Farmers Co-op adjusts to NWA’s changing landscape

PRAIRIE GROVE — As the landscape of Northwest Arkansas has shifted because of urban sprawl, the Farmers Cooperative stores in Lincoln and Prairie Grove have adjusted to meet the region’s changing needs, according to Matt Crabtree, chief executive officer since December 2018.

Each of the company’s 15 stores are a little different in that they are tailored to fit the agriculture needs of that area, Crabtree said.

However, Washington County is unique, he said.

The county used to have the largest cow stocking rate in the country, Crabtree said. Washington County once had 300,000 head of cattle; now there are around 97,000 head, which still makes it the county with the most cattle in Arkansas, he said.

Farmers Cooperative supplies feed, fertilizer, seed and chemicals to area producers. It also provides products for poultry, gates and panels for farms, hay and farm equipment.

To meet the changing needs of its customers in Northwest Arkansas, Crabtree said co-op stores now also carry lawn and garden products, pet food and pet toys, mulch, retail items and landscaping plants and materials.

“With Washington County changing, we’ve had to adapt to that,” he said.

The local stores provide merchandise for the large producers, such as seed for those farms with 10,000 acres, to smaller producers and those who work fulltime somewhere else and also take care of a small farm at home.

Farmers Cooperative started in 1944 in Fort Smith and has about 160 employees. Its corporate office now is in Van Buren. The company has 15 retail stores, a service/gas station, two feed mills and two distribution centers, one located in Lincoln.

Farmers Cooperative is member-owned and presently has about 3,500 members, who each paid a $50 onetime membership fee. Members receive voting privileges and also get cash back and equity from their purchases over the years.

At one time there were several independent cooperatives in the state, Crabtree said. Over the years, these have closed.

“Some of the stores we have are a result of that. We’re in some of the buildings,” Crabtree said. “We’re one of the strongest co-ops around and are continuing to grow our business.”

The 5,000-square-foot store in Prairie Grove is the co-op’s newest store, opening in April 2020. Other stores are in Lincoln, Decatur, Springdale, Van Buren, Branch, Greenwood, Mena, Ozark, Subiaco, Waldron, Fort Smith, Sallisaw, Okla., and Poteau, Okla.

Crabtree said the co-op does not have a new store planned right now but is always looking for opportunities, especially in Northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. He said the company will be strategic about its future stores and maybe space them farther apart.

Crabtree worked for Allen Canning Co. for eight years, then for Farmers Cooperative as its agronomy manager before leaving the firm to farm full-time with his father. He returned to the co-op as its CEO in 2018.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Lynn Kutter) Dallas Harriman (left) and Roland McCleland, employees with Farmers Cooperative in Prairie Grove, put together a cattle hay ring for display. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Lynn Kutter) Matt Crabtree has served as chief executive officer for Farmers Cooperative since December 2018. He also has worked for Allen Canning Co., as agronomy manager for Farmers Cooperative and as a full-time farmer with his father.