Kottwitz Feed & Farm
Owner: Jim Kottwitz
Location: Osceola, Mo.
History: Jim Kottwitz has owned Kottwitz Feed & Farm since 1994, when he purchased it from his father, the late Frank Kottwitz, who started the business in the 1970s. Prior to it being a feed and farm store, the building housed a tractor implement dealership.
“This is part of our home place,” Jim recalled. “Dad bought this place when we moved here from Kansas in 1958.” After moving to Missouri, the family continued their farming tradition with dairy and beef cattle and row crops. Jim said his father was also a bit of an entrepreneur, owning and operating several businesses.
Products and services: “Our main thing is feed and Purina is our main line,” Jim said. “We’ve been with them since 1987. We have oil, parts, hardware, just a little of everything. We’re kind of like an old time general store.”
In addition to bag feed and other things for the farm, Kottwitz Feed & Farm also offers fresh produce grown by the Kottwitz family, discount grocery items and a bakery, which is operated by his wife, Connie.
In his gardens, Jim grows tomatoes, peppers, squash and other “staples” that can be found in gardens across the Ozarks, but there are a few things Kottwitz Feed & Farm has that other local growers might not.
“We are the only ones around that has celery,” Jim said.
They also grow several flowers and other bedding plants.
Philosophy: “It’s not all about business,” Jim said. “We’re more than a feed store. We get these old farmers who come in here who wouldn’t go to a grocery store, but they will come here. We are really providing a service to our customers and I really like that. We also treat everyone fairly and we are honest with them… Growing up, all of Mom and Dad’s business was done around a coffee table, that’s just the way business was done; and we’ve always got coffee around here.”
