Elgin Co-op was established in the mid 1940’s as a cooperative to serve the growing needs of the local farmers. Its location has always been on the southwest corner of John and Beech Street and on the north side of the CNR rail line in Aylmer, Ontario. On the property, the original business operated out of a small 1100 sq ft store and mainly consisted of local farmers buying memberships and using them to buy and sell grain, feed, and ingredients for their own use.

As the Aylmer area continued to grow, so did the local feed mill. The business soon grew enough to have eight employees and one feed delivery truck. A 1500 sq ft, and later a 2800 sq ft addition were built to serve the increased needs of farmers and to stock a wider variety of animal health, pet food, as well as some farm hardware. In 1990, Elgin Co-op was sold to Topnotch Feeds. Wilf Saarloos, the manager of the Dorchester branch was hired as the new manager. Just four years later, Wilf bought the feed mill from Topnotch, as well as the grain elevator and the fuel station and renamed it Elgin Feeds.

The new Elgin Feeds began to buy feed and ingredients from Shur Gain as well as buying grain from local farmers. Elgin Feeds has undergone several updates since its establishment in the 1940’s, and most recently, the conversion to Elgin Feeds Ltd. Country Store. A garden centre was built, as well as a rebranding of the storefront. A fuel card lock was later built to provide customers with 24-hour access to fuel. The project was completed in 2005. Today, Elgin Feeds has many more employees, three feed delivery trucks, and continues to be a thriving business committed to servicing farmers and the greater Aylmer community.

In 2003, Thorndale Farm Supplies — a pellet mill and country store in Thorndale, Ontario — was acquired by Wilf Saarloos and is a sister location to the Elgin Feeds’ grist mill.