Magazine Issue: Summer 2016

Momentum Magazine >> Summer 2016

Articles

The Painful Process of Staying Relevant

How often in your life have you had a rewarding accomplishment come easily? In my experience, the answer is almost never. In this ultra-competitive world we live in, great things don’t just happen. It takes hard work, focus and tremendous effort to achieve meaningful results. MFA Oil is currently in […]

A blue fuel truck is parked on a gravel lot beside a large red barn. The sky is overcast with gray clouds, and there are propane tanks near the building.

Meeting the Needs of Arkansas Poultry Producers

Poultry is big business in Arkansas. Nearly 6,000 Arkansas farms produce some type of poultry, including broilers, turkeys and egg-laying hens. Poultry is the state’s top agricultural product, accounting for $4.47 billion in cash receipts or 44.3 percent of the total for all agricultural sales in Arkansas. By far the […]

Big Data

The Next Revolution in Agriculture Thanks to precision agriculture and advancements in equipment and computing technology, farmers are building a treasure trove of production information. The wealth of data generated by precision agriculture technology has enormous potential, but it’s what farmers do with this information that matters. If properly analyzed, […]

Close-up of scattered corn kernels on a 100-dollar bill, symbolizing the connection between agriculture and finance.

Farm Economy Continues To Tighten

It wasn’t long ago that U.S. farmers were enjoying booming business as farm incomes for row-crop producers swelled from 2007 to 2013, propelled by record exports and strong demand for biofuels. Now on the other side of the coin, many farmers are faced with commodity prices that will make it […]

A person wearing a cap and sunglasses operates a lawnmower on a grassy area surrounded by trees. Another individual is partially visible in the background, also using a lawnmower. A large building with arches is in the distance.

Propane-Powered Mowers Cut Grass, Emissions and Upkeep Costs

Landscape contractors, corporate maintenance crews and government agencies looking to improve the sustainability of their mowers are increasingly turning to propane. The clean-burning nature of propane reduces harmful carbon emissions compared with conventional fuels. Propane-powered mowers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 percent and carbon monoxide emissions by […]

Two men stand on metal stairs in front of a large corrugated metal structure. One wears a yellow shirt and jeans with a cap, the other a blue plaid shirt and cap. They are both smiling.

Brothers Partner to Start Farming Careers

Farming profit margins look slim for the 2016 crop year, but that’s not dampening the enthusiasm of Drew and Luke Mitchell. The downturn in the agricultural economy has provided the Mitchells with a golden opportunity: the chance to rent 800 acres of farmland in central Arkansas. As older farmers look […]

Five mascots, including a pig, bird, corn, top hat-wearing item, and cow, pose on a baseball field. The stadium seats are empty in the background.

Advocating for Agriculture

Giving legs to the motto “Stronger Together,” MFA Oil fills a key role with Missouri Farmers Care (MFC), a joint effort of Missouri’s farming and agriculture community to stand together for the men and women who provide the food and jobs on which communities depend. The coalition works statewide to […]

Industrial grain silos and storage facilities under a partly cloudy sky. The silos are large, metallic structures with connecting walkways and supporting frames. The surrounding area is paved and relatively empty.

It Pays to Upgrade Grain Dryers

Are you getting the most bang for your buck from your grain dryer? Research from the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) suggests that unless you’re using the latest grain drying technology, you may be leaving money on the table. Grain dryers provide farmers with harvest flexibility that can save […]

A street sign against a brick wall shows two arrows: one labeled SUPPLY pointing left and the other labeled DEMAND pointing right.

The Rebalancing Act

Energy prices fell significantly in early 2016 as a result of record supplies of all things energy. Prior to the recent dip, prices had generally been on the rise for most of the 2000s with the exception of the Great Recession, which began in December 2007 and stretched into 2009. […]

MFA Oil employees participate in a crane truck training session at the company’s headquarters in Columbia, Mo.

Focused on Safety

MFA Oil’s guiding principles provide the company’s board of directors with a clear vision of how to run the cooperative. Safety is always an important factor and makes up one of the six guiding principles. “When you’re working with refined fuel and propane, safety and compliance are not to be […]

A well-lit gas station at dusk with a white car parked at a pump. The station has multiple fuel pumps and a small convenience store in the background. The sky is a deep blue, indicating early evening.

APM Enhances Profitability for Independent C-Store Owners

American Petroleum Marketers, a division of MFA Oil, is a wholesale distributor of a broad spectrum of quality petroleum products for independently owned gas stations and convenience stores. Currently, APM operates in eight states across the Midwest, distributing more than 55 million gallons of fuel a year to its wholesale […]

From left: Ernie Verslues, president and CEO, MFA Incorporated; Don Mills, chairman of the board, MFA Incorporated; Benny Ferrell, chairman of the board, MFA Oil; Mark Fenner, president and CEO, MFA Oil.

MFA Oil Partners with MFA Inc. on Northwest Missouri Shuttle-Loader Facility

On May 2, 2016, MFA Oil Company and MFA Incorporated announced a joint venture to build a shuttle-loader facility on the Union Pacific Railroad approximately five miles east of Hamilton, Mo. The grain-handling facility will consist of 2 million bushels of permanent storage and 1.5 million bushels of temporary storage […]