Columbia Business Times - September 2017

FROM BANKING TO BEEF Doug Nichols, Cloverleaf Farms PAGE 48

The Airbnb of Hunting PAGE 42

Eco-friendly ROI for Your Business PAGE 64

BECAUSE YOUR HEALTH IS

WHO WILL CONFRONT THE HEALTH EPIDEMIC CAUSED BY AN UNHEALTHY DIET? At 32.4%, Missouri has the 10th highest adult obesity rate in the nation.

(The State of Obesity Project)

Heart of Missouri United Way

GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER. uwheartmo.org

OUR COMMUNITY’S HEALTH.

OUR COMMUNITY WILL, TOGETHER. BECAUSE CHANGE DOESN’T HAPPEN ALONE. University of Missouri Health Care is proud to support Heart of Missouri United Way, which invests donations in local programs that increase access to health care, healthy foods and education about healthy lifestyles.

From left: Greg Jones JD, Polly Reynolds, CPA, CTFA, and Kari Vogt

You’re going to like The Trust Company.

And our amazing new office off Discovery Parkway!

We’re an independent financial services company that takes the time to get to know you and guide you through the complexities of trusts, estates, and investment portfolio and wealth management.

Learn why clients count on us to effectively manage their wealth. Give us a call or stop by and say hello.

THETRUSTCO.COM INDEPENDENT TRUST, INVESTMENT & FINANCIAL ADVISORS 4210 Philips Farm Road, Suite 109 I Columbia, MO 65201 I 573.876.7000 I Toll Free 800.285.7878 This is a Trust Representative Office.

October 6-13 Get ready to form new connections with like-minded people while learning about the many initiatives supporting midMissouri’s innovative business community.

A small sample of events to attend...

Startup Weekend

Missouri Tech Challenge

Bringing entrepreneurs together to spark ideas, meet new people, and create innovative solutions in just 48 fun-packed hours.

Live on stage, budding entrepreneurs get the chance to win $50,000 and bring their dreams to fruition in this “Shark Tank” like event.

Sam Richter OCTOBER 11

Celebrating Women in Social Enterprise

Keynote speaker & bestselling author delivers motivational workshops on technology, sales, and marketing.

Breakfast celebrates women social entrepreneurs in our community

OCTOBER 6-8

OCTOBER 11

OCTOBER 12

See the entire schedule and register now!

SEATING AT MOST VENUES IS LIMITED

BringUpBiz.org

This community-wide effort is possible through contributions from many different organizations and businesses. Thanks to our partners for their assistance in making this week a reality!

Office of Economic Development Office of Technology Management & Industry Relations

MISSOURI

INNOVATION C E N T E R

dream up.

MID-MISSOURI’S INNOVATION WEEK

@BRINGUPBIZ

Questions? Contact Sherri Helm at helms@missouri.edu or 573-882-3087

GFI Digital is pleased to announce the promotion of

ANDREA PAUL

to Sales Manager in Columbia, MO.

Andrea has consistently been a top performer as an account executive in her 9 year tenure with GFI Digital and looks forward to leading a team and continuing to grow the Columbia, Northern MO, and Quincy, IL markets. Andrea is a team player and strives to build strong customer relationships.

Congratulations, Andrea!

573.874.5600 | GFIDigital.com 2415 Carter Lane, Suite 102 Columbia MO 65201

KEEP YOUR BUSINESS IN SYNC.

Gravity, your Mid-Missouri Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Whatever your needs, we can connect any Apple product.

(Within the laws of physics of course).

Authorized Service Provider

573.443.1555/ info@gravitycolumbia.com / gravitycolumbia.com 810 East Walnut St. / Columbia, Missouri 65201 Mon - Fri 10am - 6pm / Sat 10am - 2pm

Apple and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Nominate your favorite young professional.

AUGU ST 1 thru S E P T E MBE R 1 5 Col u mb i a B u s i n e ss Ti me s .co m

PRESENTED BY S UPP ORTED BY F LAT B RA N CH HO M E LOA N S

I

awoke at 5 a.m. unsure of where I was, or what day it was, or what year it was, or why I was awake at 5 a.m. to begin with, or why 5 FROM a.m. existed. Being a person at 5 a.m. is not in my wheelhouse.

BANKING Consider it baptism by fire to prepare for our Ag and Science TO BEEF Issue of CBT. Yes, I was up with the cows, literally. What could have inspired me to do an early morning photo shoot with Mid-Missouri farmer Doug Nichols on his land? And why, in the name of sleeping in, would photographer Anthony Jinson suggest we start at 6 a.m.? Well, for the good light, of course. And he was, as usual, right. The early morning fog rolling across the valley near the Nichols family’s Century Farm was an unforgettable sight.

For this issue, I was intrigued by the possibility of showing all the different ways people do business. Some people do it in a bank, with a suit and tie and 9 to 5 hours. Some people do it at home, raising kids ON THE COVER Photographer Anthony Jinson got up and working online. Some people do it on the farm, caring for living close and personal with the cows to creatures and waking up before any normal person would want to be capture our cover – while the editors awake. (Okay, I’m being a little dramatic, but I think most of us can stayed at a safe distance. All the agree that 5 a.m. just ain’t right.) elements of this photo came together It’s all business, whether you deal in cow pies or pie charts. This to make one of our favorite covers ever. Photography by Anthony Jinson just happened to be my first time up close and personal with the former. And now I won’t mistake them for odd piles of mud dropped around the cow pasture.

For me, getting to experience a sampling of Doug’s life on the farm, especially knowing about his past life as a financial advisor in the corporate world, was a glimpse into the life of someone who is fulfilled by what he’s doing and who took a nontraditional path to get there.

The best part about professional fulfillment is it looks different on each person — we all attain professional happiness in different ways, whether it’s striving for awards or striving for work–life balance. And it’s a great reminder that there isn’t one path to whatever success looks like for you. Sometimes veering off the charted course can lead to great new things.

I’m headed down a new course, too. Our October edition of CBT will be my last as editor. I’m starting a new adventure with my husband in Knoxville, Tennessee. In our two-journalist household, there’s lots of traveling and new opportunities in our future and we’re excited for what’s next.

I’ll be staying involved with The Business Times Company through the end of the year, most importantly by training incoming CBT editor Breck Dumas. Breck has a rich background in radio, politics, PR, and finance. She also happens to be a business news junkie. She is a fantastic addition to the CBT family and will lead the magazine to new heights with her commitment to telling the stories of Columbia’s businesses. Please congratulate her!

Enjoy this Ag and Science Issue. We probably could have called it the food issue, as you’ll get to read about food from all angles: the challenges of the folks who produce it (page 48), how restaurants and grocers are adapting to consumers’ needs (page 60), and how the new agriculture park is a way to unite the rural and urban sides of Mid-Missouri (page 54).

Also, there’s a little time left to nominate your favorite young professionals for CBT’s 20 Under 40 awards, presented by Joe Machens Dealerships. Visit our website to get your nomination in before September 15.

Doug Nichols, Cloverleaf Farms PAGE 48

The Airbnb of Hunting PAGE 42

EDITOR'S PICKS

There are so many great trails and parks in Columbia and across the state. Here are some resources for finding your next favorite outdoor adventure.

Eco-friendly ROI for Your Business PAGE 64

As always, thanks for reading,

Brenna McDermott, Editor brenna@businesstimescompany.com

/Co l u m b i a B u s i n e ss Ti m e s

@ Co l u m b i a B i z

Co l u m b i a B u s i n e ss Ti m e s .co m

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION mdc.mo.gov Use their interactive map to find great information about Missouri parks. It’ll tell you what activities are available at each park, too, from fishing to hunting to kayaking and more.

MISSOURI STATE PARKS mostateparks.com Missouri State Parks is celebrating its centennial this year. You can join in on the fun by purchasing their Centennial Passport – you can obtain a stamp from the 88 state parks and historic sites participating to fill up your book. Make a few road trips this fall!

COLUMBIA WALKING & HIKING CLUB meetup.com Meetup.com creates opportunities to join like-minded folks in various activities. You can join Columbia’s walking and hiking enthusiasts for walks on the MKT trail or more rigorous hikes on the weekend. There are more than 1,600 members and the group has hosted almost 800 gatherings since 2009.

Ed i to r @ B u s i n e ss Ti m e s Co m p a ny.co m COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 15

“I F YO U A P P R EC I ATE B EAUTI FUL FURNI TURE, D ÉCO R TH AT MA K E S A STATEM ENT AN D UNS U R PASSED PRO FESSI ONA L SERV I CE,

you're in luck

."

“I

believe in creating a shopping experience that you won’t find anywhere else.

From the moment you walk in, you’ll experience gorgeous custom upholstery, unique accessories and art that will make your home complete!

I personally invite you to come discover luxury.”

Justin Wilson, co-founder

Visit Columbia’s new premier luxury furniture store for a diversified mix of well-made, functional furnishings and accessories at satisfying prices.

16 573.777.5975 SEPTEMBER 2017 • JasanyHome.com • 1400 Heriford Road • Columbia

EDITORIAL Erica Pefferman, Publisher Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Fran Patrick, Associate Publisher Fran@BusinessTimesCompany.com Brenna McDermott, Editor Brenna@BusinessTimesCompany.com Breck Dumas, Associate Editor Breck@BusinessTimesCompany.com Matthew Patston, Managing Editor Matt@BusinessTimesCompany.com DESIGN/CREATIVE SERVICES Jordan Watts, Senior Designer Jordan@BusinessTimesCompany.com Keith Borgmeyer, Art Director Keith@BusinessTimesCompany.com Kate Morrow, Graphic Designer Kate@BusinessTimesCompany.com Cassidy Shearrer, Graphic Designer Cassidy@BusinessTimesCompany.com

Inside the Issue Twitter Chatter

Around the Office

NortheasternCAMD @NU_CAMD @ColumbiaBiz discusses why we should use #graphicdesign to give a city #identity

United Way Heart MO @UWHeartMO Check out our donor thank you piece in the latest edition of @ColumbiaBiz. The cover is our long-time HMUW supporter, Eric Morrison. #SoProud

OUTSTANDING BUSINESSWOMAN

MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Deb Valvo, Marketing Consultant Deb@BusinessTimesCompany.com

Congratulations to Business Times Company President and CBT publisher Erica Pefferman, recipient of the 2017 Debin Benish Outstanding Businesswoman Award, given by Women’s Network. We are so proud of you!

MANAGEMENT Erica Pefferman, President Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Vice President ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Amy Ferrari, Operations Manager Amy@BusinessTimesCompany.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Keith Borgmeyer, Breck Dumas, Anthony Jinson, Tiffany Schmidt CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Beth Bramstedt, Jerry Dowell, Al Germond, Jodie Jackson Jr., David Morrison, Monica Pitts, Tony Richards, Sean Spence, Jennifer Truesdale, Anne Williams INTERNS Nina Hebrank, Tiffany Schmidt, Rachel Thomas, Shuya Zheng SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription rate is $19.95 for 12 issues for 1 year or $34.95 for 24 issues for 2 years.

Subscribe at columbiabusinesstimes.com or by phone.

The Columbia Business Times is published every month by The Business Times Co., Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Columbia Business Times and columbiabusinesstimes.com strive to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among Columbia’s business professionals.

CONTACT The Business Times Co., 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100 Columbia, MO, 65202 (573-499-1830) • columbiabusinesstimes.com

Woodhaven @Woodhaventeam So stoked to see our own Paula Jones in this month’s @ColumbiaBiz! Paula is a rockstar!

Correction The August CBT story about private school options in Columbia did not include The Children's School at Stephens College. The school has been included in the online version of the story.

20 UNDER 40 TIME! Get to ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com through September 15 to nominate an outstanding professional under 40.

The competition is getting tougher each year. Thanks to presenting sponsor Joe Machens Dealerships and supporting sponsor Flat Branch Home Loans for helping us honor Columbia’s best and brightest!

Contributors

Breck Dumas

David Morrison

Jodie Jackson Jr.

@DavidCMorrison

@JJacksonJr

Jennifer Truesdale

Write to CBT editor Brenna McDermott at Brenna@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 17

LET YOUR LOGO BE SEEN! Bluetooth speakers

“CBT shops with me, so !” should you

Water bottles Lighters Notepads Totes + bags Logoed Shirts Visors + much more!

Need unique, trendy swag to giveaway at your next big event?

Head online to look at our full inventory of cool items WWW.SPARKPROMOTIONS.BIZ | (573) 808-7002

18 SEPTEMBER 2017

OFFICIAL PROVIDER OF TOP OF THE TOWN SWAG

SEPTE MBE R 2017 VOL . 24 / ISSUE 3

TA B LE OF CON T EN TS

The Ag & Science Issue 15 FROM THE EDITOR 17 INSIDE THE ISSUE 21 CLOSER LOOK 22 BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS 25 BUSINESS UPDATE

48

Missouri Pork Association

28 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT Missouri River Relief

30 CELEBRATIONS Root Cellar

33 MOVERS & SHAKERS 35 P.Y.S.K. Michele Batye, Dave Griggs’ Flooring America

39 10 QUESTIONS Mike Deering,

Missouri Cattlemen’s Association

41 OPINION 71 ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH Seven Strategies to Keep Your Focus Sharp

75 POLICY

Community Land Trust Comes Together

77 ASK ANNE

Stop the Revolving Door

79 BUSINESS SMARTS

Combating Check Fraud

81 MARKETING

The Big, Bad Wolf: Online Advertising

From Farm to Table It’s not easy for Mid-Missouri’s farmers, like Doug Nichols, to distribute their products to consumers.

