Page 11 - October 2007 The Game

Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper The Game, October 2007 11
The Game
Special Advertorial Feature
Health & Nutrition 2007
A Home Grown Business
Robert Van Camp was born in raised in the countryside near Port Perry, Ontario. He still lives there today with his wife and four daughters. His roots are deep in Ontario and he has no plans of going anywhere else...except up.
Robert is the owner and operator of Brooks Feed Store, a successful feed wholesaler with humble beginnings. While enrolled at the University of Guelph, where he was aiming to get a Bachelor of Science Degree, Robert had the opportunity to purchase the retail feed store off of “old Mr. Brooks” which sold feed stuffs for all different types of livestock. While the name “Brooks Feed Store” remained the same, the rest of the business changed.
“I’ve always loved horses and horseracing,” explained Robert about his motivation for the dramatic shift in the business, “In the early days there was very little nutritional help for horsemen. There hadn’t been a lot of work done on performancefeed.” Robertsawthepotential in developing equine feed for performance and re-tooled the mill to produce high qualityhorsefeed. “Thenweheardaboutan opportunity to jump on board with KER so we joined forces with them.”
KER is the acronym for Kentucky Equine Research, which was founded in 1988 when Joe Pagan, Ph.D. realized that information generated from research was not disseminated to the individuals who needed it most: feed manufacturers and horse owners. Today KERis one of the largest private research organizations in the world and KER nutritionists work with mill owners and managers to formulate top-quality feeds that complement typical forages found in the locale.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that we know how to produce horse feeds,” added Robert, “When we get word from KER that something should be in the feed, we get it in right away. Once we have a formula that works, we don’t change it, there is a consistency in our products.”
Brooks Feed’s business has grown extensively over the years with close to fifty dealers now carrying the horse feed they produce however their biggest clients are at the racetracks. “Bob the Feed Man” of Triple Crown Feeds is the dealer at Woodbine Racetrack and “Peter the Feed Man” is the representative for Minor Bros. Feed Stores at Fort Erie Racetrack.
“Ilovegoingtotheracetrack. Itakemy staff to the races every year.” Robert beamed, “All of my employees have worked with horses and when one of the horses who uses our feed wins a big race we all feel very proud. It’s an honour to feed somethechampionsthatwedo. Ican’tsay enough about the people working for us. They are working hard and trying their best.”
Dan Irwin and Vern Avery are a couple of
the employees at Brooks Feed who not only have an extensive background in horses, but nutrition as well.
Dan grew up in Ontario and ran a summer riding camp in Brockville, Ontario foranumberofyears. Healsotriedhishand at dairy farming before starting work at UCO, United Co-Operatives of Ontario, where he eventually became the horse feed specialist for the Province. He went to an independent Co-Op in Stouffville which became a Brooks Feed dealer. A few years later Dan went to work for Brooks Feed.
Today he provides nutritional consulting for his clients and has also had a hand in the development of the popular and successful feed, Flax Appeal.
Vern Avery graduated from his studies in nutrition and had been working for feed companies since the early 1970’s before joining Brooks Feed fourteen years ago. Vern also provides consulting services for his clients.
One of the more popular services Brooks Feed provides is computerized ration balancing and growth monitoring using specialized programs called MicroSteed and gro•trac, both developed by KER. MicroSteed provides a detailed analysis of feeding options based on the individual horse’s needs.
gro•trac is very useful for breeders because it monitors the growth of young horses and compares them to breed averages. Deviations from normal growth patterns can be detected and adjustments to the feeding programs can be made. Both services are available to all Brooks Feed clients.
“There are always new innovations and changes in horse diets.” says Robert about his plans for Brooks Feeds in the future, “We are proud of the fact that people are now copying what we do. We take it as a compliment that we must be doing it right.
“We provide fresh ingredients and that is why we have stayed in Ontario. If you have to travel too far you compromise freshness.”
Robert’s daughter Alison has now joined the Brooks team and he hopes that she will be able to take over the reins on the retail end while Robert looks to expand his network of dealers, “Thegrowthhasbeenremarkable, we sometimes find it hard to keep up, however we still have a lot of market to gain in Ontario.
“I am very passionate about what I do.” Robert says with a undeniable sincerity, “The people who work with the horses put in too many hours for sometimes too little pay. IhavetobepassionateaboutthefeedI provide.”
Brooks Feed Store president Robert Van Camp
Photo top right: Some of the staff at Brooks Feed Store
Photo Right: Nutrition specialists Dan Irwin (left) and Vernon Avery.
“It’s the best, most complete feed you can find on the market.”
“I’ve been using it for
10 to 15 years.
I think it is the best feed we have. I’ve tried so many others. You don’t need a lot of supplements because everything
is in there.”
Longtime owner and now Woodbine Trainer
Marko Mesic with 2-yr-old filly
Queen of all Cats
Flax Appeal High in Omega 3 fats, high quality fibre adds
energy for stretch run endurance.
Pro Sport Plus Formulated with highly digestible fibre, fat & grain.
The winning choice of many top trainers.
Phase III The “right” mix of Fibre, fat and starch for
improved performance and health.
Un-Ti Low starch, high energy to keep your horse training
every day.
Proudly Manufactured in Canada
Just Ask “Bob” at Woodbine 416.453.7038
Just ask Peter at Fort Erie 905.65.TRACK
www.brooksfeeds.com or www.ker.com