In 1967, Lawrence Gorter started GORTER’S CLAY AND DAIRY OF MINNESOTA, INC. to serve livestock and dairy producers’ needs in southwestern Minnesota and parts of east central South Dakota. Shortly after starting his business, he decided to hire the neighbor kid, James “Rusty” Hartke, who lived just down the road. Within a few months after Rusty’s high school graduation, he was offered and accepted a partnership interest in the company with Lawrence and his own two sons. Sadly, Lawrence passed away in April of 1989. Rusty became the company’s sole owner in 1998. Rusty and a dedicated team of employees strive for and gain a great reputation for providing products and services to meet all dairy producers’, livestock producers’ and farmers’ equipment needs.
Gorter’s provides full service to nearly 2,000 livestock producers, within a 150-mile radius, who milk as few as 10 cows to as many as 5,000 cows per farm. We have grown to serve western Minnesota, eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa.