The Standard We Set
The work started in 1886.
It’s not finished yet.
140 years is a long time to be in any business. Long enough to watch industries shift, markets collapse, and everything that was certain become uncertain again. Long enough to earn the trust of the producers who kept showing up anyway, and the responsibility that comes with it.
Standard Nutrition Company has been here through all of it. Not because we got lucky. Because the work was real, the relationships were honest, and the Standard never slipped.
That’s still true today. And we intend to keep it that way for the next 140 years.
STEADY
Markets move. Costs climb. Conditions change by the season and sometimes by the week. Producers who have worked with Standard for decades will tell you the same thing: the advice doesn’t change with the headlines. Consistent guidance, year after year, is what steady actually looks like.
GROUNDED
Good nutrition consulting starts with knowing the land, the herd, and the operation. Not just the science. The work Standard does is rooted in the realities producers face on the ground, and it adapts as those realities change. That’s not a philosophy. That’s how the job gets done.
DIRECT
Producers don’t have time for the runaround, and they know the difference between a consultant and a salesman. Standard has always been a relationship business, which means the conversation is honest, the recommendations are earned, and the people showing up are invested in the outcome. That’s what direct looks like in practice.
PROVEN
A hundred and forty years of results is a hard thing to argue with. The operations Standard has supported, from small family dairies to large-scale beef and swine production, carry the proof in their performance. Results don’t lie, and neither do long-term relationships.
140 Years in the Making
A few moments from a long story.
1886 - Where It Started
A veterinarian named Frederick E. Sanborn set up in a 20-by-60-foot office in Omaha and started mixing livestock feed by hand. He sold it from a horse-drawn wagon to farmers who’d never heard of such a thing. By year three, he’d sold 250,000 pounds of it.
1903 - Rattlesnake Pete Joins Standard
His résumé: cowboy, Indian Scout, Deputy U.S. Marshal. His Standard title: head of sales in Wyoming. Rattlesnake Pete joined in 1903 and became one of the more improbable figures in company history.
1933 - A Bet Made in Bad Times
In the middle of the Depression, Standard made a bold move: walked away from its entire retail network and went direct to farmers. By 1954, it was doing 66x more business than it had that year.
1965 - Biggest in the Country
Standard introduced a molasses-based liquid feed called Prolasses and became the largest liquid feed company in the United States.
1980s - Changing The Model
Standard shifted from selling product to consulting on outcomes — from salesperson to nutritionist, from transaction to relationship. That model redefined what producers could expect from a Standard rep. It still does.
From the People
The story of Standard has never really been about Standard. It’s about the people who built careers here, the producers who trusted them, and the operations that are running today because that trust held. This is a collection of that story in their words, their work, and their own corners of the industry.
“I get paid in one spot. There’s no ingredient I push because I get paid for it. If I make a recommendation, it’s because I believe it’s the best thing for your cows.”
“I don’t have to think twice about what the right call is and what I should do, because the answer is always do the right thing for the horse.”
“I want people to see the Bower Ag name and breathe easy. Just trust that when that name is said, they’re going to get an absolute quality experience.”
“We’re not here for a grand slam this year and out of the playoffs next. We plan to win every year. And the people who work with us know we’re intentional.”
More stories coming through 2026
The Next 140
“The next 140 starts with the same thing the first 140 did — earning it.”
Bill Dyer, President
Standard Nutrition Company
The agriculture industry looks nothing like it did in 1886. The challenges are different, the scale is different, and the tools have changed more in the last twenty years than in the hundred before that.
What hasn’t changed is what producers need: someone who knows the work, tells the truth, and shows up when it matters.
Standard has been that for 140 years. Building the next chapter on that foundation isn’t just a guarantee, it’s a commitment.
The Standard Family
Whether you work alongside Standard’s consultants or you’ve been a producer partner for years, we’re glad you’re here. Learn more about the brands and teams that make up Standard Nutrition Company.
