HAMILTON, Ohio – Nathan Gillespie and his wife, Angie, began selling feed and supplements from their farm some years ago. They did well and decided to expand. The Gillespie Feed & Farm Supply Store opened its doors this spring. They have more expansions in the works.

“My wife and I started this business back in 2016 at home and then it just kind of evolved into this monster,” Gillespie said. “The business did well at the farm and we decided to expand. We offer pretty much anything for any animal species, from alpacas to rats.”

The store offers hog, cattle, horse, chicken, goat, you name it, supplements and feed, straw and hay, dog and cat food, pond supplies, firewood, ear corn, pond products, they’re getting into garden provisions, and more. And the rat food? People want it because they need rats to feed to their snakes.

“We try to find a brand of feed that is reliable and of higher quality,” Gillespie said. “We try to stay away from the cheaper items. When it comes to chickens, we’ve got more to choose from than you can count just because everybody wants something different for the chickens. This fall we will be offering pumpkins and gourds.”

Their products fed the Grand Champion market lamb at the Preble, Montgomery and Butler county fairs. They have a laundry list of fair champions for which they supplied the food and supplements.

At the farm, their main market was show animals and while that is still a big market, they offer much more at the store.

They support the 4-H and FFA community and hire those kids as part-time help. Gillespie’s daughter-in-law, Tanner Alexander, also works there part-time. She grew up on a farm and with a 4-H community in Indiana, and was glad to get back to that environment, she said.

“It was nice to get back in and be around that community,” Alexander said. “I showed mostly cattle and pigs so it was interesting to learn all of the new species and what certain animals can and what they can’t eat.”

They always put the customer first, Gillespie said. They want their customers to be happy with their purchase.

“I had some outdated feed so it is out of here,” Gillespie said. “We are very conscious about dates on feed, making sure it is fresh. If somebody buys something bad, we get it replaced. We take care of the customer. I don’t want anybody upset or unhappy with their feed. I want them to be pleased.”

The tri-state area is their major market, but they draw customers from as far away as Florence, Ky., and Gallipolis, Ohio.

However, Gillespie still has a general grain and livestock farm plus they do straw and hay. Angie Gillespie sells freezer beef from the farm. It takes a balancing act to keep everything going. Their son, Morgan Gillespie, is now doing most of the farming.

“We started the business because I wanted to have something for my son to do eventually but he doesn’t like it,” Gillespie said. “He wants to farm and that’s all he wants to do. Farming is his passion.”

However, that may fit in well. Gillespie hopes within the next couple of years to start milling and bagging their own feed, if he can find the equipment.

“Mills are going out of business; there are only a couple of options around here,” Gillespie said. “It’s a market that needs to be serviced. When we start milling, we will only use our corn, that way I control it. I know that we don’t let our corn get moldy, we watch for bugs.”