Feature

Brookfield wins! Brookfield FFA, that is. The prize: a cowbell. Not just any cowbell; the FFA version of the Bell Game prize. The annual Bell Game, between the high school football teams of Brookfield, Mo., and nearby Marceline, is one of the oldest sports rivalries in America. It is called […]

More Than Two Decades Ago, One Southwest Missouri Company Helped Turn an Unwanted Byproduct into a Valued Commodity They say perception is reality. In the late 1990s, the perception among poultry producers was that oak shavings weren’t a good bedding material inside chicken houses. Del Oney didn’t believe that was […]

Smithfield Foods and Roeslein Alternative Energy Partnership Turns Waste into Energy Concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, have been in the news lately for a variety of reasons. Can these operations be sustainable, create good jobs and benefit the environment, too? Critics would say, “When pigs fly.” A joint venture […]

Through Sept. 15, MFA Oil customers can lock in prices with propane contracts for this coming winter. The MFA Oil Pre-Buy Program allows individuals and businesses to contract a predetermined volume of propane at a set price. Spring and summer are traditionally great times to contract propane. The Pre-Buy Program […]

With lower initial investments and higher returns, fruit and vegetable production could play a big role in doubling the state’s agricultural economy by 2030, according to a study by University of Missouri researchers. “Compared to row crops, you don’t have to have as many acres of fruit and vegetables to […]

If it’s a weed, spray it. That’s the mindset that most in the agriculture industry held for years. That thinking no longer works as more weeds become resistant to herbicides, says Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri Extension weed scientist. Bradley uses waterhemp as an example. Waterhemp is one of 14 […]

In August 2020, we made a couple of big decisions at MFA Oil. The first was to move forward with a new point-of-sale system called Energy-Force in our bulk fuel and propane division. We chose to go with Energy-Force because of its ease of use; its ability to provide daily […]

MFA Oil is exploring non-traditional business opportunities that could benefit its members in the future. The Earth is indisputably round. But standing on its surface, the curvature is imperceptible. Just as it’s difficult to recognize the planet’s rounded nature, it can be easy to miss gradual changes that lead to […]

Farmer-owned Peanut-shelling Facility Gives Growers More Control of Their Future Most people wouldn’t be satisfied working for peanuts. Tommy Jumper came out of retirement to do just that. After years of planning and development, Jumper and a group of farmer-investors opened Delta Peanut, the first peanut-shelling cooperative in Arkansas, in […]

Farmers know that well-maintained equipment is key to success. Yet they often do not listen to the “check engine” warning signs of stress, says Sean Brotherson, family science specialist for North Dakota State University. Brotherson was the keynote speaker at the recent University of Missouri Crop Management Conference. “Ag has […]

It’s late January, and a thick blanket of newly fallen snow covers the rolling farm ground of north Missouri. While it’s been months since Matt and Madison Larkin finished combining corn and soybeans, their harvest continues. Just down the road from the farm in the town of Hamilton, tucked inside […]

The 2020 MFA Oil Annual Delegate Meeting is going to look a little different this year. Rather than hosting a centralized meeting with hundreds of attendees at a conference center in December, this year’s meeting is coming to an office near you and will be unlike any we have held […]