The challenge requires an entrepreneur’s ingenuity.

42

54

After winning Startup Weekend with “Airbnb for hunters,” Huntclub reflects on their first year as a startup and next steps.

Huntclub’s Next Steps

83 NEW BUSINESS LICENSES 84 DEEDS OF TRUST 85 ECONOMIC INDEX 89 THIS OR THAT Caleb Rowden, State Senator

90 FLASHBACK Sanborn Field

Ag for All

60

Going Foodie

64

The story of Clary-Shy Agriculture Park, the future home of the Columbia Farmers Market and, hopefully, a new generation of agriculture devotees.

How Columbia’s food market has adapted to include specialty diets, selective buyers, and a culture shift in food appreciation.

Whether it’s for the environment or for the bottom line, businesses are finding more and more reasons to go green.

ROI on Eco

L A S I K | C at ar a c t Su rg e ry | G l a u c o m a | Dry Ey e

Restoration Eye Care brings the most advanced vision options to you.

Learn more about how you can take control of your vision by visiting RestorationEyeCare.com 20 SEPTEMBER 2017

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

C LOSER LOOK

Closer Look

Backyards and Beyond

Growlers & Pints

2BuyAg

Growing up, Paul Embree always loved camping and the outdoors. Over time, he amassed a large collection of camping gear that his friends always wanted to borrow.

He noticed that there wasn’t an option for people interested in camping who couldn’t spend the hundreds of dollars it costs to purchase camping equipment, so he opened Backyards and Beyond.

Backyards and Beyond is an equipment rental business that specializes in all things camping. They offer a large selection of items, from tents and outdoor movie theaters to lawn games like badminton, ladderball, and washers. Embree’s favorite pieces of equipment are the outdoor movie theater and bedding because it adds a different aspect to the camping experience and helps provide a comfortable night’s sleep.

Now, Backyards and Beyond is looking to partner with local restaurants and caterers to offer customers a full-service backyard camping experience. “We’re trying to keep as much of it as we can local,” Embree says.

“Columbia has so much to offer, there’s so much talent with amazing people and amazing products here in town.”

Four years ago, Aaron Banks decided to make a career change. He has always enjoyed discovering and tasting new craft beers, so he decided to make it his full-time job and launch Growlers & Pints in Columbia.

Growlers & Pints is Columbia's first dedicated growler filling station. For beer drinking novices: a growler is a container used to take draft beer with you wherever you go. Many beer drinkers think draft beer is best because of its freshness; growlers allow beer drinkers to enjoy that fresh beer wherever they want.

At Growlers & Pints, the taps are constantly changing so that they can offer new beers to customers every time they come in. Banks believes that even experienced craft beer drinkers will find new taps that they'll be surprised with at his tasting station. “I love introducing people who are necessarily craft beer fans to new beers,” Banks says.

“Beer comes in lots of different styles and lots of different flavors. I can help them find something that they like.”

Kim and Olivia Harrison are very familiar with the struggles of farmers — busy people who sometimes don’t have the tools or time to grow, market, distribute, and expand.

To help their fellow farmers, Kim and Olivia founded 2BuyAg, a national digital marketplace for farmers and consumers that makes selling and buying local food easy.

2BuyAg wants engagement on a daily basis, allowing consumers to know what’s available and farmers to know what buyers are looking for. “We are location independent,” Kim says. “We’re the highway. We facilitate the discovery, messaging, transaction, and delivery.”

It’s a 2-way market that targets both the suppliers and the buyers, the farmer and the consumer. For farmers, it expands the market in an easy way and allows for greater sustainability. It gives them flexibility on what they’re willing to produce as well as the price points they can offer. For consumers, it gives them information about where their food is coming from and how it was raised and produced. 2BuyAg helps foster the buyer-seller relationship.

Contact: backyardsbeyond@gmail.com Website: backyardsbeyond.com

Contact: 573-217-4070 Address: 1413 Grindstone Plaza Dr. Website: growlersnpints.com

Contact: 573-590-0643 Website: 2buyag.com

Are you an entrepreneur? Are you sprouting a new business? Tell us about it at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 21

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

Briefly in the News SEPTEMBER 2017

H E A LT H

MEDICAL RESEARCH GOES ANCIENT Kattesh Katti, a researcher at MU who works with gold nanoparticles, has developed a non-toxic delivery method for gold to be used with Ayurvedic medicine, a method that’s among the world’s oldest medical practices. Katti’s technique uses green nanotechnology to remove the toxicity of gold particles in Ayurvedic compounds, in which the metal is ground, burned, and mixed with herbs before being ingested. The technique has been licensed by Dhanvantari Nano Ayushadi, a company based in Tamil Nadu, India, and will be used to treat diseases like cancer, arthritis, and diabetes.

H EALT H

BOONE MOVES TOWARD MU The Boone Hospital Board of Trustees reached unanimous consensus to explore “the feasibility of aligning” with MU Health Care, the trustees said. The announcement comes as a signal that further negotiations with Boone’s other potential partners — BJC HealthCare, Duke LifePoint Health Care, and Saint Luke’s Health System — are now on hold. The trustees and MU Health will discuss potential plans to enhance quality, increase efficiency, and expand access for both parties’ patients.

“Th ese disc u ssi o n s h ave th e pot e n t ial t o h e l p u s ide n t ify ways to b u i l d a t r u ly in n ovat ive an d mo re e ffe ct ive syste m of h e alth ca re de l ive ry an d in n ova t i o n .”

— Brian Neuner, Boone Hospital Board of Trustees Chair 22 SEPTEMBER 2017

BR I EFLY I N T H E N EWS

BUSINESS

PEAK SPORT AND SPINE ACQUIRES NEW COMPANY Peak Sport and Spine, the company formed in 2014 with the merger of Peak Performance and Sport and Spine Rehab, has purchased PT Partners, of Leawood, Kansas. The new acquisition takes Peak Sport and Spine to full or partial ownership of 50 clinics, mostly in Missouri. Owners Todd Ankenman, Shaon Fry, Mark Dempsey, and Phillip Smith are all based out of Columbia.

EDUC AT ION

CACC NAMED OUTSTANDING TECHNOLOGY CENTER Columbia Public Schools’ Columbia Area Career Center was named an Outstanding Technology Center by the Southern Regional Educational Board at the 31st annual High Schools That Work Staff Development Conference in Nashville on July 12. The center was recognized for its consistent high performance on Perkins performance indicators, concentrating on two focus areas: implementing project-based learning while cultivating a culture of continuous improvement and advancing the quality of the career technology curricula and program evaluation.

C OMMUNIT Y

NEW WOODHAVEN FACILITY OPENS Coil Construction completed construction on the 5,700-square-foot building that will be home to a new living facility for Woodhaven, a nonprofit assisting people with disabilities, at 410 Green Meadows Cir. in Columbia. The facility features five aging-in-place residence units for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and is 100 percent ADA accessible. Each unit will have a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room.

BUSINESS

“Woodhaven is an outstanding partner in our community, offering topnotch service and quality that allows them to become an extension to many families.”

POTBELLY SANDWICH SHOP Evan Thomas, Columbia native and former general manager of several Potbelly Sandwich Shops in Chicago, returned home as a franchise owner. Thomas opened the new Potbelly location, Columbia’s first, at Broadway Bluffs on July 25. The chain is known for its toasted sandwiches, milkshakes, and live music, and they operate more than 400 shops across the U.S. and abroad.

Proceeds from the new location’s “oven-warming” event on July 24 went to the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri.

— David Coil, Coil Construction

F I NANC E

HAWTHORN BANKING CENTER DOWNTOWN The Plaza 807 office building going up at Eighth and Walnut in downtown Columbia has secured its first tenant: Hawthorn Bank, which will occupy the first two levels of the building once completed.

The bank announced in July they’ll be opening their second Columbia banking center in the building and will take up occupancy upon Plaza 807’s scheduled opening in roughly 18 to 24 months.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 23

24 SEPTEMBER 2017

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

B U SI N ESS U PDAT E

What’s Cookin’?

The Missouri Pork Association embraces growth.

BY JORDA N MILNE | P HOTOG R A P HY BY KEI TH B O R G M E Y E R

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 25 From left: Don Nikodim, Jordan Volkmann, Zelta McBee, Diane Slater

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

WHAT BEGAN AS A HANDFUL OF PORK producers gathering one Sunday afternoon in 1954 has grown up a bit. There are now more than 300 members and 210 junior members of the Missouri Pork Association, all dedicated to the mission of enhancing opportunities and limiting barriers of Missouri pork producers and other industry stakeholders.

“We work with any pork producer who has interest,” says Don Nikodim, MPA executive vice president. “However, we’re really focused on those who make their living raising pigs.”

After starting up in the home of the association’s first executive, Gene Smith, and spreading roots in LaMonte and Boonville, the MPA moved to its current home on West Cunningham Drive in 1985. The MPA has three full-time staff members and is managed by an 18-member board of directors, of whom 17 are pork producers and one is an industry representative.

“Today, according to the USDA, there are around 3,000 folks raising pigs in Missouri,” says Nikodim.

“However, when the USDA counts pork producers, they include anyone who has even one pig. Breaking down the numbers, it’s estimated that less than 300 of those producers raise approximately 95 percent of the pigs in our state.”

According to Nikodim, about 25 percent of the pork produced in the U.S. goes to other countries; this number has been as high as 29 percent in recent months. Missouri currently ranks seventh among pork producing states, and is experiencing a considerable growth in sow numbers while maintaining its status as a leading exporter of weaned pigs. Missouri ended 2016 with an inventory of 3,100,000 hogs and exported nearly 5,000,000 weaned pigs for finishing in other states. Missouri is also home to the Seaboard Triumph Foods packing plant in St. Joseph and a Smithfield plant in Milan, both of which export pork worldwide.

“You hear folks say that we need to raise pigs like we did in the 1950s,” says Nikodim. “Well, that leads to a lot of hungry people! Farming is nothing like it was when my dad and grandpa farmed.”

Nikodim notes that MPA members are interested in technology and how it can improve the industry, including its sustainability practices. According to the Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, an industrial agriculture advocacy group, pork producers now use 78 percent less land and 41 percent less water to produce a pound of pork than they did 50 years ago, and producers have cut carbon emissions by 35 percent over the same span.

“Essentially, pork producers feed corn and soybeans to pigs to make pork,” Nikodim says. “They collect and utilize the animal origin plant nutrients — or manure — and use that natural fertilizer 26 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SI N ESS U PDAT E

PORK INVENTORY IN MISSOURI 1944: 5,404,000 hogs 1970: 5,120,000 hogs 2016: 3,100,000 hogs The Missouri pork industry has an annual economic impact of over $1.5 billion and creates over 32,000 jobs statewide.

TOP 10 STATES IN PORK SALES (in billions of dollars) Source: USDA Census of Agriculture

• Iowa: 6.8 • North Carolina: 2.9 • Minnesota: 2.8 • Illinois: 1.5 • Indiana: 1.3 • Nebraska: 1.1 • Missouri: .9 • Ohio: .8 • Kansas: .7 • Oklahoma: .7

The MPA was initially funded through a voluntary program called “Nickels for Profit.”

Today, it’s funded by a variety of means, including a voluntary strategic investment program for public policy issues and a legislative check off, where funds have restricted use for promotion, education, and research.

Facts and figures courtesy of Don Nikodim, the MPA, the University of Missouri, and the USDA.

source to produce more corn and soybeans and then repeat the cycle. At the same time, for the most part, pigs are grown in environmentally controlled barns that protect both the animals and farmers from Mother Nature.

Contrary to what many think, there aren’t any growth hormones used in pork production, and antibiotics are used sparingly as prescribed by veterinarians.”

In addition to publishing newsletters and magazines, the MPA hosts various programs and activities throughout the year in an attempt to support its members and educate the general public on modern-day pig farming and pork consumption.

“We routinely work with a variety of partners to promote and inform consumers about pork’s great taste and value,” says Nikodim. “‘Pork: The Other White Meat’ and ‘Pork: Be Inspired’ are the current tag lines. An enhanced promotional campaign, which will build on these, is in the works.”

The MPA continues to partner with local food banks to sponsor “Taste of Elegance” chef competitions in Columbia, St. Louis, Springfield, and Kansas City. Each of these events involves 10 to 15 chefs who compete for the $1,000 grand prize and an expenses-paid trip to the National Pork Summit at the Culinary Institute of America. For junior members, MPA hosts several 4H and FFA youth

activities throughout the year, including the FFA Pork Speaking Contest, judging contests, the Youth Pork Institute, and the MPA Youth Show Pig Circuit.

