Shrable Fertilizer
Owners: Jeff and Jo Shrable
Location: 21 Berry Road and Hwy. 60, Seymour, Mo.
Company History: "We opened in November 2007. We ran a dairy operation for years and got out of that a few years ago. During that time I had been spreading fertilizer for Circle K in Seymour. They got out of that a few years ago and this past year we decided to open our own business. Once we built this place, a Nutrena representative stopped by and asked if we wanted to be a dealer for them so we added the feed line to what we sell. Fertilizer tends to be seasonal so the feed helps spread things out through the year a little."
Products and Services: "Feed for livestock, dogs and cats, and seed, fertilizer and lime. We spread fertilizer, haul lime and will help people with their soil testing. We can mix fertilizer based on someone’s soil test."
Biggest Challenge: "Rising prices are hitting everybody. When we started out we didn’t have a big enough line of inventory credit. If it were higher I could buy more fertilizer at better prices and offer that to our customers."
Staying Ahead of the Competition: "One thing we do that few others seem to be doing is offering pre-paid fertilizer contracts. That helps farmers lock in their price and at the end of the year also helps with their taxes. It allows us to also lock in fertilizer at known prices too."
What could you do to improve your business? "We are working on increasing our inventory credit line so we can buy more fertilizer for our customers.
I’d like to hire someone to help with loading feed and I could use more carts."
By Vince Crunk
