Houston, Mo. MFA
Location: Houston, Mo.
Manager: Darrell Scheets
Company History: The Houston, Mo., MFA, sometimes locally called “The Farmer’s Exchange,” is always a busy place. Trucks, pickups pulling stock trailers, dusty cars, and immaculate luxury vehicles are all parked side by side in their large parking lot. MFA, or what was organized as the Missouri Farmer’s Association, began in a one-room schoolhouse in New Brunswick, Mo., in 1914. Houston was one of the original stores with a downtown location that served the people of Texas County during the depression, when farmers came to town with a team and wagon. Darrell Scheets has worked for MFA for 25 years, and been the manager in Houston for 15 years. Darrell said, “The reason I wanted to work for MFA was because when I was a kid I loved going into the feed store.”
Products and Services: When you turn off Hwy. 17 into the parking lot of MFA you see fencing supplies, cattle panels, gates, feed troughs and water tanks. The porch has all sorts of plants for sale and the loading dock can accommodate any height of vehicle all the way from a car to semi-truck. The MFA store has over 7,000 sq. ft. and it is well stocked with feed, seed, fertilizer and other farm-related supplies, but when you wander around the inside you will see pet supplies, garden seeds, boots, hats, jeans, birdhouses, molasses, honey, ropes, flash lights, bullets, dozens of Hanging Tree cards and pretty much anything else you can imagine a farmer might need.
Darrell said, “MFA serves the farmers of today and looks to the future by supporting the rural youth who will be the lifeblood and talent pool for agriculture in the years to come with about 300 scholarships to high school seniors.”
What is the key to the MFA’s success?
“The employees make the store. When people come in here they not only get friendly, courteous service, they expect to have their questions answered no matter how trivial they might seem. Our employees are trained to be knowledgeable in all fields and are constantly updated to keep abreast of the changing farming industry. MFA has a support staff in Columbia. We’re just a phone call away from the best agronomists, veterinarians, nutritionists, engineers and financial consultants.”
By Lois Waters
