Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg paid visit to Bazooka Farmstar

WASHINGTON - Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg made a stop in Washington Friday, Aug. 2, to tour Bazooka Farmstar, a growing agriculture business in Washington County.

During the visit, Gregg met with Eric Hahn, managing partner, and other members of the Bazooka Farmstar team. Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) Director David Collins was also in attendance as WEDG co-sponsored the visit.

'One of my favorite parts of my job as Lt. Governor is to have the opportunity to travel all over the state and learn about companies and the things they are doing and the opportunities that are available, even in small towns in Iowa,” he said.

The first thing Gregg wanted to do was learn more about the company and how it came to be. Hahn explained in the 1960s Bazooka was an auger company that merged with Farmstar, one of the first liquid manure companies, in the 1980s.

In 1991, Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc, an ag product wholesaler in Hills, made a move to purchase the Bazooka Farmstar business. It was then moved to Washington and located in what is now Ace Hardware. In 2007, the company was able to move from their 30,000 square foot facility to the facility they are currently in, located at 800 East Seventh Street. Hahn started with the company in 2011 and said it has grown from a staff of 18 to now having more than 100 employees.

Gregg was impressed with the growth and curious as to how they were able to grow so quickly. Hahn credited the growth to Iowa being the state with the most hogs in the entire country, making a need for their product.

'That opportunity for growth has come from advancements in the application technology, but also a focus on the importance of water quality and proper applications,” Gregg clarified.

Hahn agreed, saying the stricter regulations that have been placed on transportation have made for the success of Bazooka Farmstar because they are able to complete the work through their hoses and do not have to put the pressure on the roads. This has driven their business forward, he said, and allowed for such a rapid growth.

'I know that Bazooka and Farmstar have a long history, but really your story sounds almost as much like a startup story. The professionalization that is required when you scale from 18 to 100 employees and the same thing with making the business last long term, so that's an interesting, unique way to have that story come out,” Gregg said.

Gregg was impressed with the company's growth, saying finding jobs, especially in rural areas, is getting increasingly difficult but the growth they are modeling makes for a promising future.

'Probably the biggest challenge the state faces is having more jobs than people available to fill them,” he said, explaining there are about 80,000 available jobs but only 45,000 available workers in the state. 'We want to make sure we can get folks into positions where they have the right skills to do that and maybe move a wrung or two up the ladder and open up other opportunities for others.”