Farming Fungus - MFA Oil: Oil & Fuel Company | Propane Dealer

Farming Fungus

Page 6

90th Annual Delegate Meeting

Page 12

Winter 2020

KEEP YOUR ENGINE RUNNING

LIKE A BOSS

BOSS Performance DieselTM extends engine life by up to 15%. Our advanced detergents keep your engine running like new. Why settle for less than peak performance?

Higher cetane number for increased power and faster start-ups.

Superior wear protection for your injection system, fuel pump and filter.

Cleaner burning for higher efficiency and fewer emissions.

Don't just work. Be the BOSS. Try MFA Oil's BOSS Performance Diesel today.

Find BOSS Performance Diesel near you at .

Contents WINTER 2020 ? VOL. 5 NO. 1

Features

6

Farming Fungus

Gourmet Mushrooms are a New Cash Crop for One Northwest Missouri Family

6

10

MFA Oil Company 2019 Fiscal Year Audit Report

12

90th Annual Delegate Meeting

MFA Oil Declares $11 Million in Patronage for Members, Two New Directors Elected to the Company's Board

12

18

Farmers Should Prioritize Health, Seek Help if Needed

20

Ag Educators Series: It's About the Kids

In Every Issue

4 Letter From the CEO 5 Spotlight 16 The Big Picture 22 Giving Back 24 Market Commentary 25 News Briefs 26 Delegate Profile

WWW.

18

Farming Fungus

Page 6

90th Annual Delegate Meeting

Page 10

On the Cover: Grand River Mushrooms in Hamilton, Mo., grows culinary delights like the Italian oyster mushroom for chefs in nearby urban markets. Photo by Jason Jenkins. Winter2020

MOMENTUM /// 3

Leadership Letter

Seeing 2020

THE START OF THE NEW YEAR and new decade is here. It's now 2020, but are we seeing 20/20?

Seeing 20/20 from a co-op perspective is all about our ability to see our businesses clearly in both the near-term and on a longterm basis. For MFA Oil, our ideal vision includes satisfied members and customers, productive employees, and efficient operations. We have set forth our strategic plan to achieve this vision and we are working hard to ensure all facets of our company are properly aligned.

Jon Ihler

As we set forth for a successful 2020, we are cognizant that our day-to-day activities must fit our cooperative's needs for the future. The way we conduct our business today and the choices made in the present will play a key role in our opportunities for success in the future.

Whether its improving propane usage projections during the heating season, optimizing delivery or developing new business processes, we are looking to improve in ways that benefit you and the cooperative as a whole. We are leveraging our business intelligence capabilities to analyze our operational data to find actionable insights we can use to continue to provide excellent service to our members and customers. We are also gathering feedback from customers, employees and our Board of Directors.

At the same time, we are combing through our customer records and working to ensure all information for each account is accurate and up-to-date. This helps us provide better service with less chance of error, reduces administrative work and minimizes wasted time. This process is crucial to maintaining excellent visibility and, ultimately, improving our level of service and commitment to you.

We wish you and your business the best in 2020. We will be by your side as you focus on today and beyond.

Jon Ihler President and CEO

4 /// MOMENTUM

Winter 2020 ? Vol. 5 No. 1

This magazine comes to you courtesy of MFA Oil Company,

a farmer-owned cooperative providing energy solutions to customers for 90 years. We deliver high-quality propane, fuels and lubricants to farmers and other customers across an eight-state region stretching from Indiana to Kansas. Momentum is an information service for farm families, published by MFA Oil.

Momentum is published three times annually. For address corrections,

story ideas or other inquiries, email editor@ or call 800-366-0200.

MFAOil MFAOil

Address: One Ray Young Drive Columbia, MO 65201

President and CEO Jon Ihler

Sr. Manager of Marketing Services

Ashley Bower

Editor Adam Buckallew

Graphic Designer Kristin Branscom

Board of Directors Marion Kertz (Chairman), Glen Cope, Tony Dameron, Monte Fisher, Scott Mitchell, Mike Moreland, Jake Taylor,

Chuck Weldon

?2020 MFA Oil Company

WINTER 2020

Spotlight

Beyond the Barn Dance

FOR CENTURIES, THE BARN WAS THE SPACE FOR celebrating. No matter the occasion -- whether it be a birthday, wedding, holiday or even the raising of the barn itself -- this place for housing crops and livestock would transform for communal gathering, making way for dancing and merriment.

