Feed mill sells, remains open

After 25 years of serving Russellville and the surrounding area's animal feed needs, John H. and Marsha Orndorff announced earlier this year the Adairville Feed Mill's Russellville location would be closing, unless they could find a buyer.

On May 31st, the Orndorffs closed at the end of business as usual, however, this would be their last day as the owners. Fighting through the emotions, and speaking on behalf of the family, Marsha said, "This has been a blessing. We’ve been privileged to have great customers that we have grown to love and honor them and their businesses. Have we made a bunch of money? No. But what we have gained in love and in friendships is priceless."

Recalling precious memories over the last 25 years, Marsha added, "Being able to be with our kids and grandkids; in high school, my kids came by here and ate lunch. My daughter has a business of her own and she still comes by here for lunch. Our kids have been able to bring our grandchildren down here. This has been home, it really has." The mill feeling like home didn't change the realization that it was time to make the decision on closing.

"It's time. We realized back in January when me and John H. were working it for about 10 days when Bill was sick. He said, ‘I’ve got to get out of here. It's been my life and I love it,’ " shared Marsha, who added, "We need to be able to focus on his health and his knee; he was never gonna do that as long as we were here. He would keep pushing. So, that's our plan for the future, is to get his knee fixed and see what God has for us to do." As for the mill, well, it's getting a second life.

Adam and Kayla Scruggs, who have dedicated their lives to service — he a firefighter, she in home health — believed purchasing the mill was the right choice for their family.

As of June 1st, the mill is now called Lazy E Farms Feed & Supplies. Adam said, "I’ve been a customer of theirs since I was a kid and I’ve actually always wanted to own this place. When I heard it was for sale, I had a few people reach out to me and ask if I was interested. I came up here and talked to John H. and Marsha, so that's how it all started.

"We want others to know we wanted to buy this because of the Orndorff family because it's a respected business in our community. We’re not buying this to get rich, by any means. We’re buying this to serve the community and this is another way we’re going to serve and add to the legacy that the Orndorffs started. I’m hoping in 40 years I’m passing the torch to somebody and the community respects us like they did them."

Despite the new owners and a new name, the Scruggses promise neither the service nor the quality customers have grown to know and trust will change. "We plan to keep operating the same way. We bought all the recipes and have no plans to change any of the feed part of the business. We plan to grow the business, but as far as what they’ve been doing the last 40 years, we plan to keep doing it," Adam shared.

"We’ve got all the customer records, so we won't be trying to figure out what customers have been getting. We’ll be able to get that specific feed for the customer without problems," explained Adam.

"We’re just getting started in our business and we’re planning to grow by bringing in more products and product lines down the road. We’re not sure what those will be just yet," said Adam.

Additional services are in the future as well. "We’re also hoping to offer more bulk deliveries. Farmers can call and we’ll deliver it in the truck," he added.

The new owners want people to know their products aren't just for livestock. Kayla said, "This isn't just feeding pigs, cows, horses, and chickens. We also have cat foods and dog foods. There is a lot more you can get here than at a big box store as far as quality and options."

"We have feed for birds, rabbits, cats, dogs. Pretty much any animal we have feed for and we’re going to expand those types of products as well," Adam added.

"We ask that customers have patience with us while we get our feet, it's going to take us a little bit, there's going to be some growing pains. John H. and Marsha have been wonderful during this whole process making sure we know everything they can remember, but it's hard to learn 25 years’ worth of information in a month. It's hard for them to remember 25 years’ worth of stuff to tell us in a month, but they’ve been great and they’re going to continue to support us after they leave," Adam said.

Marsha said, "We want the same blessings for Adam and Kayla. We want it to bless their family like it's blessed ours because Abby's gonna run this place." Abby is Adam and Kayla's daughter.

Hours of operation will be 8 am. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the 1st and 3rd Saturday monthly from 8 a.m. to noon. The phone number remains the same as it always has been at 270-726-4510.

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