Locations: Nevada, Mo.
Owners: Deland Prough and Mark Hoover
History: River Valley Ag has recently completed it’s building process and is operational at the corner of Mo. 54 and State Road C in Vernon County.
Deland Prough, manager and co- owner with Mark Hoover said the process began in June 2021, but struggles with COVID and rising building prices caused the project to be slow, but things are now up and running. The Neveda location is actually the second for River Vally Ag, with the first location being in nearby Hopkins, Mo.
“I decided it was time to put my future in my hands so when the opportunity came about, I took it,” Deland, a former 24-year employee of Midwest Fertilizer said of why he began the business.
“You have to break eggs before you can make an omelet. We moved 600 loads of dirt and had enough to put under the concrete pads for the buildings. We didn’t have to haul in dirt in which was good. But I don’t know how many loads of rock it has taken. It’s been quite a project.”
Products and Services: River Valley Ag sells not only fertilizer, but chemicals and does custom application with sprayer-spreaders that have all the bells and whistles to do whatever the customer wishes. The business is open with four employees.
Even though the plant is completed with state-of-the-art loading and unloading augers, Deland said he likes to keep things simple.
“When the computer goes down, we can still mix fertilizer,” he said.
Deland said he believes he can help the growers save money on their herbicide costs by offering service to fit each grower.
“We can field scout the situation for what each field needs and custom fit it,” he said.
