Johnny and D’Lyna Bell own and operate a large hay operation, a feed store and other businesses
PANGBURN, ARK. – In the tiny town of Pangburn, Ark., there’s a big attraction that serves the local agricultural community and catches the attention of people in nearby towns and sometimes even tourists.
Main Street Feed has been in Johnny and D’Lyna Bell’s family for many years with Johnny’s parents buying it in 1999 and his mom operating it until she died two years ago. D’Lyna is now the major operator of the store with the help of the couple’s daughter.
“My mother-in-law established the feed side and she sold (various plants),” D’Lyna said. “Now we’ve grown into produce side that we sell in the store and the seasonal items as well.
“It’s almost like a Cracker Barrel,” she added. “It’s more than a feed store.”
The store sells items ranging from locally made sewing items, candles, goat milk and Lye soap, and many other gift or novelty items that have been made all over the state of Arkansas.
The store also offers puppy shots, some vet supplies, and other items for pets. This is in addition to grass seed, bulk feed, protein tubs, and more for larger animals.
“The closest store is Quitman or Searcy,” John said. “Many people don’t feel like driving all the way to Searcy so they just come here.”
In addition to their usual feed store items and Arkansas-made items, the Main Street Feed Store also has a large garden seed and plants section. They also offer a rare feature in that seed can be purchased in bulk.
“We’re big on garden seed and plants,” John said. “We have every variety you can think of.”
D’Lyna added that they also try to keep their prices reasonable so patrons don’t have to drive all the way to Searcy to get better prices.
“Since we took over two years ago, many have noticed (the changes in the store). People see from the highway or come in from vacation homes on the Little Red River. We get a lot of out-of-state customers,” he said.
In addition to the feed store, the Bells have another family business. John has operated a small sawmill since 2016. His son is also an employee, and they come from four generations of sawmill operators. His operation is somewhat small compared to previous generations, with about 1,000 board feet milled in a day whereas his grandpa would do up to 25,000 board feet a day.
“He had a very large mill,” Johnny said.
D’Lyna said she is one of the family sawmill’s biggest customers. She gets lumber from the sawmill for another family business, which is local furniture production. This is primarily D’Lyna’s baby, and they sell many of her items in the feed store. She makes everything from tables to garden boxes.
A third family business is growing hay, all grown from Bermuda grass on the family’s 500-acre farm. They share land with his father, who continues to manage a 40-head herd of cattle. Up until last year, the Bells also had a similar herd but sold it off when it became a better investment to sell calves to the feedlots instead of feeding them out for purchase.
“There wasn’t enough margin,” Johnny said. “There was no point.”
The couple doesn’t completely discount the idea of raising cattle again. But for now, they are content with their growing family businesses.
“If we need beef now to feed our family, we just buy it from my dad,” John said.
The hay business has grown exponentially, with many customers purchasing custom bales.
“We sell both round and square bales,” Johnny said, with D’Lyna adding that she sells the square ones at the feed store as well.
“Most the time I stay sold out and don’t have to advertise,” Johnny said. “Sometimes I will put it on Facebook Marketplace.”
They also plan to expand the offerings with the custom woodworking and especially at the feed store, including possibly adding square footage to the store.