In 2009, the MPA built a new facility for The Pork Place, an establishment that has served a variety of pork products to fairgoers on the Missouri State Fairgrounds since 1979.

This year, they added The Pork Stop, a sandwich shop at the end of the building that seats about 350 people.

The MPA also organizes The Missouri Pork Expo convention and trade show, held at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia every February. The industry-wide event includes 100-plus commercial exhibitors, and in 2017, it drew in just over 900 participants from Missouri and surrounding states.

There’s a lot for MPA to keep up with.

“When you look at the fact that pork is the most consumed meat in the world,” says Nikodim, “and that people are always looking to add protein to their diet, I think pork production in Missouri will continue to grow.” CBT

Missouri Pork Association 6235 W. Cunningham Dr. 573-445-8375 mopork.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 27

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

Good, Trashy Fun Missouri River Relief connects the community to the river.

BY BETH BRA MST EDT

THE MISSOURI RIVER, a.k.a. The Big Muddy.

It’s the longest river in America, flowing 2,300 miles before joining the Mississippi in St. Louis.

Considered the center of life for the Great Plains, the Missouri has served as the main artery for exploration, food, trade, and transportation for millions of people over thousands of years.

Missouri River Relief was founded in 2001 to engage people in the exploration, enjoyment, and restoration of this national resource.

“The Missouri River is one of the natural wonders of our state,” says program manager Steve Schnarr, who started volunteering in 2001 and joined the staff in 2006. “It’s the longest river in the country and it runs right through our state. I enjoy giving people the opportunity to develop a relationship with the river.”

RIVER CLEAN-UPS Schnarr and his teammates foster connection between people and the river in three significant 28 SEPTEMBER 2017

ways — river education, river recreation, and river clean-ups.

Between 2001 and 2016, Missouri River Relief held 160 river clean-up projects covering 1,144 river miles and collecting 876 tons of trash. A typical year includes 20 clean-up events along the Missouri River, but for 2017, the organization will focus on five. “This year we’re putting an emphasis on a robust education program,” Schnarr says, “and scaling back on clean-ups.”

The cutback makes those five projects that much more significant — the next one is planned for October 21 in Boonville. Volunteers show up the day of the event and traverse the woods and sandbars near the river picking up any trash they come across; Schnarr says, “Without exception, they are adventurous and hard working.” Schnarr estimates it will take the help of 200 people from the community to make the Boonville clean-up happen.

Missouri River Relief also relies heavily on its “crew,” a community of 50 to 60 unpaid staff

MOST COMMON TRASH ITEMS OF 2016 956 Bags of trash 443 Tires 126 Bags of recyclables 49 Hunks of Styrofoam 39 Five-gallon buckets 31 Large tubs 23 Assorted balls 22 Coolers 19 Propane tanks 15 Chairs

N ON PR OFI T

Missouri River Relief

members who make the river part of their lives.

“Our crew is super active,” Schnarr says. “They organize and plan events, drive the boats, and give safety talks.” The crew will set up camp a few days ahead of an event and pitch their tents for the weekend, prepared to coordinate the 200 river cleaners coming to help.

RIVER EDUCATION

To connect people to the

Kristen Schulte has been the education coordinator at Missouri River Relief since June 2015.

She previously worked for Missouri Botanical Gardens and national parks across the country, and she’s thrilled with her decision to join Missouri River Relief.

“People feel most connected to a place or an experience,” Schulte says, “so we chose a philosophy of place-based and experiential education.” The organization, through Schulte’s education efforts, help students of all ages build confidence in the river by becoming knowledgeable ecologists, insightful historians, and conscientious community members.

Schulte was recently energized by Missouri River Days at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area. In the last week of August, the organization gave 750 Columbia fourth graders a hands-on experience of the river — by the river. Each day for three days, they walked 250 students through four stations, including a guided hike, experience with live fish, and a boat ride on the river.

In April, they’ll repeat the process for another 750 Columbia fourth graders.

“I’ve worked at some of the most beautiful places in the country,” Schulte says, “but being in Missouri, I get to expose students to new things that are right in their backyard.”

clean-ups, education, and recreation.

FOUNDED IN 2001

STAFF MEMBERS 7

MISSOURI RIVER RELIEF “CREW” 50+

BOARD MEMBERS • Kory Kaufman, President • Kathy Love, Vice President • Lynne Hooper, Secretary • Michael Crist, Treasurer • Bill Fessler • Francis Baum • Anthony Sudekum • Diana Papoulias • Heather Gillich • Nic Rogers

1. Messages in bottles (40 to 50 over 15 years) 2. A Chicken Dance Elmo

MISSION Missouri River through river

15 MOST UNIQUE FINDS IN 15 YEARS

RIVER RECREATION Supporting recreation on the river can involve supplying safety boats for local races like the Missouri River 340, a 340-mile kayak and canoe race through the river from Kansas City to St. Charles in early August. Schnarr and his teammates were there, camping throughout the week, supplying four of the boats needed for emergency support.

The team is also excited about the upcoming Race to the Dome on September 30. This race provides two options for competitors, a 15.8-mile course from Hartsburg to Wilson Serenity Point, in Jefferson City, or a 27.6mile trek from Providence Landing, on Perche Creek, to Jefferson City. “This is a great

3. One sturgeon DNA sample from the USFWS 4. Picture of Beavis & Butthead sitting on a couch 5. Wind chimes made from Bud Light bottles 6. Pair of ruby red slippers 7. Full jug of atrazine 8. Pair of angel wings 9. Giant candle shaped like a strawberry 10. 1957 fiberglass Saber boat 11. Set of national bylaws from the Hell's Lovers Motorcycle club 12. One kilo of cocaine wrapped in duct tape (turned in to the police) 13. Cobbler’s shoes 14. Bullet-holed sign that reads: “$50 Reward for information leading to arrest and conviction of any person or persons found willfully mutilating or destroying this sign.”

15. Baby doll parts

race for both casual and competitive paddlers,” Schnarr says.

Whether cleaning, educating, or paddling, Missouri River Relief is about creating a community of people who love the river.

“One volunteer came to a past event and had never camped before,” Schnarr recalls. “Within a few years, she knew the river in a way that most people don’t. And when I first started, I really enjoyed getting out on the river, but I didn’t have a community. What’s special is when you meet other amazing people and give back together.” CBT

Missouri River Relief PO Box 463 573-443-0292 riverrelief.org COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 29

Chelsea and Jake Davis

2001

2009

2011

Walker Claridge and Kimberly Griffin open the original Root Cellar location in downtown Columbia.

Jake and Chelsea Davis launch Nature Fresh Farms.

The Davises purchase the store and begin their local food subscription programs.

30 SEPTEMBER 2017

BUSINE SS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

C ELEBRAT I ON S

Strong Roots Root Cellar continues to branch out.

BY BRECK DUMAS | P HOTOG R A P HY BY A N T H O N Y J I N S O N

IT’S LUXURIOUS TO DREAM ABOUT having a personal grocery shopper whose mission is to track down only the finest foods for our personal consumption. For those who seek only locally sourced foods, it would be nearly impossible to personally drive to each farm in the surrounding counties, selecting the highest quality choice of each item on our grocery lists every week.

In a sense, though, that’s exactly the service Root Cellar provides through their subscription programs — only without the luxury cost. Owners Chelsea and Jake Davis have developed a cult-like following thanks to their farming knowledge, relationships, and ability to choose the finest offerings from a broad array of local growers. From produce to pickled items, seafood to salsa, Root Cellar provides a solution for the health-conscious but busy locavore. And now the Root Cellar team is branching out to new customers thanks to their new, bigger, more accessible location.

CULTIVATING CHANGE When Root Cellar first opened in 2001, under original owners Walker Claridge and Kimberly Griffin, it was, as it continues to be, a local retail option for consumers seeking an alternative to the big-box grocery store experience. Claridge and Griffin wanted their store to be like a farmers market, but without the time commitment or weather hindrances — something convenient for buyers and sellers alike. That same idea led the Davises to develop Bounty Boxes, Root Cellar’s personalized grocery packages, making shopping easier and more affordable.

Bounty Boxes include freshly grown seasonal produce along with recipes and sourcing information for $35 per week. There is also a Barnyard Box option, for $40 per week, which is tailored toward an omnivore’s diet, and a Ploughman’s Box, which features a combination of

meats, cheeses, and vegetables for the same price as the Bounty Box. The popularity of the subscriptions has steadily grown — roughly 400 families now participate.

Today, Root Cellar is distinguished by the USDA as the only Mid-Missouri registered Food Hub, meaning they source, aggregate, package, market, and sell food for local farmers, streamlining their distribution process. The federal government started tracking those programs across the country in 2014, giving an official name to what Root Cellar had always been doing.

SPREADING THE HARVEST The Davises started Nature Fresh Farms in 2009 to fulfill their dream of being small farmers. They started out raising just a few chickens for meat on leased land, but they’ve since diversified and use the farm as a way to round out the selection at Root Cellar, which they bought in 2011. They also test a variety of crops and production ideas to help farmers in their network improve their practices.

Through a federal grant promoting local food, Root Cellar was able to open a Jefferson City location two years ago. Considering their expansion, coupled with the maintenance of their existing partnerships with local restaurants, the Davises keep pretty busy. When I dropped by unannounced to pick up a few items recently, I asked to say hi to Jake or Chelsea — an employee told me, “Well, they’re driving all over today, picking up produce for the boxes.”

Their outreach involves more than the day to day operations of the business: Root Cellar prides itself in educating consumers. They work with programs like the Capital Region Healthy Schools and Communities program in Jefferson City, where they teach low-income families how to get more fruits and veggies in their diet by giving presentations on seasonal eating. This fall, the

Columbia location is launching a series of cooking and eating experiences that will help make seasonal eating and local food even more accessible.

“We recognize that, for our dream of a better food system to grow and flourish, we have to bring new eaters into the tent,” Jake says. “Most people want to eat healthy, great tasting food, but the knowledge of cooking and eating seasonally has been lost over the last couple generations.

So, we’re focusing more and more on education.

We’re focusing on ways to incorporate it into a busy lifestyle, teaching people things like how to get the most out of a slow cooker or how to do quick and easy preservation.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Root Cellar Columbia just relocated to 1005 Park Avenue, across the street from Café Berlin. It was an easy decision made out of necessity by the Davises — they simply outgrew their former space on Walnut Street. “We of course could have moved to a more commercial part of Columbia, but staying in the North Village Arts District was important to us,” Jake says. “It’s about community and continuing to rebuild downtown, which is part of our personal mission.”

When asked about their next steps, Jake says: “Really our goal for the future is to build community around good food. It's the only way to grow the good food movement. Our business is built on being authentic, so we’ll continue to look for opportunities to build that community with authentic products and services.”

Authentic, indeed. It doesn’t get more luxurious than that. CBT

Root Cellar 1005 Park Ave. 573-442-5005 | rootcellarmo.com

2014

2015

2017

Root Cellar receives official USDA certified Food Hub designation.

Root Cellar opens Jefferson City location downtown at 306 E. High.

Columbia location moves to renovated warehouse at 1005 Park Ave., across from Café Berlin.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 31

Outdoor Certified Rugged All-Weather Audio/Video Shiloh Bar & Grill requires great entertainment, inside and outside on their terrific patio. Rain, humidity, extreme temperatures, dirt, and insects ruin audio/ video equipment. Sunlight overloads remote control electronic eyes. Our solutions include TVs engineered for permanent placement outdoors, outdoor-certified speakers, infrared receivers that filter sunlight from remotes, rustproof mounts, conduit, protective gaskets, and grommets, and watertight cable entry.

32 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

M OVER S & SH AKER S

Movers & Shakers SEPTEMBER 2017 WILLIAMS

Matt Williams Williams, regional president of Landmark Bank since October 2014, has joined the Board of Trustees at Columbia College. Williams has been an active member of numerous other boards, such as REDI, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, MU Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and more.

University of Missouri Ann Campion Riley, acting director of MU Libraries, has been appointed to the new position of vice provost for libraries and university librarian. She’s been with the university since 2007 and brings 30 years of experience in academic and research libraries. Also, Lael Keiser has been appointed director of the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs at MU. Keiser has been with the university since 1996.

Commerce Bank Sarah Dubbert has been promoted to executive vice president and commercial banking division manager for the bank’s central Missouri region, and Mike Ireland has been promoted to executive vice president. Dubbert has 15 years of banking experience and previously served as vice president and treasury services division team leader. Ireland has more than 15 years of banking experience and has served in several retail and commercial roles at the bank.

Alex Gohring Dr. Gohring became an associate doctor at Achieve Balance Chiropractic earlier this year after graduating from Logan University in April of 2016. Gohring was previously the clinic group leader at the Montgomery Health Center.

Central Bank of Boone County Ryan Bross and Chris Rosskopf were promoted to senior vice president, commercial loan officer at the downtown bank. Drake Luebrecht was promoted to customer service representative, and Gage Long was promoted to customer service representative II at the customer service center. Kayla Wilkerson, Shomari Wellington, and Elizabeth Jahns were promoted to financial associates. Colin Gardner and Abby Mora were promoted to teller II.