Somewhere along the way, though, the barn lost its allure, and true barn dances faded away. Modern times demanded modern places to gather, and this simple space was forgotten. However, in recent years, a rustic revival has taken place. The barn is back.

For the past six years, Jamie and Derek Bryant have welcomed guests to Blue Bell Farm, an event venue that sits just south of Fayette, Mo., in Howard County. Blue Bell isn't a farm in name alone. Owned by the family for more than 200 years across seven generations, the 350-acre farm today produces grass-fed beef.

At the center of the event space is Blue Bell's barn. Completed in 2014, the structure is the site for year-round weddings, corporate retreats and other private events.

"We had a lovely old hay barn, some say one of the oldest in the county, but it just wasn't able to be retrofitted for our purposes," Jamie explains. "So, we took it down piece by piece and reused a lot of the wood in our new timber-framed barn."

The whitewashed interior, accentuated with elegant rope chandeliers, is large enough to seat 150 guests and plays host to as many as 20 weddings and other events every year. While there is loft space -- a barn staple -- the venue also is equipped with other amenities that would make barns of the past envious, including a bar, kitchen and restrooms.

Beyond the physical space and pastoral setting, the Bryants offer catering that features locally sourced food as well as wedding planning and design services.

"The ultimate goal is to provide a wonderful experience for our guests from start to finish," Jamie adds.

Another fixture at Blue Bell is the Farm Dinner series, a collaboration between the venue and professional chefs to provide distinct dining experiences with local ingredients, including the farm's grass-fed beef.

"We did the cooking for our first couple of events but then quickly realized that we were in over our heads," Jamie says with a laugh. "So, we started partnering with chefs from Columbia,

TOP LEFT: The barn at Blue Bell Farm serves as the anchor for most activities at the venue. TOP RIGHT: Derek and Jamie Bryant, and their daughter, Lilly, welcome guests to their farm, which has been in the family for seven generations. ABOVE: The barn's whitewashed interior, exposed beams and rope chandeliers offer rustic elegance for weddings and other events. Photos courtesy of Blue Bell Farm.

St. Louis and elsewhere, and we handled the design and coordination components."

Each dinner features a menu inspired by a unique concept or theme. The number of guests is dictated by the location, whether inside the barn, down by the pond or even in the greenhouse.

"I think it allows the chefs to have the creative freedom to experiment with new ideas and techniques outside of their kitchens," Jamie says. "We love collaborating with them on their ideas."

Originally trained as an interior designer, Jamie says she sees similarities between design and event planning. Both require coordination, and she loves when everything comes together, especially weddings.

"A lot of times, we book our weddings 12 to 18 months out. You establish a relationship with the couple and get to know their hopes and dreams for their big day," Jamie says. "You go on the journey with them, and when their special day arrives, you see the first dance and you see the joy that the family experiences. When I get a sweet note from a bride saying that her wedding was everything she dreamed it would be, that's my favorite part."

? BY JASON JENKINS

Blue Bell Farm will announce its 2020 Farm Dinner dates and chef collaborations in March. To learn more, call 660888-6011 or visit .

WWW.

MOMENTUM /// 5

Gourmet Mushrooms are a New Cash Crop for One Northwest Missouri Family

Photos and Story By Jason Jenkins

6 /// MOMENTUM

WINTER 2020

Known for its smooth, velvety texture, the Italian

oyster mushroom adds a rich taste to many recipes.

It's one of five regular offerings at Grand River Mushrooms in Hamilton, Mo.

WWW.

IIt'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 an old shoe factory, a different kind of cash crop is growing. Since 2017, the Larkins have produced specialty mushrooms. Their business, Grand River Mushrooms, began in the family's 1,200-square-foot two-car garage. Today, it occupies a 45,000-square-foot industrial space where they grow shiitake, lion's mane, cinnamon cap and two varieties of oyster mushrooms that they deliver directly to chefs.

"Matt's a third-generation row-cropper, but we both have an entrepreneurial spirit," says Madison, who oversees the mushroom business and the company's five other employees, including her brother, Marshall Suchsland. "We knew we wanted to provide food for people."

After brainstorming opportunities for a year-round business, they decided to focus on fancy fungus. Madison says the choice was ironic because she never really was a fan of mushrooms.

