Farmers in 14 states now benefit from the vision the founders of Kentucky Organic Farm and Feed Inc. had in 2009. From serving just two farms to farms all over the region, Kentucky Organic Farm and Feed Inc. (KOFFI) of Guthrie, Kentucky is the leading organic feed and fertilizer supplier in the area, offering 100% certified organic feed of any type to a wide variety of customers.
The idea for the co-op was developed in 2007 when western Kentucky became home to the first two certified organic dairy farms in the state.
“Necessity is really what led to the development of the co-op. There was no established organic infrastructure so when several of us converted our dairy farms to organic, we needed a feed mill,” says Melvin Troyer, a member of KOFFI’s current board.
The dedication of providing services to those who need it is consistent with the overall mindset of cooperatives. Melvin notes that no order is too small because the overall goal is to provide the best quality organic feed to farmers who need it.
John Troyer, another local farmer who was already producing some organic feed, agreed to expand his operation and rented a nearby building to start producing more feed. When John decided he wanted to transition out of the business, a group of the local farmers, including Melvin Troyer, came together to elect a steering committee and develop the cooperative. At this point, the co-op only provided the milling services while the feed was actually owned by Organic Valley.
Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD) was involved early on in the process.
“We were advised from a very early point to start working with KCARD,” Troyer says. “(KCARD staff) took the business apart and put it back together several times until we had everything right.”
At the beginning, KCARD staff attended monthly meetings at KOFFI and provided advice on cooperative development, including help with drafting bylaws and articles of incorporation.
“I remember in the beginning, we projected we had to sell around 83 tons of feed a month to break even, but we were only selling around 43,” Troyer said. In order to cover operating costs, each of the members agreed to contribute $200 per month until it reached breakeven. This took a little over a year to accomplish, but is now a great demonstration of the commitment of the members to the co-op. “Now we consistently have deliveries to Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Indiana, and we get calls every day from new customers interested in our feed.”
Though KOFFI was originally developed to provide feed only for western Kentucky farmers, the co-op now delivers to fourteen different states and sells over 1500 tons of feed per month. In 2016, they purchased a former fertilizer plant across the road from their original mill.
“We were maxed out at the old mill. We constantly had more people coming to us asking for feed and we didn’t want to turn anyone away. It was either tell people we couldn’t provide feed for them or grow, so we chose to grow,” Troyer mentions. Originally, KOFFI was just selling bulk feed to dairy farms. Now it offers bagged and bulk feed along with fertilizer, and they sell feed to organic egg producers and poultry operations of various sizes.
Continuing to meet the demands of their customers, KOFFI has recently begun another expansion to the feed mill by offering their own organic soybean meal. “I expect that we’ll continue to grow because there’s no easy stopping point. We’re at a point where we need to add new hires and start looking to the next generation for the future of KOFFI,” Trover added.
KCARD has been involved with KOFFI’s development since the beginning and now, KCARD continues to provide financial assistance and advice through each expansion. Troyer notes that the Center’s involvement has been crucial to the success of the co-op, especially when it came to the specific legalities of developing the co-op.
“I would tell anyone interested in launching a co-op to not even start until they’ve talked to KCARD,” Troyer said.
KCARD is able to provide cooperative development services to KOFFI and other cooperatives or groups interested in forming cooperatives in Kentucky due to the support of the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board.