Jessica Kempf Kempf, the Weichert Realtors – First Tier sales manager, completed the Weichert Real Estate Affiliates Inc. Management Academy training.

Graduates of this program are better equipped to offer home buyers and sellers in their communities the best services in real estate.

Brian Johanning Johanning has been promoted to president of Shafer, Kline & Warren’s infrastructure and development businesses. Johanning joined SKW in 2015 as director of strategic growth before becoming vice president of infrastructure and development businesses.

He’s now primarily responsible for the offices in Columbia and Macon.

Dan Stokes MidwayUSA has promoted Stokes to development operations manager.

Stokes will manage all application development projects and will assist in strategic planning. Stokes joined MidwayUSA in 2007 after earning his computer science degree from Columbia College.

Chris Pieper Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch opened a new office in Columbia on East Broadway. The firm currently has offices in St. Louis and Jefferson City.

Pieper will be the primary attorney in the Columbia office. His practice focuses on regulatory and government solutions, administrative laws, real estate, and more.

Louise Beasley

DUBBERT

IRELAND

Beasley has been hired as manager of the Great Southern Bank location at 3200 S. Providence Rd. In her new role, she is responsible for managing day-to-day operations and providing financial services to customers in the Columbia area. Beasley is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri and previously served as development officer at KMOS for more than eight years.

GOHRING

Kristie Beck Beck has joined Focus on Learning, where she’ll be providing college consulting services for students and parents, which will complement the company’s ACT tutoring services.

Beck has 25 years of educational experience and served as president– principal at Fr. Tolton Catholic High School from 2010 to 2016.

JOHANNING

PIEPER

Dave Griggs’ Flooring America Longtime employee and CFO Michele Batye has been named president and has purchased the majority stock in the corporation. Griggs will continue to serve as advisor and stay involved in community and business organizations. Batye has been running the day-to-day operations of the store for some time. CBT

BEASLEY

BATYE

Are you or your employees making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 33

34 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

P E R S ON YO U SH OU LD KN OW

MICHELE BATYE

P R E S I D E N T | D AV E G R I G G S ' F L O O R I N G A M E R I C A | A G E : 4 9 Job description: Strategy, execution, teamwork, and customer service. Running a small business, you never quite know where your day will take you. That challenge and diversity is what keeps me engaged.

Years lived in Columbia/Mid-Missouri: I'm a Boone County native and have lived here my entire life, with the exception of one year.

Original hometown: Hallsville.

Education: Degree in textile and apparel merchandising from MU.

Professional background: I started at Dave Griggs’ Flooring America, then Color World, 25 years ago. Over that time period, I’ve been able to participate in many different roles of the business. Being with a progressive company in a thriving industry has allowed me continued growth in this field.

Biggest lesson learned in business: You can’t do everything yourself. Early in my career, I tried to do it all and ended up feeling very isolated and overwhelmed. Surround yourself with intelligent people, rid yourself of negativity, and give up control of every minor detail. When you open your eyes, you’ll see that there are far more qualified people to do the job and you can concentrate on connecting the dots and moving them forward.

What people should know about this profession: A lot of knowledge and skill goes into providing interior finishes; it’s so much more than just aesthetics. In our industry, we have to demolish your real estate before we can put it back together as something both functional and beautiful. It can be a somewhat stressful time for owners, and that’s why it is so important for us to build trust with our clients so we can guide them through this process from start to finish.

Photography by Anthony Jinson

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 35

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

P E R S ON YO U SH OU LD KN OW

A favorite recent project: Welcome Home Inc.’s new building — we were so happy to be a part of this project. They had been our neighbor on Rangeline for many years, and when we were approached about their goal for a new facility, it was something we immediately went to work on. Being in the planning sessions and watching businesses and the community come together to make this happen is why I love our community.

A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: Of course top on my list is Dave Griggs. For the past 25 years he has been mentor, friend, and family to me. I am so grateful for the trust and growth he has allowed me to experience. Another person I highly admire is Susan Hart. Strong female leaders in the construction industry are still rare. Susan is someone who truly inspires me. From balancing career, family, and philanthropy to problem solving and communication, she's one smart lady. I'm looking forward to working with her on the Chamber Executive Board this year.

The next challenge facing my industry: Retail is facing many challenges for the future — we read it in the papers every day — but it can be outweighed by the shortage of a skilled labor force in the construction industry. Our industry has tried to make changes to products to make them easier and faster to install, but that can never replace the knowledge and skill of true craftsmanship.

Favorite volunteer/community activity: I'm very passionate about Women's Network, which is a division of the Chamber of Commerce of which I am chair this year. Our mission is to connect, empower, and engage members through leadership development, educational opportunities, and innovative outreach. I also sit on the board of Access Arts, which is a bit of a hidden gem when it comes to providing art education in our community.

My next professional goal: Chairing Women's Network and purchasing the controlling stock in Dave Griggs’ Flooring America are two big goals I just marked off my list, but my next goal is to be elected to Flooring America's Advisory Board. The advisory board is comprised of a group of owners in the co-op who help guide the decisions and direction of the membership. This is an innovative process, and I want a seat at the table.

36 SEPTEMBER 2017

Why I’m passionate about my company: Dave Griggs has spent his lifetime building a company with a solid reputation for providing flooring solutions. I’m dedicated to continuing that legacy, because at the end of the day, it's not really about floors or commerce — it's about relationships, building trust, and strengthening your community.

Why I’m passionate about my job: The environment you exist in really affects your mood and attitude. I love seeing our clients’ excitement when they walk into their finished project. My team members are visionaries that can help clients with the design and function that’s right for them, and I love leading that team.

How you would like to impact the Columbia community: Since it’s my business, I would love for everyone to be walking on my floors, but when it comes to legacy as a business leader, I really simply want to be known for lifting people up and helping them see their own gifts and potential.

Greatest strength: Strategist. I can analyze a problem and quickly break down the solution into manageable parts.

Greatest weakness: Self-promotion. It's much easier for me to market products, ideas, or other people.

Family: I have a wonderfully supportive husband, Jim, and we live in Ashland with our schnauzer, Fritz. We have three children and three grandchildren. I'm lucky to have a big extended family who lives close, and I grew up with relatives who taught me that family is more than a bloodline, and I truly believe that.

Our entire staff and many close friends are like family to me.

Accomplishment I’m most proud of: Our children and watching them as they become parents themselves. When I married my husband 24 years ago, it came with the bonus of three young children. I’m proud of the relationship and culture we formed as an entire family unit, proving that divorced parents and stepparents can get along for the betterment of their children. I really don’t like the stigma that “stepparent” sometimes comes with. I may not have known them from birth, but they are definitely the light of my life.

Most people don’t know that I: I’m a pretty open book, but most people may not be aware that I love and follow the fashion industry.

The trends and color lines are a natural crossover to our business. I fell in love with fashion in high school when a friend of mine who participated in pageants had me design and work with a seamstress to create her dresses. I still love being part of a creative idea that comes to life. CBT

Artisan Builders is pleased to have created downtown’s newest all season patio for

Our original approach to buidling and remodeling ensures clients have an experience that is collaborative, on task, and on budget. You deserve a positive experience and we can make sure you have one.

Call today for a no-obligation appointment to talk about your project.

573-356-2600 ArtisanCoMo.com

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 37

come experience columbia’s only craft distillery locally made spirits well crafted cocktails

open tuesday - saturday 4:00 pm - 10:00 pm 210 St. James Street, Suite D Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 777- 6768

The School Year

is Back!

At Personal Touch Cleaning Service, LLC, we recognize that teaching is the one of the hardest and most important jobs. That is why we want to take this time to honor all of the teachers in our surrounding areas! Thank you for the investment you have chosen to make in our children's lives and futures.

Call us today for a special teacher’s discount on the cleaning of your home. While you are caring for our children, allow us to care for your home.

To receive a discount, mention this ad.

Call Stephanie at (573) 256-1920.

Does your home need a Personal Touch?

Office: 573.256.1920 www.personaltouchcleaningservicellc.com

38 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

guarantee you that every single one of them eats. Whether you live on one of the 1,171 farms in Boone County or you consume the food they produce, you are connected to agriculture.

Q&A MIKE DEERING

Executive Vice President, Missouri Cattlemen’s Association

1. What is your organization’s mission?

Our mission is simply “Dedicated to advancing Missouri’s beef industry.”

2. Tell us about your organization’s history. Our roots trace back to 1911, making us the oldest and largest agricultural organization in the state (that we’re aware of). Much of MCA's focus is on government affairs. It’s our strong belief that producers, as citizens, should be tireless in their protection of their private property rights and their business.

3. How is your organization funded?

Our organization is funded by family cattle farmers and ranchers who voluntarily pay annual dues. We also have a monthly magazine, Missouri BEEF Cattleman, and other events and services that generate non-dues revenue, but the vast majority of our funding is from dues dollars.

4. Columbia is not typically perceived as an agriculturally rich community.

Is that a misconception? That is a huge misconception. The Columbia area has grown to more than 175,000 people, and I absolutely

5. How do you protect the interests of the Missouri cattle industry? When it comes to a grassroots organization, I honestly don’t know how an organization could be more member-driven and member-run than this one.

I just work here. Our organization is governed by a 77-member board that represents all county affiliates. We also have a 22-member executive committee comprised of our core elected leaders.

Every member has a voice and guides our policy.

The members call the shots and we work tirelessly to turn goals and priorities into realities. This is how we protect their interests — we know we’re working on issues they have deemed important.

6. How do you support individual cattle farms? Individual farm and ranch families have their own set of unique challenges and opportunities. However, more times than not, other producers are in the same boat. We are a family and typically share challenges. Our biggest challenges are the weather and the mercurial markets. We can’t do a whole lot about that, but we can certainly work to create a legislative and regulatory environment that welcomes growth in the farming and ranching community. We receive calls every single day —Saturday and Sunday too — from members needing advice or assistance on matters they’re dealing with, from fence laws to county ordinances to family disputes. We always answer their call, and we always do everything we can to help. Always. Our association also provides several educational opportunities to help farmers learn about and implement practices that can help them advance their business.

7. Beef is presented as healthy sometimes and unhealthy other times. How do you combat different perceptions about consuming beef?

Beef is a delicious source of protein that supports weight loss goals, satisfies a heart-healthy diet, and is packed with nutrients without excessive calories. Nutrition facts show that, calorie for calorie, it’s hard to beat the nutrients you get from a single serving of lean beef. Just a 3-ounce serving contains 10 percent or more of your daily needs for protein, zinc, vitamins B12 and B6, iron, and selenium. Plant-based food advocates like to offer other foods to bolster protein content in plant-based diets, such as black beans, quinoa,

1 0 QU EST I ON S

and edamame. But you may be surprised that choosing beef is actually a calorie-saver. Beef supplies significantly fewer calories and more nutrients than many plant proteins. Now, don’t get me wrong — beef goes well with colorful veggies on the plate. Your body needs both.

8. How many members do you have in the Boone County area? How many head of cattle are raised in Boone County? MCA has members in all 114 counties in Missouri. In Boone, we have more than 100 member families. Boone County is home to nearly 23,000 head of cattle, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

9. What is the biggest challenge facing your industry right now? This is a common question. Many talk about the overall farm economy or the knowledge gap between the consumer and the farm. Some mention misinformation and outright lies from animal rights extremist groups. I truly believe the biggest challenge is the aging farmer and rancher. The average age of a family farmer in Missouri is nearing 60 years old, and less than five percent are under 35. We must do everything possible to empower the next generation and work to ensure that we minimize roadblocks for new farmers — that’s really why we do what we do in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. If we don’t repopulate the land with new farmers and ranchers, I cannot even begin to describe the woes for the people in this industry and for the people who purchase the food we grow and raise.

10. What haven’t we asked you about that you’d like the public to know?

Groups that oppose animal agriculture enjoy using the phrase “corporate factory farm” to imply large farms are faceless, irresponsible corporations with little regard for animal welfare, the environment, or food safety. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and let this serve as an open invitation to anyone reading this to visit a Missouri farm — I will personally take you. Almost all Missouri farms are owned and operated by a family. In fact, 99 percent of all farms in the U.S. are family-owned and -operated. Missouri is second only to Texas in the number of farms. The average cow-herd size here is 36 head, and the state is the third largest beef cow state in the nation. How does that work? We have a lot of families who raise cattle and collectively make a huge impact in food production in this state, throughout the country, and even outside the borders of the United States. CBT

Check out the rest of Mike's answers to our questions online at ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 39

40 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • PEOP LE • IM P R OV EM EN T • F YI

OPI N I ON

The city is too large, too spread out, and too sparsely populated per square mile to provide the patronage required to keep buses filled while operating with the frequency that would induce people to use the service in the first place.

Close It Down!

BY A L GERMON D

GIVEN THE DISMAL OUTLOOK FOR the future of Columbia’s 52-year old municipal transit operation, the time has come for the city to gracefully exit the bus business.

Uber? Lyft? Taxi vouchers? We’re open to any reasonable, less costly way to move people around (more on that later). But the municipal transit bleeding has to stop.

