BIO-AG OF MICHIGAN
by Bill Diller

In an economy where many are struggling to make ends meet, Pete Creguer, of Minden City, has managed to build a growing business. Along with his wife, Jill, they also operate an organic, cash-crop farm.

"In 1995, Jill and I started our own company called Bio-Ag of Michigan," Creguer said. "We worked out of our home. We ran it out of the shed, basically."

Creguer was raised on a dairy farm near Minden City. After their cows were sold, he continued to farm, but took a job as herdsman for a neighboring dairy operation. While there, he met a salesman for natural farm products.

"I was unloading a wagon of oats, and we got to talking," Creguer said. "He called me that night and asked if I wanted a job. I never quit farming. I never quit my job as a herdsman. I just took on one more job."

An ambitious fellow, Creguer was now an extremely busy man.

"Within a year, it was overwhelming," he said. "The nutrition business had taken off. I believe it was in '89 when I left the herdsman's job, and we went strictly into the mineral and dairy nutrition business."

That business, called Natural Farm Products, along with maintaining his farm, kept Creguer hopping over the next few years.

In 1990, he met Gary Zimmer, of Midwestern Bio-Ag, at the World Dairy Expo.

"He got us looking at the soil, and how it affects crops," Creguer said.

Intrigued by the Bio-Ag process, Creguer eventually became a subsidiary of Midwestern Bio-Ag. The business continued to expand, and quickly outgrew his shed.

"In the fall of 1998 we bought this facility," Creguer said, referring to the Cross Road location, near Kinde. "We got so big that we couldn't do it out of the home anymore. Now we are dry blenders of biological and organic fertilizers. We also do livestock nutrition."

In the first decade of the 21st century, farming is a complicated business. No longer can an operation get along with a few acres and hard work. It takes education, and a knowledge of what is best to add to the soil, and feed for livestock.

"We do rations, and provide minerals and supplements for the customer," Creguer said. "We don't handle proteins, and concentrates. We're basically a conventional fertilizer company. We just use different ingredients. We're more soil friendly. We get healthier plants by balancing all nutrients. For one thing we use potassium sulfate instead of potassium chloride, because it's lower in salt, and it's got a higher sulfur content."

On his own farm, Creguer grows crops organically.

"I use no commercial fertilizers," he said, "no pesticides or insecticides."

Does that mean Creguer can't use Bio-Ag products on his own farm?

"That's the misconception with organic farming," he said. "We don't call it fertilizers. On the organic side we call it minerals. We just have to use natural products. There's all kinds of things we can use as an organic farmer. It's not in the realm of conventional agriculture. As an organic farmer, it doesn't mean you can't re-mineralize your soil. In fact, that's why the organic food industry is taking off, because our crops seem to be a little denser in minerals. People like the taste, and the crops seem to be healthier for them. I was just reading an article that said organic consumption in '04 and '05 was up 11%."

Operating the fertilizer and nutrient business is a full time job. So is farming. How does Creguer find the time to do both?

"We do a lot of farming on nights and weekends," he said. "I own this place (Bio-Ag) and we put a lot of hours into it, but I'm not married to it. If I need a day off to plant beans, I can certainly do that."

Most of the consulting, where he meets with farmers and prepares a program for them, is accomplished during the winter.

"We've got half our orders for the year put together already," Creguer said. "If we do our job right, and get all of our consulting done in the winter time, that frees us up to service customers better in the spring."

Bio-Ag of Michigan has three full-time employees, in addition to Jill and Pete Creguer. They also have one full-time sales person, and four others that work as independent contractors in Michigan.

"We cover the state of Michigan," Creguer said. "We are branching out into Ohio. We are also in Ontario, Canada, and Quebec, Canada. What we're doing is setting up a network of dealers. I've got one in Quebec, two in Ontario and four in Ohio. My job is to get them trained as to how this program works. They'll go out and physically do the sales, send the orders, and we'll deliver them."

The Kinde-based plant is the hub of the operation. All the products used in their special combination of fertilizers are shipped in, and blended on the premises. They have two trucks that are used for deliveries, and are planning on adding a third. They are used to fill orders in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario. Orders to Quebec are handled differently. Instead of bulk orders delivered in bins, orders going to Quebec are bagged, and shipped via independent contractor. Bio-Ag of Michigan also handles some orders in Indiana, if the point of delivery is closer to Kinde than from the home office in Wisconsin.

