Heath and Sons Feed & Supply, Inc.
Owner: Dwight Heath
Location: Ava, Mo.
History: Owner Dwight Heath said, “My dad and granddad started it in, I think, 1959. Dad bought granddad out and a few years later I came into it. Of course, I’ve been with the business in some way ever since it started. I grew into it from being here 50 years. My allowance was $5 a week and I swept floors after school and worked weekends. I’ve driven a truck, run the feed mill and I do all the feed formulation. I had taken over ownership shortly before my dad passed away 12 years ago. At this point it’s still Heath and Son, but I’m the end of the line, so to speak. I’m the last one left.”
Products and Services: “We do full pallet and full flake feed. I do a lot of tow milling for other mills around the area. I make a lot of feed and put in other people’s bags and tags that my name is not involved with. We have a fertilizer plant in the back, so we do various other things. We deliver in a 50 to 60-mile radius. I have three Kenworths running over the road that we go to basically all the surrounding states hauling product in to the mill itself.”
Business Philosophy:
“Just to try to do the best job we can do.”
Future Plans for Business:
“When my dad passed, at 73 years old, he was coming in every day for a couple hours and really enjoying it. I am 64 and I would like to see myself doing the same thing. Hopefully, I have several years to go. Dad always said that you can’t sit still and you’ve always got to keep changing. That’s just part of doing business.”
Story and Photo by Jane Kinser