The late Glenn E. Watson operated his privately-funded City Bus Lines system beginning in 1939, but tiring of losses and other difficulties, he called it quits on February 7, 1965.

After exhausting other options, the city council, on July 19, 1965, voted to establish the municipal transit system that began operation on September 20, 1965 using 10 buses leased from Bi-State of St. Louis.

Over the past half century, millions of dollars have been spent — some would say squandered — to keep this variously-named system in operation. It’s been subsidized by a cornucopia of funds both internal and external in

nature. There have been federal grants. Other subsidies. New buses. (Are we now on Generation VXI?) Pilot projects. Alternative fuels.

Electric buses. As for routes, let’s say (and we’ve lost count) that the city is about ready to adopt Version 101.7.

Municipal transit has become an embarrassment and waste of precious monetary assets at a time when Columbia is increasingly strapped for revenue. The sparse occupancy inside may be cleverly hidden behind advertisements slathered across these strapping vehicles, but we’re not fooled. Ridership is off. Let’s cashier this mess, give it a decent burial, and move on.

In its current state, Columbia public transit has the makings of a fool’s errand.

The city is too large, too spread out, and too sparsely populated per square mile to provide the patronage required to keep buses filled while operating with the frequency that would induce people to use the service in the first place.

People are lazy. They crave convenience, punctuality, personal comfort, and the room to carry their purchases and possessions.

They don’t want to walk, in many cases, blocks and blocks to the nearest bus stop, exposed to the elements (Shelters? Really?) while dealing with the vagaries of schedules and delays regardless of whatever electronic gadgetry is in place to tell them when the next bus is supposed to arrive.

But not everyone has a car, truck, bicycle, or the shank’s mare of an athlete to propel themselves to wherever they need to go. We know that.

There is a need. So here’s the plan.

Divert the funds the city spends to operate a fleet of sparsely occupied buses. Re-invest those funds to subsidize door-to-door transportation using privately-owned vehicles operating under the aegis of Uber, Lyft, and the growing fleet of taxi operators, recalling that the aforementioned Glenn E. Watson operated the Columbia Cab Company after he abandoned the bus business in 1965. The future of transit in Columbia will be a pointto-point, all-weather service not confined strictly to the city limits and tailored to individual needs for convenience, universally available to anyone. CBT Al Germond is the host of the Columbia Business Times Sunday Morning Roundtable at 8:15 a.m.

Sundays on KFRU. COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 41

42 SEPTEMBER 2017

Huntclub

TAKING ON-DEMAND BUSINESS OUTDOORS

BY JENNIFER TRUESDALE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY JINSON

FROM LEFT: Keegan Burkett, Cooper Price, Kurtis Davis, Zach Hockett COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 43

2017 Deer Harvest WITH THE SUCCESS OF “ON-DEMAND” companies like Uber and Airbnb, entrepreneurs are riding the wave of a sharing culture. Hundreds of online services now allow people to quickly share everything from RVs to construction equipment, or pay willing side-gig hustlers for services like grocery delivery, pet sitting, and housework.

Four local entrepreneurs have extended this business model to the great outdoors, making it easier for hunters to connect with private landowners online. After taking the top prize at the 2016 Columbia Startup Weekend competition last October, Huntclub is armed for success with the approach of this fall’s hunting season.

SIGHTING IN As a hunter, Cooper Price understands the hurdles hunters and landowners experience in-season. For many hunters, accessing prime hunting territory means paying big bucks to lease private property for a full year. For landowners, finding hunters willing to pay out and commit to a long lease is a challenge, and once leased, landowners can’t hunt on their own land unless it’s specified in the agreement.

“While the concept of land leasing isn’t new, there hasn’t been an easy way to lease land on a short-term basis,” says Keegan Burkett, co-founder of the startup and fishing enthusiast. “That’s why we created Huntclub.”

Price remembers when Burkett, a childhood friend, approached him with a simple yet innovative solution to address these hurdles.

“Months before Startup Weekend, Keegan came to me with this land-sharing idea,” says Price about last year’s competition. “I threw it 44 SEPTEMBER 2017

263,834 Deer harvested throughout 2016-2017 deer season in MO

96,131 Deer harvested on opening weekend in MO

3,774 Deer harvested in Boone County during 2016-2017 deer season Source: Missouri Department of Conservation

together on a scrap piece of paper and it got the most votes in the 60-second round on Friday night.”

What was scribbled down on that scrap of paper evolved into a full-fledged concept for the web-based business. Operating much like Airbnb, landowners can list their land online for short-term rental by outdoorsmen, who in turn can view a list of available land for rent nearby. Landowners include the size and pictures of the land, what kind of activities are permitted, and the rental price per day. Huntclub facilitates the connection between parties but allows landowners to set their own criteria for who can rent their property.

Focusing on sales, Price and Burkett used connections with family and friends to secure six potential landowners interested in the startup during the pitch competition.

Huntclub advanced through the rounds over the course of the weekend, taking home the grand prize of $2,000 in seed money.

“There were so many other great concepts, we didn’t expect to win,” says Burkett. “Ultimately, we knew that winning startup weekend wouldn’t equal success, but the resources and momentum we gained were invaluable.”

Quack, Quack 1.07 waterfowl per hunter per day were harvested from Boone County’s Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area in 2016-2017.

PACK MENTALITY That momentum included roping in high school friend Zach Hockett, a fellow hunter. Hockett, a product strategist at Veterans United Home Loans, then suggested bringing in Kurtis Davis, a software developer also at VU. “They pitched the idea to me over beers,” says Davis, the only one in the bunch who doesn’t consider himself an outdoorsman.

“I couldn’t believe people weren’t doing this already. I called some friends who hunt, and they validated the idea. So I was in.”

The four of them bring marketing, sales, and tech skills to the table. All are 2012 college grads — Burkett, a web designer for a local business, and Hockett completed their business degrees from MU; Davis received his information technology degree, also from Mizzou; and Price, who works in marketing at the Tiger Hotel, received his business degree from Columbia College.

Burkett has been designing Huntclub’s frontend and user experience as Davis has been developing the website, GetHuntclub.com. Hockett focuses on operations and Price on marketing, with the two of them working together on sales.

The group meets up once or twice a week to

work on Huntclub together on top of the hours they put in individually.

“Taking a really basic idea and seeing where it is now — and working with people I like — makes it easier to put in the time on Saturdays and to drive six hours to meet a landowner,” Price says.

After nearly a year of work, the four have hammered out a well-planned business strategy for Huntclub and have secured nine properties throughout Missouri. The properties range from $100 per day for hunting on 20 acres to $875 per day for access to 3,000 acres.

“It’s like a disruption in the market because landowners can choose to blackout one weekend and lease the next,” says Davis. “Huntclub also offers dynamic pricing, so landowners can charge more during deer season than during other hunting seasons, for example.”

A test run in April prior to spring turkey season indicated that landowners and hunters alike are interested to Huntclub’s concept and features.

“We threw up some Google ads in the Kansas City area and were getting about a phone call a day,” says Hockett. “We had five hunts scheduled during turkey season as a product test. Now we’re trying to build up a base of landowners before we have a huge rollout.”

That huge rollout is happening now — bow hunting season on deer opens mid-September.

BAGGING THE BIG ONE Huntclub isn’t just for hunters and fishers.

Outdoorsmen who enjoy camping, hiking, mushroom hunting, shooting practice, training hunting dogs, and ATV off-roading will eventually be able to book their adventure on GetHuntclub.com. The modern and easily navigable website makes joining as either a landowner or an outdoorsmen and searching for available properties simple and fast.

In addition to expanding their services, Huntclub will ideally expand their territory beyond Missouri.

“How I see it, we’re focusing on Missouri, then the surrounding states, and then Texas, COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 45

Keegan Burkett

Zach Hockett

46 SEPTEMBER 2017

Cooper Price

Kurtis Davis

Bringing Up Business 2017 This year, Innovation Week will be held October 6 through 13, giving innovators an opportunity to learn about the latest trends, entrepreneurial resources, and research. The event also provides a perfect opportunity for networking and collaboration with other inspiring entrepreneurs and researchers.

Some events will include:

Startup weekend – Oct. 6-8 Over the course of 48 hours, entrepreneurs meet other like-minded individuals to collaborate, spark ideas, and compete to create the winning startup.

Sam Richter workshop – Oct. 11 This year’s keynote speaker and author of “Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling” hosts workshops on technology, sales, and marketing.

Missouri Tech Challenge – Oct. 11 Entrepreneurs get the chance at winning $50,000 prize in this “Shark Tank”-inspired event.

Gobble, Gobble 598 turkeys were harvested in Boone County in 2016.

Celebrating Women in Social Enterprise – Oct. 12 This breakfast will celebrate women as social entrepreneurs in our community.

which is the biggest hunting state,” says Price. Hockett adds that Huntclub hopes to increase its availability for fishing when it expands into

BUB 2016 Recap

Colorado’s many waterways.

Last year, Innovation Week was held October

Price. “The only thing they have going for them is [their owners] are full-

7 through 14. The event hosted over 900

time, but both are in startup mode.”

attendees during the week. Some highlights:

Shawn Askinosie workshop

“We do have two competitors, one in Texas and one in Virginia,” says

Price thinks Huntclub offers an edge because it doesn’t require members to pay a monthly fee, unlike its competitors. And the four entrepre-

Last year’s keynote speaker, the founder

neurs are in talks with multiple investors, which may make their dream of

and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate, delivered

taking Huntclub nationwide a reality sooner rather than later.

a speech to an audience of approximately

“The past year has been a very exciting time, and it’s definitely been a

150 people. He spoke about vocation and

learning experience,” says Burkett. “We’ve had the opportunity to work

the challenge and reward of finding the

with the University of Missouri’s Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, which

perfect job.

Entrepreneurial Boot Camp Attendees were provided with a wealth of

has been a tremendous resource in helping us navigate the legal formalities of starting up. We’ve been lucky to meet a lot of key people along the way who have been instrumental in helping us move forward.”

knowledge by experienced entrepreneurs,

The passing of each hunting season will define Huntclub’s success, but

counselors, and professionals in one-hour

for Burkett, Price, Hockett, and Davis, success also lies in the friendship

informational sessions.

they’ve built with each other as they’ve built the business. As the 2017

Celebration Party

Columbia Startup Weekend approaches in October, Burkett offers sim-

The conclusion of the week, held at Rose Music Hall, celebrated entrepreneurship in the best way entrepreneurs know how: a party.

ple advice for this year’s competitors hoping to win big.

“The most important piece of advice that I’ve been given is to surround yourself with the right people.” CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 47

THE JOURNEY FROM FARM TO TABLE Mid-Missouri's small farmers look to innovate supply chain management for sustainability.

BY BRECK DUMAS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY JINSON

48 SEPTEMBER 2017

IT WAS A WEIRD TRANSITION FOR DOUG NICHOLS. From banking to beef.

Upon completion of his ag business degree at MU in 2001, Nichols left Mid-Missouri and moved to St. Louis, getting his start in a transaction-based financial advisory firm whose unofficial motto was “smile as you dial.” He didn’t like it. Quickly realizing that “smile as you dial” was definitely not the customer-first approach he craved, he transitioned to retail banking while earning his master’s degree, eventually working his way into a highend boutique firm with an emphasis on client service.

Nichols remained nimble throughout the financial crisis in the late aughts — he developed his own consulting business and maintained it for years — but the passion never fully developed; he found himself much more excited about his family expanding their farm back home in Marshall, Missouri. A close friend finally told him: “Quit putting a square peg in a round hole. All you talk about is that farm in Marshall.”

“I realized, I guess I’m done with it,” Nichols says, “and I told myself: ‘Just accept it. Just accept it, Doug. You’re trying to fool somebody or yourself.’ It was hard leaving the financial industry in my mid-30s, when you don’t know anybody in ag. But when you’re on LinkedIn, you know people who know people, so I started networking and talking. They told me that if I’ve already managed $80 million, surely I could manage a couple cows.”

Nichols returned home in 2015 and launched Cloverleaf Farms, a grass-fed, hormone-free, humanely-raised beef operation on 200 acres. He built a herd of 110 South Poll cattle, bred to thrive on an exclusively grain-free diet to maintain a pure product — and it resonated.

Customers have already placed orders in the increments many rural consumers are familiar with: beef by the “whole,” “half,” or “quarter.” The next step will be to provide portions for those with more limited freezer space: the mainstream beef eaters.

Nichols has overcome many of the common hurdles facing startup operations in their first few years. He got the land, he secured the financing, and he already sold pre-purchased product through next year, but developing consistent distribution channels will be key for continued growth. It’s a startup problem, but it’s also been a longtime farmer problem.

With so many barriers to entry for new farmers, he hopes a coordinated effort could mean a more streamlined trip to market. To address the issue, Cloverleaf Farms is seeking to build a co-op with other area farms to meet supply needs and provide continuous inventory. Nichols is committed to maintaining quality while helping other small operations; he hopes to partner with grocers or restaurants by bringing producers together to guarantee a consistent supply of product. His plan is still in the building stages, but he envisions a way to consolidate transportation and other costs while utilizing his marketing skills to enhance brand recognition.

