Owners: JR and Heather Pitts
History: A year and a half ago, JR and Heather Pitts decided to try something new when they purchased both the Flying RS Feed & Farm Supply in Garfield Ark. and Webbs Feed and Seed in Pea Ridge Ark. JR grew up as the son and grandson of Air Force veterans and as a result, he grew up in many different places. Their farm has been in JR’s family now for nearly 100 years and he and Heather live on the 200 acres there in a house his grandfather built. “The cows are gone now,” he added. “We just raise hay here today.”
JR and Heather have a daughter, Lexi who works at their stores on a part-time basis while their son, Landon is a full-time college student.
Products and Services: JR characterizes their stores as places that offer a little bit of everything in the way of farm and veterinary supplies, feed, pet supplies, hardware, grass and garden seed. In the proper season they also have hunting supplies such as flavored corn, deer blocks and other attractants. In the spring, they offer baby chicks but he shared that they have been much harder to get this year as a result of the bird flu. They also host Fish Days a couple of times a year in which they make “pond stockers” as JR calls them, available to local landowners.
He added. “We also have round and square bales of hay and straw.
“Our Webb Feed and Seed is in a small building built over 100 years ago and is the oldest Purina dealership in Arkansas. We do our best but obviously we cannot hold as much stock there as at the Flying RS store.”
Future Plans: For the moment, JR concluded, they just intend to continue to grow and maybe find a way to come up with more hay storage. “We didn’t come into this with the idea of making a lot of big changes or reinventing the wheel. The best part of this business is just getting to know our customers and providing them with the best of service in the age-old tradition of local Mom and Pop feed stores.”
