Photo by LORETTA JACKSON Dan Putnam, longtime manager of the Blue Seal Feeds’ store in Milford, one of a network of 10 Blue Seal Feeds’ locations throughout New England, slices the birthday cake that shared with customers the celebration on Saturday, Sept. 22, that marked the company’s 150th year in business.

MILFORD – Blue Seal Feeds, a company with 10 locations in New England whose pot of gold is filled with feed and grain, recently celebrated 150 years in business.

The milestone included a birthday cake and double rewards points at Blue Seal Feeds, 274 Elm St., on Saturday. The Milford store is a part of the Iowa-based Kent Nutrition Group, a Midwest feed producer of renown since 1927. The Milford store has been a member of the company’s family for 34 years.

Dan Putnam, manager of the Milford store, said he joined Blue Seal Feeds in 1995 when he was in high school. He honed his management skills at the Milford store’s previous location on South Street – the former Merrimack Farmers, purchased by Blue Seal Feeds in 1979. College graduation in 2001 freed Putnam to relocate as manager of Blue Seal Feeds in Windham, Maine Thus, 17 years of management expertise supports a decade at the helm of the Milford store.

“I like working with all of our great customers,” Putnam said. “They are what keeps this business going and make the job ever-changing.”

The store is a regional destination stocked with everything of value to farmers, gardeners and homemakers. Patrons rely on an abundance of trusted brands of foods, gear and other supplies for dogs, cats and chickens, along with pigs, goats, horses and many other animals.

Advice from Putnam and other experienced staffers is backed by Garth Witty, a local specialist with years of experience in agriculture, horticulture and other fields. The man is credited by all as the in-house expert, one with more than 30 years at the Milford store. Witty has a dairy goat farm, “Galomine Farm,” in Mont Vernon. It is named in honor of his “gals” — his wife, Luanne, and his daughters, Mindy and Michelle.

“Garth’s knowledge and expertise are second to none,” Putnam said. “He is the go-to for so many questions about agriculture and animals, it would be to hard to list them.”

Blue Seal Feeds was launched in a small town along the Merrimack River when founder HK Webster began making his own recipe of horse feed from high-quality ingredients. The practice blossomed into the family-owned adventure that for 150 years has generated customer satisfaction through respect for the purity of the feed-production process and continuing innovations.

Today, the Blue Seal Feeds’ legacy of caring for animals and nurturing the down-home feeling that brings nature a little closer to any customer continues at the Milford store, and other sites. Meanwhile, Putnam noted that a new Grow Center alongside the main store embraces changes in the current agricultural environment.

The hydroponic supplies, lighting and nutrients stocked in the Grow Center support a mission to preserve the science and craft of farming despite the loss of acreage now inhabited by homes rather than farms. A scarcity of land dedicated to growing produce, fruits and vegetables is eased by growing greens, herbs, tomatoes and many other crops hydroponically – in water – with precise attention to temperature, light and nutrition, he said.

Putnam added that the willingness to adapt to changing needs is a key to the success of the Milford store and others in the family of Blue Seal Feeds. He said there is pride in the intergenerational patronage of youth whose parents, or grandparents, are longtime patrons. Some of the young grew up on farms and now are starting their own spreads, he said.

Blue Seal Feeds stores in addition to Milford are located in New Hampshire in Bow, Derry and Rochester. Sites in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and New York serve those regions.

“We value each and every one of our customers,” Putnam said. “Without them, we would not be here.”