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No substitute for the real thing (Mill's Fleet Farm). Blain's Farm & Fleet in Janesville, WI. Though it’s often rumored that the Mills and Blain’s chains are the result of a family feud, they’re not.

The Mills Cos. opened a farm merchandise store called Fleet Wholesale Supply in Marshfield, Wis., in 1955, and that piece of the Mills family empire morphed into Mills Fleet Farm in 1960. It has 30 stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Iowa.

Blain’s Farm & Fleet also dates from 1955 and was founded by brothers W.C. Blain and N.B. Blain. The chain has 33 stores in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa; the closest to Rochester is in LaCrosse, Wi.