Golden Eagle Hay Co. & P&T Enterprises

Golden Eagle Hay Co., Inc. is a broker & shipper of hay products. The company headquarters is based in Calipatria, California-which is located in the Imperial Valley. This is an area in Southern California, long known for its agricultural commodities.

The company was incorporated in 1986 with its' original focus on domestic hay sales. The owner, R.W. Dockstader had been working in ag-related industries for years and saw that this would be an area with unlimited possibilities for growth. It was at this time that Mr. Dockstader asked his son, Pat, to join with him in this business venture.

In 1987, the company expanded with the purchase of a feed store in El Cajon, California. They also began delivering product to other feed stores, equestrian centers, and to the San Diego Zoo. After approximately 3 years, with the demand for domestic product growing rapidly, the feed store was sold and Golden Eagle Hay Co. Inc. continued to supply their growing customer base.

The owner had previously been exporting cubes and pellets since 1963, to the Asian market and believed there was an expanding business opportunity. In the late 1980's the company built a pressing facility for the express purpose of exporting double compressed hay.

In May of 1990, R. W. Dockstader decided to leave the agriculture business and begin a construction company. Pat Dockstader along with his wife Trudy, became the new owners. This led to the expansion of the press facility to include 7 hay barns, an additional press, farm venture, a public weigh station, and fueling facility. The company headquarters moved out of rented office space and into it's own office complex.

Today, the double compressing business supplies approximately 30,000 tons/annually of mixed products to the Asian market. The domestic business supplies approximately 25,000 tons/annually. With further increase in the volume of domestic hay sales, it has led to the necessity of hiring additional hay salesmen.

P&T Enterprises (Farm Division), has 500 acres. Citrus trees make up 400 acres with 280 acres are devoted to lemon trees, another 80 acres devoted to grapefruit and the remaining 15 acres are lime. Recently, P&T has added another 150 acres of citrus.

Continually diversifying its products, P&T has converted about 40 acres to organic citrus and is in the process of converting another 80 acres. Organic lemons and grapefruit are grown without any chemicals using alternatives like fish fertilizers in place of commercial fertilizers.

P&T continues to grow some wheat and onions on occasion; however, the primary crop continues to be Bermuda hay, which accounts for 1,500 to 1,800 acres. Sudan accounts for another 800 to 900 acre, and approximately 500 acres are devoted to Alfalfa