Known by locals as the “cheese store,” Form-A-Feed Country Store in Litchfield will close as of Aug. 31, management announced last week.
Form-A-Feed, a Stewart, Minnesota-based feed product provider, has owned the store since March 2008, when it was sold by First District Association.
“After a 10-year run in the store here in town, we’ve decided to cease our retail, in-store operations,” Form-A-Feed Vice President of Operation Jarvis Haugeberg said July 3 while making the official announcement on KLFD.
During the radio interview, Haugeberg called the decision to close the ag supply and dairy retailer a “somber event,” adding that a retail-type store “may not be entirely in (Form-A-Feed’s) wheelhouse.”
A changing retail climate, including the growing number of consumers who are making purchases online instead of at brick-and-mortar stores, was a significant factor in the decision to close the store. “We find ourselves competing with Walmart and Amazon,” Haugeberg said. “It’s just a changing environment economically — really on every level.”
Haugeberg said the company took over the business from First District Association when the Litchfield dairy processor decided to sell the store and focus on its core business. Now, Haugeberg said, Form-A-Feed feels the need to do the same thing and is anxious for growth.
Area dairy farmers have always been the store’s bread and butter. Haugeberg said field representatives will continue to serve their farming needs.
“We are going to make a concerted effort to continue to focus on the things that we are really, really good at,” Haugeberg said. Those areas of agricultural expertise include on-farm animal husbandry and nutrition services.
Although customers will no longer be able to purchase supplies in small quantities, Form-A-Feed will continue to make bulk deliveries in Meeker County. “We’re going to continue to have our people out on the farm,” Haugeberg said.
Several local residents, including Pat Ulrich, have taken the news hard. “This is sad news for Litchfield,” he said.
“We get a lot of things at this store. Very sad,” Litchfield resident Barb Johnson said on Facebook.
As the closing date nears, prices will be reduced to liquidate inventory. Haugeberg said the store will “honor and fulfill” farm supply commitments for the summer season. Several varieties of Fieldgate cheese, along with milk, will be available through the end of August.
Unless a local business picks up the labels, the closure could mean Fieldgate cheese products — made with milk produced in central Minnesota for decades — and Schroeder milk, supplied in St. Paul, will no longer be sold in Litchfield, though First District Association will continue to produce a variety of cheeses for other retailers.
Haugeberg said Form-A-Feed will continue its “great relationship” with First District Association and sell other products from the creamery.
“This is so sad ... We get our milk and cheese here,” Litchfield resident Holly Flemming said.
Litchfield resident Lynn Anderson lamented the potential loss of the Fieldgate label. “I’m gonna miss my cheese curds!” she wrote on Facebook.
Litchfield’s “Factory Cheese Outlet” — selling everything from blocked, sliced and shredded cheese to cheddar, Swiss and even bacon- and garlic-infused cheese — was built in 1979. The store dates back several years before its location on Depot Street. Originally located across the railroad tracks, it was operated by the First District Association and existed to serve dairy farm patrons.
The Fieldgate label has been in existence since the 1980s. In recent years, First District Association makes cheese in 500-pound barrels, and the Form-A-Feed store has it cut into blocks, shredded and sliced. Cheese samples have been available on Fridays.
Joshua Schindele, manager of the Dassel Dairy Association Feed Mill, said the co-op has enjoyed selling the Fieldgate line.
Fieldgate products will be sold at the Dassel co-op while supplies last. “We’ll sell as much as we can until we’re out of product,” Schindele said.
According to Schindele, Tuesday was the final day to order Fieldgate products. He expects the co-op’s supply to last until mid-August, but it could be gone sooner now that people know about the impending closure. “After that, we’ve been told there won’t be any more unless someone else picks up the line,” he said.
“As we look at the amount of cheese and other products that we sell through the store — milk, American singles, butter, ice cream are examples of things we lost our ability to continue (with) the Fieldgate label,” Haugeberg said. “We would enjoy if somebody could pick up that line, but we have chosen not to.”
Form-A-Feed also sells feed for cattle, chickens, swine, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits and wild birds, as well as farm supplies, several varieties of cheese, specialty meats and ice cream.
Haugeberg said Form-A-Feed is helping store staff with job placement but can’t guarantee all will be reassigned within the company. “We don’t take lightly the fact that they’re employment changes. We, nonetheless, feel we have to make this change,” he said.
Haugeberg said Form-A-Feed is proud of local brands they’ve sold and the symbiotic relationships they’ve fostered. “We’ll continue to support the ADA (American Dairy Association). We want to continue to support the consumption of dairy products through the producers that we supply,” he added.
And Haugeberg said it won’t stop there. “We’re going to continue to support the community,” he said.
“We really appreciate this community. They’ve been very good to us,” Haugeberg said.