Nichols’ career in finance may have prepared him for life at Cloverleaf Farms more than one would think. Small farming in Mid-Missouri is as much about business acumen as it is about raising cattle or crops.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 49

limited booth space for the market means prospective sellers are turned away every year.

“I don’t have the luxury of crop insurance,” says Hence the need for something new.

Liz Graznak of Happy Hollow Farms, one of only a handful of certified organic farms in the area. Not INNOVATIVE METHODS only does she do without the subsidies enjoyed Farmers markets, CSA programs, and restaurant by row crop farmers (as do many other small propartnerships are all viable ways to sell directly to ducers), but she also has to comply with certified the consumer. But they cater to buyers who are organic standards, which require more labor-intenalready well-versed in the value of locally sourced sive methods and the absence of conventional pesfood and are enthusiastically willing to pay for it. In ticides and other agricultural chemicals. these distribution channels, the buyer pursues the Carrying the full burden of risk, Graznak’s operseller, seeking out a premium product. ation is highly calculated and diversified out of So how do producers reach the larger marnecessity. She sells produce every weekend at the ket? How do they find consumers who can’t jusColumbia Farmers Market; operates a Commutify an extra trip beyond the supermarket (or who nity Supported Agriculture, or CSA, program servopt for grocery deliving roughly 60 famery), where they also ilies; supplies promay need to purchase duce to Natural Gronon-local items like cers at least 40 weeks a pineapple, frozen per year; and caters to shrimp, and a 12-pack restaurant clients Sycof diet soda? Many amore, Main Squeeze, farmers want a way to and Barred Owl on a get their products in regular basis. front of such buyers Happy Hollow — the ones who will Farms grows around only purchase locally 100 varieties of vegeHy-Vee defines “locally grown” when it’s convenient tables on limited acreas being within 200 miles of the — which means selling age, which means its specific store, but other grocers wholesale to grocers. systems cannot be have a looser definition and ship Two local sucmechanized and the goods from states away. Often, cess stories who have crops need hands-on it’s left to the consumer to inquire weathered through to maintenance and harabout the sourcing of products on establishment are the vesting. Developing the shelves; to Liz Graznak, owner pork producers who several avenues for of Happy Hollow Farms, local means make up the non-profit sales is what it takes within 100 miles. To sell at the Patchwork Farms, for Graznak to make Columbia Farmers Market, vendors and the famous flaxa living, sustaining seed-fed beef operamust be within 50 miles. her household and tion, Show-Me Farms. her seven employees.

But producing a steady, “This is where scale adequate supply that makes a huge differcan sustain a grocery ence,” she says. store is one of the highest hurdles for any still-emergMore and more farmers find that a single route ing farm-to-table producer. West Broadway Hy-Vee’s to market isn’t enough to keep afloat. While many produce manager, Dan Elston, cites this as the big smaller producers sell to consumers seeking local challenge for local vendors, as many struggle to keep goods via a farmers market booth, selling excluup with demand. sively at the markets on weekends is a hard and spoElston and Sara Bartow, the health market manradic way to make a wage. One rainy Saturday with a ager, have quietly made Columbia’s original Hy-Vee a small crowd could knock down attendance from the key player in providing local producers access to the typical count — 3,000 shoppers during the height grocer’s shelves. Hy-Vee’s company structure gives of the season — to one-third of that, according to inventory and purchasing control to individual manthe Columbia Farmers Market manager, Corrina agers rather than corporate directors, so local stores Smith. While the proposed new Agriculture Park’s have an uncommon amount of buying flexibility. enclosed pavilion (see story, page 54) is intended to Hy-Vee can provide the UPC label, suggest pricing solve some of those headaches for existing vendors,

RISK AND MORE RISK

So what constitutes a “local” grower?

50 SEPTEMBER 2017

A Day in the Life of a MidMissouri Farmer: Doug Nichols, Cloverleaf Farms “Most days start out at 6:30 a.m., checking the cattle to make sure they have adequate water, forage, shade (in the summer), and overall health. The rest of the day is literally up in the air. It varies with the season, daily weather, and to-do list. If the weather is acceptable, there is always outside, manual labor work to done. 'Build fence' and 'repair fence' are literally always on the to-do list. I’ll tell you one random thing on the to-do list now — after the storm a couple weeks ago, a walnut tree fell over. Once time and weather allows, it will need to be cut up and hauled away.

“If I’m not doing manual labor, there’s always plenty of office work to be done — accounting, market research, marketing, which will be a major focus over the next six weeks, etc. Every day starts with an agenda, but that agenda has to be flexible.

Sometimes you get sick cows that need immediate attention. Sometimes a cow gets out and you get a text from the neighbor that says 'Number 210 is in my backyard.' And yes, that really happened. That gets taken care of ASAP. A piece of machinery breaks down, you’ve gotta fix it. There’s always something new.”

Nichols and his dog, Sissy

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 51

if requested, and doesn’t require the liability policies, corporate approvals, or vendor badges that many other grocers insist on.

While carrying roughly 75 to 100 products made by local vendors in town, the store makes a concerted effort to build partnerships whenever they can, but Elston recognizes that “a big problem for local producers is over-promising and under-delivering.”

With limited players, any hiccup can mean a crippling disruption to established supply chains.

Not so long ago, several local meat producers were processing through Jennings Premium Meats in New Franklin, so the temporary closing of that butcher shop caused chaos as several small farmers scrambled to find new packers. Those producers had no ground beef in the grocers’ cases for a couple weeks as the products were rerouted to other shops. Consumers, naturally, aren’t willing to wait and make other buying choices in the absence of the brand they prefer.

Even growers who have been in the business for years tire of the headaches from regulations, distribution routes, and economies of scale.

“Sometimes, they just close up shop,” Elston says. He had one watermelon supplier who switched to growing soy beans because it was more profitable. Bartow remembers an egg farmer with a strong local following who completely quit the business, saying it wasn’t profitable enough, in spite of her brand’s popularity and successful marketing.

To help maintain a consistent supply on its most perishable goods, Hy-Vee buys the lion’s share of their local produce from the Clark Produce Auction, a wholesaler and avenue for farmers to sell products that are retail-ready. Many of their sellers bring surplus goods left over from stands at farmers markets, minimizing waste and providing an additional sales point. The process carries its own imperfections with consistent deliveries and communication — Clark is an Amish market, so phone orders aren’t always an option — but these kinds of wholesalers serve a critical role in connecting buyers and sellers, according to MU Assistant Professor Mary Hendrickson, who teaches a class on community food systems.

Hendrickson brings her students to a session at Hy-Vee each October to see community food distribution in action. She considers Hy-Vee’s system a success story, but she says it’s still a huge challenge for farmers to bridge gaps. “There are cost issues in food distribution systems, because there’s not a lot of wiggle room in food,” Hendrickson says. “There isn’t very good standardiza52 SEPTEMBER 2017

tion in labeling, for instance, so small farmers can be put in a competitive disadvantage. It comes down to competition and cost.”

Finding a successful system with both aggregation and distribution is a tough nut to crack, Hendrickson says. And that’s why food hubs have attracted the latest industry buzz.

THE HUBBUB ON FOOD HUBS The federal government offers grant opportunities for these wholesale intermediaries, which are intended to boost the viability of small and medium-sized farms to sell cooperatively. They’re recognized by the USDA as “a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution and/

Across the country, a variety of food hubs have sprouted, but they remain more prevalent on the coasts. Mary Hendrickson, an MU professor who teaches a class on community food systems, says such entities have yet to be embraced as readily in the Midwest and Southeast regions. Still, a more robust wholesale model could be helpful for Mid-Missouri’s economy, its consumers, and its farmers.

or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products.” Food hubs are designed to provide farmers with the service of sorting, packing, and grading products at a pricing level consumers can afford, thus eliminating the farmers’ stresses of consistent supply and sales hawking.

Root Cellar, in Columbia, is the only USDA-registered food hub in Mid-Missouri, serving roughly 400 participating families as customers. They source from a range of different farms and producers to offer weekly food boxes providing a variety of goods in addition to their in-store retail offerings and restaurant clients. Owner Jake Davis says he isn’t necessarily against wholesaling, but he sees value lost to the middle-man under such a business structure. Through food hubs, farmers can sell more directly to the consumer.

Davis also sees opportunities for change in distribution, since “smallscale distribution and processing has been lost over the generations,” he says. In particular, he pointed to a significant need for processing and value-adding surplus items — take Missouri’s tomatoes, for example.

Many times, an excess of such perishable crops, without any other dis-

tribution or selling point, are left in the field when they could have been made into marinara or other canned goods with an extended shelf life.

While Root Cellar does do some quick-freezing, Davis says, they’d love to see others take that off their hands.

The small farming industry doesn’t lend itself to catch-all solutions that would serve every local farmer — when considering all the variances in products, shelf-life, operational scale, and regulations, the challenges are too fickle to solve all at once. But with the support of the Mid-Missouri community and the innovation of entrepreneurs, strides are being made to help startups gain their footing. And small farms, like Doug Nichols’, can be the perfect place to think up big ideas, like the Cloverleaf co-op.

“There has to be an opportunity,” Nichols says. “What if a Mid-Missouri co-op was here and gave these people an opportunity to sell to the co-op instead of sit at the farmers’ market? Then you’ve got the power to go [from there] to Hy-Vee. I think it’s huge.” CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 53

ACCESSIBLE AG FOR ALL Mid-Missouri looks to the ClaryShy Agriculture Park to bridge the rural–urban divide.

BY MATT PATSTON

THE BOONE COUNTY FAIR HAS MOVED AROUND a lot in the 182 years since its inaugural celebration. Fairgrounds of yore have been casualties of urbanization, gradually nudged further and further out of Columbia and into rural Boone County as the city has gotten denser. The fair moved to its current home, Sturgeon, in 2016, after spending two and half decades or so at the Central Missouri Events Center, just north of Columbia city limits. The last fairgrounds inside the city were on West Ash Street at a site currently split between the ARC and Clary-Shy Park, a patch of city-owned land that only got a name in 2010, 15 years after Ron and Vicki Shy gave it to them. You can still find two echoes of the Boone County Fair, and its celebration of area agriculture, at Clary-Shy Park. One is a shin-high plaque marking the burial site of Stonewall King, an American Saddlebred stallion who was honored at the fair in 1947, two years before his death, and awarded a key to the city. (No city officials could recall or find evidence of this honor being bestowed on a human for at least the past 20 years.) The other is the Columbia Farmers Market.

The market was first organized at the fairgrounds in 1980 — a way to keep fresh Boone County produce in the city for the 50 weeks a year when there wasn’t a fair going on. Vendors set up under a pavilion provided by a local Kiwanis Club for a while, but in 1992, when the fair moved after 43 years, the pavilion went with it. Since then, the farmers market has occupied an unsheltered asphalt pad at the park every Saturday (except in the winter, when they move inside the Parkade Center on Business Loop). There aren’t any bathrooms. If you want to sit, there’s a decent-sized boulder nearby, but that’s about it.

“We want a farmers market that’s a destination,” says Gabe Huffington, the city’s park services manager. “So if you live on the outskirts of town, whether that’s in Centralia or Hallsville or wherever, you can say, ‘Hey, today, I want to go the farmers market.’ Right now, you get in there, buy your fruits and vegetables, and you leave. We said, ‘Hey, let’s make it an event to go to the farmers market every Saturday.’”

The city’s parks and recreation department represents one partner in Friends of the Farm, a coalition that’s come together to create a destination “agriculture park” at the site of the former fairgrounds. Once completed, it will provide a permanent, sheltered home for the farmers market, as well as a permanent home for the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, another Friends of the Farm partner. Organizers think it will help Columbia reclaim something it’s lost over the past couple generations: a meaningful connection to food and the process of growing it.

54 SEPTEMBER 2017

Renderings provided by Simon Oswald Architecture and Friends of the Farm COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 55

MAKING THE SPACE A REALITY The agriculture park is going to look like this: a 37,800-square-foot roofed home for the farmer’s market, complete with room for 100 vendors, bathrooms, overhead fans, and, in the winter, drop-down walls; a four-acre urban farm, where CCUA will host their educational programming and grow food to be donated to the Food Bank; a 2,500-square-foot office building to be used by CCUA, the Columbia Farmers Market, and Sustainable Farms and Communities, a sister organization to the farmers market and Friends of the Farm member; an “outdoor classroom” where CCUA will host demonstrations and teach children about agriculture practices; a playground, adjacent to the classroom; lots of seating options; a walking trail lined with food-producing plants, like apple trees or blueberry bushes; a community orchard; a barn and greenhouse; soccer fields; a 1,200-square-foot multi-purpose building for the Department of Parks and Recreation; a teaching kitchen; 32,000 square feet of added parking; and a lake for stormwater management.

It’s going to take about $5 million. As of this reporting, about eight months into the fundraising process, Friends of the Farm has raised about $2.5 million, according to Adam Saunders, the campaign director and CCUA’s development director.