"When it comes to food, I'm a texture person, and button mushrooms and portabellas never really appealed to me," she says. "When we realized that we lived in kind of a mushroom desert when it came to locally produced gourmet varieties, we decided to give it a try."

The Larkins spent months learning the ins and outs of mushroom production while building their business concept. They decided to focus on restaurants in the Kansas City region.

"A lot of wholesalers won't even handle some of these mushrooms because they're fragile and don't have long shelf lives, so we knew there was opportunity," Madison says. "But, if we were going to be a wholesale supplier for chefs, we knew we had to be able to produce consistently. We needed to grow at least 100 pounds each and every week before we even thought about approaching restaurants."

She says they started with blue oysters because they're one of the easiest to grow. After roughly 10 months of research and development, the Larkins felt confident in both their product and their ability to supply it. Their first client: The Rieger in the Crossroads District of Kansas City, Mo.

"We love their product. It's great," says Adam Yoder, The Rieger's chef de cuisine. "They offer really fresh mushrooms, the flavor is great and their attention to detail is reflected in the quality. They also offer a couple varieties that others don't grow."

Adam says his favorites are the shiitakes. The restaurant's culinary team uses the mushroom caps in many dishes, but they also utilize the stems, which are fermented and then dehydrated to produce a mushroom powder.

"It's become a staple ingredient for seasoning at the restaurant," the chef adds. "It's really a flavor booster for many dishes."

Today, along with The Rieger, Grand River delivers 5-pound boxes of mixed mushrooms to more than 50 restaurant clients in the metro area.

MOMENTUM /// 7

LEFT: In less than three years, Madison Larkin's business has literally mushroomed, from the family's 1,200-square-foot garage to a 45,000-square-foot industrial space. TOP RIGHT: Also called the chestnut mushroom, the cinnamon cap is nutty, with a slightly earthy flavor. Its caps are desired for their unique texture: BOTTOM LEFT: The lion's mane mushroom is versatile. It can be sliced into steaks, torn into pieces or chopped into nuggets. BOTTOM RIGHT: Savory and meaty, the shiitake mushroom is the most timeconsuming of Grand River's offerings. The species incubates for roughly four months before fruiting.

'Shroom Steps

Overall, growing mushrooms is a relatively simple and straightforward process. It begins the same for all varieties: preparing the substrate.

"The substrate is to the mushroom what soil is to the seed. It's the place to grow," Madison explains. "We mix pelletized oak sawdust with water, and that's our growing medium. We like using the pellets because the moisture is consistent every time."

The substrate is placed in a plastic bag designed specifically for mushroom production. The bags feature a filter patch that allows airflow while preventing any contaminants from entering. Next, the bags are sterilized.

"We do atmospheric sterilization with steam. It's not an autoclave that also uses pressure," Madison says. "You're just trying to provide a clean substrate for the mushrooms."

The bags of substrate remain in the steamer for nearly 24 hours. Once removed and allowed to cool, they are then taken into the "clean room," where an employee adds a substance called spawn -- the mushroom producer's equivalent of seed. The spawn has been inoculated with mycelium, the vegetative growth of a fungus. The bags are then sealed, shaken to evenly distribute the spawn throughout the substrate and placed on racks.

For the next few weeks to several months, depending on the mushroom variety, the bags will incubate on the racks at

room temperature as the mycelium colonizes the substrate. Madison says the process slowly changes the substrate, both in color and composition.

"The mycelium is like the roots of the mushroom," she says. "As it grows and colonizes the substrate, it'll eventually turn completely white. It will also become very firm and form the sawdust into a block. We're looking for 100 percent colonization."

Once this stage is reached, the blocks are moved into the grow room where the fungus will produce edible mushrooms in a process known as fruiting.

"When it comes to the temperature of the grow room, our mushroom species are considered wide-range, so they can fruit from 40 degrees up to almost 80 degrees," Madison says, adding that the temperature dictates the speed at which fruiting begins. "In the new grow rooms we're setting up, we'll keep the temp around 60 degrees."

Each block produces roughly 2 pounds of mushrooms, though the yield varies by the growing conditions. The mushrooms are harvested by hand; only the prettiest will go into the regular mixed boxes. The less-than-perfect mushrooms, which they affectionately call the "uglies," are sold at a discount.

Mushroom farming is labor intensive, Madison says. As production ramps up in the new facility in Hamilton, Grand River has designed its operations to be both scalable and as efficient as possible.

8 /// MOMENTUM

WINTER 2020

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download