Momentum

A candlestick chart showing an upward trend from 2016 to 2018. Green and red candlesticks represent monthly price movements. Key levels are marked at 2.0135, 2.3105, and 1.7199, with a blue trend line indicating support.

Taking a Wider View

The energy market is full of questions these days. What is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) up to and has the cartel reestablished its relevance? How much of a factor is Russia playing? Where does the United States stand with its abundant shale oil production and new […]

Dameron Elected to MFA Oil Board of Directors

Tony Dameron of Vandalia, Mo., was elected to represent the East Central district on the MFA Oil Company board of directors through a special election held on Sept. 21 in Mexico, Mo. The special election was held to fill the seat that became vacant due to the untimely death of […]

A group of children and adults posing outside a building labeled Welcome to PowerUP! North Missouri Center for Youth & Families. The children are seated in front while the adults stand behind them. Some kids hold papers with drawings.

Afterschool Program Broadens Students’ Horizons

Every day after school, about 50 children from Chillicothe, Mo., arrive at the North Missouri Center for Youth and Families. The kids range from kindergarteners to eighth graders, but they all take part in the center’s PowerUP! Afterschool program, which provides a nurturing environment for tutoring, help with homework, enrichment […]

Network Ops Team Tackles Tech Issues to Improve Customer Service

Throughout the spring and summer, MFA Oil has been hard at work upgrading its phone systems, enterprise content management system and server infrastructure to better care for customers. These efforts have been handled by the company’s Network Operations department, which has worked diligently to replace outdated technology and install solutions […]

Driving with Data

I was recently asked by an employee what I think MFA Oil Company will look like in the future and whether I feel we are still prospering. Both are great questions and probably something I don’t talk about enough. I feel the company will be much larger in the future […]

Steve and Veronica Baetje have made goat cheese in the hills of Ste. Genevieve County since 2007.

Aged to Perfection

After producing award-winning goat cheese for more than a decade, Baetje Farms is poised to begin a new chapter With the pull of a rope, a trap door at the end of the milking parlor rises. Eight Saanen dairy goats enter, moving in unison like choreographed dancers taking the stage. […]

How Blockchain Could Disrupt Agriculture

Frank Yiannas walked into his staff meeting with a package of sliced mangoes. As he set it down on the table, he looked at his team of Walmart colleagues and said, “The traceback study starts right now. Hit the clock.” Yiannas wanted to know from which country the mangoes came […]

A vast green field under a sunset sky with scattered clouds. The vibrant orange and pink hues blend with the fading blue, casting a warm glow over the rows of crops extending into the distance. Trees line the horizon.

Coalition Seeks to Grow Demand for Biodiesel

When Missouri soybean farmers began investing their checkoff dollars into biodiesel research in 1991, they set the wheels in motion for the development of a renewable fuel that would drive demand for their crop and provide a clean-burning alternative to petroleum diesel. “Biodiesel started out as an idea—an opportunity to […]

A person in a blue uniform and cap works on a large white propane tank outdoors, next to a blue truck. Theres a green tree and grassy area in the background.

Fill Propane Tanks Now to Save Later

As the summer temperatures rise, the crisp winds of fall and winter can seem impossibly far away. In the heat of the summer, it can be easy to put winter to-do’s, such as filling up your propane tank, on the back burner. But filling tanks now, rather than waiting until […]

Two tractors are plowing a vast brown field. One follows the other, raising dust trails as they move across the soil. The scene is captured from above, emphasizing the scale and texture of the landscape.

Help Wanted

Finding Farmworkers is a Challenge When Dannie Daughhetee reached out to his local unemployment office in West Memphis, Ark., last fall looking for help in filling four positions on his 5,000-acre rice, soybean, corn and cotton farm, he received 18 applications. Only four people bothered to show up to the […]

A group of brown cattle stands in a grassy field under clear skies. The cows are facing the camera, with one prominently in the foreground. Trees and open land are visible in the distance.

Drought cuts pasture growth

In dry weather with short pastures, Missouri cow-herd owners face tough culling decisions. One way to match cows’ needs to available grass is to sell cows. Give careful thought to which grass eaters go first, says Eric Bailey, University of Missouri Extension beef nutritionist. Under drought stress, identifying those cows […]

A family of four sits on a red patterned blanket in a grassy field. Two children, a man, and a woman are smiling at the camera. Cows are grazing in the background under a cloudy sky with a warm sunset glow.

Why I Farm

Oliver Farms While most family farms have a long history, the Oliver family is breaking ground with their first-generation farm, Oliver Farms. Bill Oliver started farming in the 1990s, during his high school agricultural education courses. Fifteen years ago, Laura came on board, turning the farming project into a family […]