It’s been very hard at times, but it’s also been a lot of fun to carry on [my dad’s] legacy and do it together as a family. That’s kind of what we strive for every day now, doing it with our family, helping other families, and that’s really important to us with being a family-owned company.”

Jena Duwa

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When Levi Duwa met Jena Stukerjurgen, neither of them was contemplating a career in agriculture. Levi, a Mid-Prairie alum, studied entrepreneurship while playing football at the University of Iowa, and Jena worked as a neonatal ICU nurse at the University. Five years ago, they married and started a family.

Today, family has brought them back to agriculture-- and to Quality Plus Feeds' new retail location in Kalona, where they are carrying on a legacy that began with Jena's family.

Jena’s parents, Jerry and Amie Stukerjurgen, were poised to buy out their partner at Quality Plus Feeds in Saint Paul, a town south of Mount Pleasant, when Jerry passed away unexpectedly following a car accident. Jena, Levi, and Jena’s brother Jacob rallied to support their mom, “So that’s what kind of brought us back into the ag industry,” Jena says.

Fortunately, both were familiar. Jena’s family raised contract hogs while she was growing up, and Levi grew up on a cattle farm.

“It’s been very hard at times, but it’s also been a lot of fun to carry on [my dad’s] legacy and do it together as a family,” Jena says. “That’s kind of what we strive for every day now, doing it with our family, helping other families, and that’s really important to us with being a family-owned company.”

For the last four years “we were more stuck in the backside of things,” Jena says, but now that she and Levi have opened their own retail location, “It’s fun to be interactive with the people walking in and out. We opened in July, and that brought in some kids and families, just with fairs and stuff, and I enjoy seeing the kids and their families walking in and out. It’s been good.”

Levi enjoys being back in his hometown, getting to talk to people he hasn’t seen in years. “It’s really fun,” he says. “This is a very, very tight-knit community up here, and the support they’re giving us is awesome.”

While feed is milled in Saint Paul from local grain, the Kalona store’s focus is bagged feed for a wide range of animals: cattle, horses, swine, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits and even deer and household pets. The Duwas hope to be a source for everyone, from hunters with feeding stations to those who raise livestock for show.

“We like to service everybody, and we’re able to do that on the bag side,” Jena says. “If people have chickens in the backyard, we can do that. If people have a herd of cattle, we can also service that. Any customer that comes through here, we try to do our best to service them.”

Being able to offer value, quality and convenience are top priorities, but customer service is number one, Levi says. The Duwas are fortunate to have a team they can call on for expertise, including their in-house nutritionists in Saint Paul, so they can help customers determine what best fits their needs, whether that be a package off the shelf or a custom mix.

Freshness is one way they set themselves apart from the competition. “Our feed is pretty fresh because we have a lot going out the door, so then that means we’re making a lot,” Jena says. And all of it is non-GMO and ractopamine-free.

Capacity and capabilities are another. “We can pellet, we can bag, we can tote, we can haul it out in bulk, we can make texturized feeds that have molasses in them,” Levi says. “There’s a lot of places that don’t have those capabilities anymore, so those are some niche markets we can get into.”

The Quality Plus Feeds location on Highway 22 abuts Amish country; it’s not uncommon to pause for e-bike or buggy traffic while turning into the driveway. The Duwas hope to be a source for their Amish neighbors, many of which Levi met previously while working as a salesman for another feed mill.

Looking ahead, the couple is excited to be involved in the Kalona-area community. They hope to continue traditions the Saint Paul location has established, like customer appreciation days and dinners for Pork Month and Beef Month.

And they do this knowing they have family at their back, family that includes employees who have been with the company for decades and “are a huge asset to us.”

“I think it takes everybody to make it go,” Jena says. “It takes the brain power of the people that have been there for years and have the experience in the company, and I think the younger generation, the ambition that we have, and the technology and how we can make things more innovative, I think is a huge asset as well.

“To bring those together, I think, is great for the company as a whole,” she says. “We’re very excited to see what the upcoming years bring us.”

Quality Plus Feeds is located at 2440 Hwy 22, Kalona. Reach them at 319-460-9700.