“It’s been a little bit quicker than we were expecting,” Saunders says. “This is the first capital campaign I’ve been involved in, so it’s been a learning experience, but we’ve got a great project. It’s not hard to get people excited about it.”

The $2.5 million is enough to break ground on phase one of the project, with

Top: An aerial view of the Agriculture Park located on West Ash near the ARC. Middle: A view of the interior of the MU Health Care Pavilion, which will house the Columbia Farmers Market.

Bottom: The future CCUA outdoor classroom at the Ag Park.

56 SEPTEMBER 2017

‘‘OUR APPROACH ISN’T TO SHOVE ANYTHING DOWN PEOPLE’S THROATS — IT’S TO GIVE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF THAT. . . . SO MANY KIDS COME OUT HERE AND THEY’RE LIKE ‘CARROTS GROW IN THE GROUND?! EGGS COME FROM WHERE? OH MY GOD!’”

the first priority being the new farmers market area — which, thanks to a $495,000 donation, will be named the MU Health Care Pavilion. Construction will be done in three phases; Friends of the Farm hope to have the park finished by 2021.

The city has tried in vain to put something in Clary-Shy park since the late ’90s, but, with the exception of the ARC, nothing has worked out.

Sustainable Farms and Communities had plans drawn up for an expanded farmers market facility at the site as early as 2001, and in 2005, the city put out a park sales tax ballot issue that would have built a multi-use facility with an ice rink, indoor sports complex, and covered market at the site. It was defeated by a 12-point margin. In 2008, the city even approved a plan in which Sustainable Farms and Communities would raise $900,000 for the city to build a new shelter, but the funding fell short. (A concurrent project, to build a youth basketball facility at the site, was also abandoned.)

The pieces didn’t fall into place for the agriculture park until the run-up to the 2015 park sales tax renewal, when the farmers market and Sustainable Farms and Communities came to the city with a new fundraising partner: CCUA. The organization was looking for a larger and more permanent home than their one-acre plot off College Avenue, which they currently borrow from developer Mark Stevenson in exchange for eggs and tomatoes. With CCUA involved, the project began to look more ambitious than merely constructing a market shelter — the Clary-Shy Agriculture Park, as the group started calling it, could be a destination. The ballot issue, which included $400,000 for the agriculture park, passed.

“We always talk about improving quality of life for our communities, and when you look at Kansas City or Springfield, you see all these people coming out and going to the market,” Huffington says. “That was really the one thing — we know we have a market, but how can we make it better? And we took it upon ourselves in the parks department to foster that along, and we knew if we could put some money into it from the park sales tax and get people talking about it, it could be successful.”

All fundraising operations have run through Saunders, the “point person,” as Huffington calls him. Saunders says they’ve taken a “diverse sector” approach to the project, recruiting people in different business sectors — education, banking, health care, etc. — and using them as de facto ambassadors, facilitat-

ing meetings and making introductions. “A big part of this is peer-to-peer networking, having people around town who can say ‘Hey, this is something that might be of interest to you,’” Saunders says.

Plus, the park makes a pretty easy sell, Saunders says. “We all eat, right? So we all benefit from eating healthy foods. The agriculture park is a venue to support healthy living in this region.”

THE RURAL-URBAN CONNECTION America’s urbanization patterns have been slowly grinding against rural, agricultural towns for more than a century — the 50-mile radius of Columbia that the Columbia Farmers Market pulls its vendors from offers a clear example. One hundred years ago, Columbia fit in much better among Mid-Missouri farming towns than it does today — in 1920, for example, Columbia’s population was about 10,000, compared to Centralia’s 2,000 and Boonville’s 4,000. Columbia’s economy grew less dependent on agriculture — the city urbanized and the population grew. But rural Mid-Missouri towns stayed about the same size — Centralia’s population is still under 5,000, and Boonville’s population is still under 10,000.

Until the second half of the last century, even, you didn’t have to venture very far out of downtown before you ran into farm country, which is why the Boone County Fair was held somewhere we now consider the central city.

“Locally grown food” has taken on a much different connotation in Columbia — something special, something you have to make an effort to find and eat — than it’s meant for most of the city’s history.

The agriculture park, its organizers hope, will provide a backchannel to that history — a way to navigate the urban-rural chasm that’s getting wider with every generation.

“It’s a heritage thing,” says Billy Polansky, CCUA’s executive director. “It’s not necessarily like a new, cool, hip thing. It can be, if that’s what you want it to be, but it’s also like, this is what people did for generations, and it’s sort of gotten lost. Our approach isn’t to shove anything down people’s throats — it’s to give people the opportunity to be a part of that. . . . So many kids come out here and they’re like ‘Carrots grow in the ground?! Eggs come from where? Oh my god!’”

The agriculture park, with its many stakeholders, will offer a chance to not only build COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 57

relationships with people who are growing and selling food nearby, but also to learn about exactly what it takes to grow and sell food — and maybe earn the farming industry some urban converts.

“If we want to have more successful rural areas and farming communities, they need to have more people,” Saunders says. “And those people need to come from somewhere, and some of those people are going to come from urban communities.”

The agriculture park’s creation of a stable, reliable outlet for farmers to sell food will go a long way toward creating a stable, reliable community of farmers for city-dwellers to connect with.

The Columbia Farmers Market has stayed committed to hosting only vendors within a 50-mile radius of the city, meaning they have something invested in Columbia’s success and vice versa — it’s an ethos for the market that will carry over into the agriculture park.

“Everyone is really producing what they sell, and I think that’s a major philosophy that’s going to stay in place at the farmers market,” says Dustin Stanton, a campaign committee member and farmers market vendor. He and his brother, Austin, own Stanton Brothers Eggs, the largest free-range egg business in the nation. (Both Stantons, by the way, are under 25.) “The unique thing about that is that all the money goes back into the communities that are struggling.”

58 SEPTEMBER 2017

Columbia Farmers Market vendors have long struggled with low turnout in bad weather, not to mention the steep attendance drop-off when the market moves inside Parkade Center in the winter. And if the market is slow, farmers don’t always have a good backup option — depending on the shelf life of their produce, there can be a lot of waste. Having a protected, year-round place for both existing and new vendors to sell will fortify a market that was already drawing good crowds when it was just a row of tents on an asphalt pad.

There will be places to sit, and an area to occupy kids while adults shop, and be a centrally-located source of produce for low-income families, who might also talk to someone who can teach them how to plant their own produce at their own home. (The farmers market already accepts SNAP and WIC payments for food, and they match SNAP purchases up to $25.) And that’s not mentioning the fact that the urban farm, where CCUA harvested 14,651 pounds of produce last year, mostly to give away to the Food Bank, will be four times bigger.

NOTHING NEW When I talked with Polansky, we were walking around the current urban farm — there was a vacation bible school group working there that day as well as a group from Camp Salsa, a program CCUA runs with the MU Family Impact center.

The one-acre site is as full as you could imagine

it being — we walked through narrow pathways between leafy bushes and rows of soil and shade tents. Polansky says they use “pretty much every square inch of tillable space.”

The agriculture park will fulfill a long-sought goal for the farmers market, and the city will finally get good use out of Clary-Shy Park, but CCUA will undergo the most transformative change among the Friends of the Farm. The $2.5 million raised for the park so far is more than CCUA has raised since their founding in 2009.

They’ve built their organization through striking partnerships, whether with MU or Columbia Public Schools or local churches or nonprofits or whoever else might be interested in urban agriculture but doesn’t want to maintain a farm in the middle of the city. So it’s fitting that their largest growth spurt is coming through a broad public-private partnership. “I guess you could say we play well with others,” Polansky says.

We’re walking through the blackberry bushes, which are a little taller than I am, and about half a head taller than Polansky is. He’s talking about how they’ve been able to coordinate the efforts of three nonprofits and a city government department without derailing. “Each party brings to the table their own unique thing,” he says. “We’re each bringing — let’s see if there are any ripe blackberries.” He pauses, brushes leaves away, digs deeper into the bush. “They’ve been picked over pretty heavily.” He grabs one, brushes it off with a finger, and pops it in his mouth. “Would you like one?”

I would. He hands me one and I brush it off with a finger and pop it in my mouth, like I do this all the time. I’m no fan of blackberries, but it was good. And I’m so taken aback by the fact that I’d just eaten something that was attached to a plant ten seconds ago that I almost miss Polansky getting back on subject.

“So, yeah, we’re each bringing a unique skill to this partnership,” he says. “And, again, it’s the partnership that’s going to make this project so successful. There’s no duplication of efforts.”

We walk back to his office, across the street from the farm, and he circles back to a question I’d asked. “So you asked, ‘Can Columbia handle this, is this right for Columbia?’” he says. “In a lot of ways, none of this is new. Farmers market has been here for 20 years. CCUA has been here, teaching kids, growing food. City parks has been running parks. It’s not — there are some new components, but we’re just taking these tried and true things and putting them together." CBT

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 59

Foodie GOING

Columbia balances its burgeoning food culture with diverse market forces.

BY J O DI E JAC KS O N J R. | PH OTO G RAPH Y BY T IFFANY S CH MIDT

Remember the traffic jam at the intersection of The Loop and Providence when Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen opened 16 months ago?

The 62-seat fast-food eatery sizzled with 1,750 first-day transactions, but Columbia’s overwhelming appetite for the new drive-thru option didn’t abate for several weeks. Popeye’s staffers directed and re-directed traffic to avoid the motoring mess that backed up traffic between Hickman High School and the I-70 Providence exit. It seemed like everybody in Columbia was stuck there at some point.

Anna Meyer managed to avoid the traffic quagmire — mostly because she was busy managing her newly opened restaurant, Range Free, but also because she avoids most fastfood options as the result of food allergies.

“People like fried chicken,” Meyer says, offering a simple explanation for the brief period of extra-heavy traffic to a new restaurant that wasn’t hers. “It’s something most people don’t want to make themselves.”

The fast-food activity didn’t faze Meyer and the decision she’d made six months earlier to open Range Free at 110 Orr St. in the North Village Arts District. A variety of reliable statistics indicated that 10 to 15 percent of the city’s population has a specialty, restrictive diet. The largest base of those customers need gluten-free food.

60 SEPTEMBER 2017

“It’s a small market if you’re talking about statistics alone,” Meyer says. “That doesn’t seem like a large amount, but we’re talking several thousands of people in Columbia. That was enough to show me it was a viable option.”

And the target grows to about 50 percent, she says, based on the “culture of Columbia.”

The culture? It may not be the “foodie” culture as it exists in larger metropolitan areas, where people seek out unique food experiences as part of their social interactions, but it’s certainly a foodie culture in that a growing number of Columbians are seeking a relationship with their food: knowing who is selling it, who produced it, and where it came from.

The explanations for the city’s developing food culture are as varied as the responses to the term “foodie.” Some say it’s offensive, that it suggests the interest in good food is a passing fad rather than a serious, healthy lifestyle that’s as much part of the mainstream as the bumper-to-bumper crowd that besieged Popeye’s in April 2016.

Meyer considers herself a foodie only in the sense that her approach to eating is now more connected to the food’s source and producer — and nutritional value. Meyer wanted to put her gluten-free restaurant in the North Village Arts District, which attracts a trendy crowd,

but that shouldn’t detract the non-trendy of us from stopping in and ordering a meal.

“Part of it is having a university here, being a college town,” she says. Close access to St. Louis and Kansas City to the east and west on I-70 makes Columbia “a pocket in the middle,” serving to draw more food-conscious travelers and diners. That pocket, though it may not be causing traffic jams yet, is becoming more visible.

CHANGING TIMES Just months after Popeye’s made its debut, Church’s Chicken, barely a quarter-mile to the west, shuttered its mustard-yellow restaurant. After that, Country Kitchen closed, despite its almost-instant access to I-70. In south Columbia, Your Pie, a madeto-order pizzeria, and Eat Fit Go opened for business. As another fast-food chicken shop, Slim Chickens, opened between Broadway and the Conley shopping area, Crushed Red, an “artfully chopped craft salad” chain, joined an already-busy assortment of eateries across the road. Downtown Columbia saw the opening of Midici Pizza, a restaurant that touts the quality of the experience as much as the quality of the food. (There’s a live tree in the middle of the restaurant.)

And there are new food options that aren’t

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 61

dine-in or drive-thru — Aldi, the discount grocer, is building a second Columbia store next to Kohl’s. Not bad for a community whose downtown area was deemed a “food desert” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture just a few years ago.

There’s plenty of evidence that the local food landscape has a plethora of diversity: organic, gluten-free, and other specialty foods; markets that feature Asian and Middle Eastern staples with sundry restaurants that offer Mediterranean, Indian, and more. Even the city’s longest-lived full-service eatery, Ernie’s Café, has healthier options. They boast “vegetarian specialties” on the menu now, but still — per the café’s website — “that classic diner feel.” In Columbia, you can have your kale and eat your cake too.

As restaurants have had to diversify their offerings, so too have Columbia’s grocery stores. Columbia’s three Hv-Vee stores have long focused on local sourcing as part of their business plan.

