Magazine Issue: Fall 2022

The MFA Oil Foundation announces it awarded over $300,000 in nonprofit support during its 2023 fiscal year to 118 organizations in 91 communities where MFA Oil Company, a farmer-owned energy-supply cooperative, operates. The MFA Oil Foundation supports local organizations serving education, youth, humanitarian services and civic endeavors. James Greer, senior […]

During my time as president of MFA Oil, I’ve had the opportunity to recognize many employees with awards celebrating their service milestones with the company. Some of these individuals have been with the cooperative for 30 or 40 years—a rare achievement in today’s workplace where job hopping is commonplace. I […]

A grove of cedar trees stands out among the fields of corn and soybeans along U.S. Highway 36 in northeastern Missouri. Here, amid the flat, fertile farm ground just outside of Monroe City, Sweetwater Distillery sits tucked behind the evergreens. Owners Andy and Heather Utterback opened the doors to the […]

For many, Christmas traditions begin with an annual pilgrimage to The Branch Ranch Across the nation, the day after Thanksgiving—known to most as “Black Friday”—is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Retailers of all kinds attempt to lure shoppers into their stores with limited, money-saving specials on […]

It’s a scene that plays out every spring and fall at local agricultural cooperatives and farm supply stores across the country. A single-file, serpentine line of pickup trucks and trailers forms in the parking lot, often before the start of business hours. Loaded down with stock tanks, garbage cans and […]

Tony Dameron of Vandalia, Mo., raises row crops and cattle with his wife. He is a third-generation MFA Oil member and has served as a delegate for the cooperative since 2015. Dameron was elected to the MFA Oil Board of Directors in September 2018. How would you describe yourself and […]

When migratory geese and other waterfowl fly south this fall from their Canadian breeding grounds, they will bring with them an uncharacteristic specter of dread. There’s a chance that the migration may reignite a wave of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks that spread across the North American continent earlier […]

“There’s a little bit of everything for any type of personality or interest group,” ag teacher Sarah Ray said of the Elsberry (Mo.) FFA Chapter, which she leads with Jason Vandivort. That may be an understatement. Elsberry FFA students have one of the widest ranges of hands-on learning opportunities, which […]

The MFA Oil Foundation announces it awarded $219,943 in grants to 132 nonprofit organizations during its 2022 fiscal year, which ended on Aug. 31, 2022. The grants were distributed to 108 communities throughout a seven-state region where MFA Oil Company, a farmer-owned energy-supply cooperative, operates. “Our vision is to empower […]

When Roger McCallie tells people he’s in the feeder business, some assume the central Arkansas farmer is talking about cattle. They’d be partially correct. While he does raise about 750 head of feeder calves annually, that number pales in comparison to the millions of “feeder” fish he produces each year. […]

Two forces opposing market forces—low inventories and recessionary concerns—are battling to determine the direction of diesel fuel prices in the near term. From a supply standpoint, total distillate inventories stood at 116.020 million gallons as of the week of Sept. 9., 2022. At the same time last year, there were […]

MFA Oil Laboratory Leader Certified for Lubricant Expertise Zach Studer, who oversees the MFA Oil laboratory, is now part of a select group of experts in the lubricant industry. He has been recognized by the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers as a Certified Lubricant Specialist. He is now one […]