A great deal of Creguer's time is spent building the organization.

"Our business expands through winter meetings, and through word of mouth," he said. "If I talk to a farmer at a meeting, and he expresses an interest, I'll call him. We do a lot of business over the phone, even with existing customers."

In addition, he travels throughout the state, and to Canada and Ohio, to meet with interested parties.

Bio-Ag of Michigan is also active in the Thumb, where personal contact is assured.

"We do business with some of the largest alfalfa growers in Huron County," Creguer said. "We do quite a bit with sugar beets, corn and beans. We would like to do more business in this area."

In order to do that, Creguer sees a need for change.

"I think we have to increase our consultant force," he said. "People have to know we're here. We are not strictly an organic fertilizer company. That's only about 10% of our business. The other 90% is working with dairy farmers, and alfalfa, sugar beets, corn and bean growers."

A lifelong farmer, Creguer sees himself on the job as long as he is physically able. He takes great pride in the work he's done at Bio-Ag.

"I think it's been a good life," he said. "That's part of the success of our business. The guys we've worked with for ten and twelve years . . . we've put the fun back in farming. Because they're not farming for the bank, and they're not farming for the suppliers. They're actually making some money, and having fun again."

Why?

"Because our program performs better, at less cost per acre," he said. "Especially in alfalfa. We get a much higher quality forage, because we're putting a balance of nutrients on that crop, or whatever crop you're growing. If you take away all the negatives, the salts, and the chlorides, and the ammonia, the excess nitrogen . . . and you put a cleaner fertilizer program to the soil, the soil is going to get healthier. Your crops are going to be healthier, and you're ultimately going to get healthier cattle. We reduce the concentrates off the farm. We reduce the vet bills. There's just more money left in the farmer's pocket at the end of the year. The history of our company is that once we get a farmer to understand our program, they very seldom leave."

Bio-Ag of Michigan is a growing company, with a bright future, but Creguer knows that in order to continue to expand, it takes intelligent, dedicated people.

"My personal vision is that I get enough key, qualified people in here to run this business, so I can help other consultants grow their business," he said. "I may go into a management roll, getting dealers in Ohio, Indiana and Ontario going better. We just took on Ohio and Quebec in the last year and a half. Our goal is for me to go out and make the dealers successful."

Bio-Ag of Michigan is operated by a small work force.

Bryon Kolar, the plant manager, is also a soil and nutritional consultant. In addition, he performs other duties, such as making deliveries and blending fertilizer.

"We do whatever we have to, to get the job done," Creguer said. "No one has an assigned job. Steve Roberts is our transportation manager, mechanic and primary truck driver. He can also blend fertilizer."

Jill Creguer and Joan Wruble run the reception desk, and perform numerous other duties.

"It's a team effort," Creguer said.

In addition, Bio-Ag of Michigan has been a reloading station for Thompson Limited, of Canada since 2000. Farmers deliver beans for grading and reloading. This part of the business is also growing. Bio-Ag handled millions of pounds of beans in the fall of '05.

"It got kind of exciting this fall, because it was very busy, and we had to manage the trucks," Creguer said. "If this continues to grow, like we think it's going to, we're going to invest in some storage bins. That way, through the winter, they'll get transferred over to Canada."

Creguer loves the business, but also loves working on his farm.

"I'm really torn, because farming is my relaxation," he said. "This business is very personally satisfying, because of all the farmers we're helping. In essence, I don't really want to give either one of them up, and I probably never will retire. We only farm 160 acres, it's not like I'm farming half the county. I think I could survive on that. The organic farm prices have been real good to us. There's no way, as a conventional farmer, that I could live on 160 acres."

Between farming and the fertilizer and nutrition business, Creguer lives a busy life.

"I think we're going to continue to grow," he said. "We often joke that if that salesman hadn't driven into the yard, where would I be now?

"Probably starving," he added, with a laugh.

Judging by the success of Bio-Ag of Michigan, it's doubtful. With his knowledge, drive and determination, Pete Creguer would be a success in any line of work.