As with many other businesses, our start was a humble one. The company was started by Martin Maljaars and his wife Lydia. It was the late 1970s and the thought of distributing calf milk replacer and related farm products was the furthest thing from their minds. They had decided to start a very small calf raising business with 16 calves being the maximum they could keep. They had been advised to raise white milk fed veal in order to get the best prices for the calves and this is exactly what they did for many years to come, working with plants such as the Dairyland Milk plant in Sardis, our very first milk powder supplier. When Dairyland discontinued operating we tried various commercial milk replacers and over the years we have learned what makes a high quality product that not only Calves love but will also excel on. Today we work in B.C as your Serval Milk Replacer Dealer.
We went on to raise some of the best and most in-demand white veal in the Lower Mainland, raising the capacity of our facilities to accommodate 250 cattle. In 2000 however, due to changes in the veal market and consumer habits, we discontinued the cattle raising part of our business and instead started to promote the milk replacers throughout the dairy, beef, goat and Sheep communities in B.C. and Alberta.
In 2007 we were approached by International Stock Foods, an Ontario firm manufacturing supplemental minerals for dairy, beef, horse, hog and poultry farmers, as well as the world renowned Silo Guard forage additive.
In 2009 Martin and Lydia’s youngest daughter Teresa and Son in Law, Andrew Flokstra, joined the business with the plan to take over the day to day operations of the business.
In early 2010 we were approached by Calf Tel to be their official B.C dealer. Calf Tel is the World’s Leading Provider of Calf Housing Solutions. As we have had a strong focus on calf raising, we felt that this was a good fit to our business. We also work as a distributors for Biological Solutions, The Coburn Company, Animal Pro (Dairyman’s Choice Probiotics), Citra Clean, Bird Gard, Vetoquinol and a number of others.
As time goes on and things progress and change, we are constantly looking for new Products to better serve the agriculture community. As you will see from our complete line of products, we carry a broad range of high quality products that are intended to assist in raising healthy and strong animals. As the business continues to grow, so has our team. In April 2016 Drew VanVeen joined Star Gro Products to assist in Customer Service. We look forward to serving you with high quality products and First Class customer Service!