Hy-Vee store director Matt Off has been the Conley location’s store director for eight years, and during that time, he hasn’t seen an appreciable change in the number of customers looking for specialty, organic, or gluten-free choices, but the supply and demand has always been present.

“We buy from all kinds of local places,” Off says. He’s worked in a variety of markets around the Midwest and doesn’t see much difference between Columbia and other similar-sized markets. “It’s a gesture to the community,” he says.

“You want to support your local businesses.” (For more on how local farmers are getting their products in stores, see page 48) While Off isn’t sure there’s been an uptick in the number of grocery-buyers looking for local products, he does have a confident observation that the people who buy locally sourced food and specialty products “are very loyal to it.”

Lucky’s Market, a natural and specialty grocery store, opened its first store in Missouri in downtown Columbia in January 2014. Lucky’s Ellisville, Missouri location is 62 SEPTEMBER 2017

closing, but the story has been much different in Columbia.

“It was not a great location for us,” says Columbia assistant store director Deija Morgan. “Maybe, in Columbia, this is a much more forward-thinking community. I think it’s trendy for people to care about where their food comes from.” That awareness often leads to a lot of self-education — “a deeper understanding” about how the food is raised and where it comes from, Morgan says.

Columbia is developing a stellar reputation for healthier food options, to be sure. But some of the old standbys are still getting plenty of love from local and regional sources.

In the Chicago Tribune’s recent review of the best places to view the 2017 solar eclipse, the newspaper listed Columbia, with a shout out to two of the best places to eat: Booches Billiard Hall, 110 S. Ninth St., and Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, 115 S. Fifth St. The paper wrote: “Booches — serves the state’s best burger on wax paper, no plates or silverware, in a small pool hall with a cool history. Flat Branch — trendy microbrewery with delicious food and a pretty patio for outside dining.”

She’s seen a steady uptick in the number of customers filling shopping lists for the popular paleo diet and the Whole30 diet at Lucky’s, but that doesn’t make it a de facto “health food” store. The opening day event in 2014 featured a bacon-cutting ceremony. As the company’s website announces, “We won’t judge.”

“If people gravitate toward a healthier diet, I’m happy about that,” Morgan says. “We have food for everyone here. We don’t just cater to special diet. It’s a great mix.”

Hannah Garrad, the registered dietician at the Conley Hy-Vee, also thinks the search for healthier food options is an entrenched lifestyle, not a passing fancy.

“The big thing that I see is a move to be more conscious of what you eat,” she says.

Garrad does think more people are being “exploratory” when it comes to looking for alternatives to find calcium and protein, such as soy and almond milk.

Some of those products do have “a little higher price tag,” but a healthier-eating lifestyle can be affordable, she says, if you can stay balanced in what you buy. “Keeping the budget in mind, that doesn’t mean ‘healthy’ has to be expensive.”

BRINGING IT BACK HOME When it comes to the cost of producing and buying healthier, fresher, locally-sourced food, perhaps no proof of that popularity is more significant than the $2.1 million customers spent in 2016 at the Columbia Farmers Market.

Corrina Smith, Columbia Farmers Market executive director, said the local foodie culture is characterized by a now decades-long push back against “industrialized and commercialized” food production.

“Consumers are now wanting to get back to their roots — pun intended? — eating healthier and fresher foods,” Smith said in an email, adding: “When you buy directly from the farmers that grew your food, you cut out the middle man. You can ask the farmer the questions about how it was grown and raised, and you’re putting more money back into the farmer’s pocket.”

But it’s hardly a new phenomenon. The farmers market started in 1980, spurred by a few farmers selling sweet corn, watermelons, and other produce out of the beds of their pickups. “The Columbia Farmers Market was ‘local’ before ‘local’ was a thing,” Smith says.

Alan Helland’s Blue Fox Farm south of Columbia was part of a community-supported agriculture co-op the last few years and returned to the Columbia Farmers Market this summer. Helland and co-owner

Megan Fox cultivate less than five acres of its 70 acres in the Missouri River hills, leaving the remainder as an intact ecosystem for pollinators and wildlife — an example of how local food producers are diversifying their methods as much as food sellers, even when they’re one and the same. “Columbians, in particular, have responded,” Helland says, even knowing that they may pay a higher price for food produced less cost-efficiently.

Meyer says the cost of buying the gluten-free and other allergy-specific items that she needs for the Range Free menu is often pricier. “It’s necessarily pricier because of the providers at the top of the chain,” she says. It’s a pretty extreme difference in some cases — for instance, typical wheat flour sells wholesale for 2 to 4 cents an ounce. But the product Meyer needs is 57 cents an ounce.

And when it comes to the No Whey chocolate, Sun Butter, Enjoy Life Foods, and Vermont nut-free chocolate she buys, the allergen-free production lines have higher costs at each step to avoid cross-contamination.

“All those added steps increase their price,” she says. “It’s really frustrating, too. In the specialty diet world, we’ve bred into this lifestyle where we know it’s going to be more expensive.

We accept it kind of grudgingly.”

There was a culture shift that created a demand for the products; now there needs to be a culture shift to influence the cost. “I think the prices are starting to shift there,” she says.

Meyer isn’t discouraged, though. When it comes to local food for specialty diets, Columbia has found its way.

“When you have a specialty diet and you’re restricted in so many ways, you have to ask so many questions to make sure your food is safe. That is paramount,” she says. “Looking the producer in the face — that’s the where you can ask the most questions.”

Recently a customer stopped in for lunch and had a specific question about Range Free’s source of beef – Missouri Legacy Beef in Salisbury. The customer wanted to know if the producer’s cattle were Angus. Meyer said she’d already received a text from Missouri Legacy Beef earlier in the day to see if she needed more meat, so she sent the question directly to her vendor.

“That direct line of answering, I think, is very important in that safe food, in that foodie culture,” she says. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 63

64 SEPTEMBER 2017

Businesses big and small find reasons to go green.

BY DAVID MORRISON

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 65

IN MID-JULY, Steve Barton and Bruce Tiejema, of Dana Incorporated, toured the automotive manufacturing company’s 176,000-squarefoot plant in Columbia.

Barton, the environmental health and safety manager for the Columbia facility, and Tiejema, Dana’s regional environmental manager, took stock of the recently installed LED lighting on the plant floor, the mountains of cardboard, plastic and Styrofoam resting in the plant’s recycling receptacles, the structures that capture and house the heat coming off of the air compressors in order to pipe it back into the building during the colder months.

In 2013, Dana’s corporate headquarters tasked each of its plants to reduce the waste they send to the landfill by 25 percent over the next three years. The Columbia location reduced its output by 72 percent.

“What we look at is reducing that footprint to become that friendly neighbor, to remove that image of the dirty smokestacks that most people have for the auto industry,” Barton says.

“It’s not the same as what it once was. We just want to prove that we can be good to our community, just like everybody else.”

Whether it be from the top down, like Dana, or generated by consumer or employee interest, businesses around Columbia are coming around to the benefits of eco-friendly practices in the workplace. Motives range from altruistic to financially savvy and all points in between.

“Anecdotally I hear, ‘We’re doing this because our customers are asking us to do it, and we want to retain them.’” says Barbara Buffaloe, sustainability manager for the City of Columbia. “The other thing I would say is, while we see it happening with local businesses who are interested in this and want to figure out a way to set themselves apart, we also see this happening at a national level. They see, ‘If that company has that goal, why can’t I?’” For entities that are early on in the process of becoming more environmentally conscious, the community has a number of resources on which they can draw for first steps, like educational opportunities, rebates, or examples to follow.

All it takes is a little curiosity, desire, and ingenuity.

Dave Elman, owner of Fretboard Coffee, says: “It’s just about being open to that sort of creative thinking. What can we do with what we have?”

‘LOW-HANGING FRUIT’ When Elman opened Fretboard Coffee in 2013, he came into it with an environmentally sustainable mindset.

66 SEPTEMBER 2017

He wanted the coffee bags that he sent to grocery stores to be compostable and biodegradable. He wanted to compost the old coffee grounds, lemon rinds, tea leaves, and espresso pucks that the store used. He deconstructed the pallets the store’s coffee shipped in on, and one of his employees made furniture for the store out of them. They cut up empty burlap shipping sacks to be used as curtains.

Elman realizes that not every business owner is going to have the resources or the desire to undertake such extensive conservation efforts.

He also knows it doesn’t take that much to start.

“You’ve got to start with the low-hanging fruit, the things that are easily provable and tangible

Dogwood owner Dan Shifley says consumers often overestimate the initial costs of solar power solutions based on how expensive the services used to be as recently as five or six years ago.

“Commercial, there tends to be a bigger eye toward the economics of it, rather than strictly the environmental benefit,” Shifley says. “They want it to make sense, and for a lot of customers, it does. They’re going to look harder on the economics and return on investment than the environmental benefit.”

Another area to address could be the bones of the building. The city offers to check for air leaks and do heat surveys at facilities to determine

“You can be the most environmentally friendly business in the world, but if you go under, it’s not going to do you any good.”

- DAVE ELMAN, FRETBOARD COFFEE

for a return on investment,” Elman says. “It’s about business. You can be the most environmentally friendly business in the world, but if you go under, it’s not going to do you any good.

You’ve got to be practical.”

For example: lighting the store. Every business needs lights. Installing LED fixtures is more costly on the front end but, with the efficiency advantage over more conventional bulbs, could lead to smaller utility bills in the future. Plus, the city offers rebates for switching to LED. Barton enjoyed the fruits of that program when Dana made the switch.

You could also count on the sun to do some of the heavy lifting for you. Dogwood Solar, in Columbia, offers free site analyses in which a technician factors in the physical dimensions and shade of a space, as well as historical weather patterns in a location, to map out expected solar production for a space and estimate how much the tenant could save on future electric bills.

how efficient the thermal envelope is. Drew Wallace, founder and CEO of the Columbia-based econsultants, an energy audit services company, says windows and exterior wall insulation are key to ensuring an efficient building, which helps the environment as well as overhead.

“If you don’t have a good thermal envelope, there’s really no reason to make a bunch of upgrades on your HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and everything else, because you’re losing lots of energy,” Wallace says. “That’s kind of where everything starts.

After you have a good shell, then you can start thinking about making upgrades to your HVAC system and your light fixtures.”

Every business is going to leave a footprint.

The smaller that drain on resources, the fewer potential costs to face.

“Energy you don’t use is really the cleanest energy. It keeps on paying for itself over time.”

Buffaloe says. “Kind of ‘Work like you live

there.’ It doesn’t mean spend the night at work. You try to practice these behaviors that you would do at home to save money and make less of an impact. Just to practice what you preach.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

PLANTING LOCAL Being eco-friendly doesn’t have to begin and end inside the walls of your business. Danielle Fox, community conservationist with the City of Columbia, says being cognizant of the greenery on your property is another way to reduce your footprint.

Populating your grounds with native plant species, while more costly upfront than buying non-native plants, can pay off environmentally and fiscally in the long run.

Fox says that, since native plants are suited to growing in this climate, they cultivate deep root systems so they don’t need to be watered as much, don’t require fertilizer because they’ve adapted to the soil, and have co-evolved natural defenses against local insect damage, so they don’t require pesticides.

“It’s extremely simple, beneficial to the environment, and also beneficial to the businesses in helping them save money,” Fox says. “Native plants not only support our ecosystem by providing food for the insects that the birds, mammals, and other animals rely upon, but they also help the soil health and water filtration, which helps with stormwater mitigation issues with their extremely dense and deep root system.”

The most beneficial type of plant varies location to location, but Fox says her office and the Missouri Department of Conservation can help point interested parties in the right direction.

The city is currently in the midst of a project to restore about 20 acres of land throughout the city with native four-season grasses and perennial wildflowers.

How much do green business practices matter to a company’s customers? How much more attractive is a company in the marketplace if it also takes a visible, active role in helping to improve the community in which it’s located?

This spring, a study co-authored by Jung Ha-Brookshire, an associate professor of textile and apparel management and associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at MU, found that consumers identify four key areas of corporate sustainability that they believe are the moral duty of companies to uphold: working conditions, environmental support activities, community development, and transparency.

Trends like these help explain why it’s a prudent move for corporations such as Dana and Walmart to set green goals for their local affiliates, and for the 3M plant in Columbia to undertake projects such as a $25,000 grant to the City of Columbia that community conservationist Danielle Fox says will go to the restoration of butterfly habitats.

Wallace says the builders he works with, who produce single-family homes and apartment complexes, have to be responsive to the similar desires of customers in the housing market as well.

“Nobody wants to spend a whole bunch more money but, in all honesty, the majority of the good builders in town were already doing a lot of this stuff to begin with,” Wallace says. “In a city like Columbia, which is usually pretty progressive as far as energy efficiency and sustainability, they kind of stay on the front end of adopting a lot of these energy codes. If you’re going to build in Columbia and you’re not willing to stay up on energy efficiency and sustainability, then it’s going to be real tough to build.”

Elman found it easier to build in the costs of ecofriendly measures on the front end, before and right after Fretboard’s launch, rather than try to find money for them later in the process. The biodegradable coffee bags cost nearly three times the normal ones, for example, but Elman found it easier to justify the expense at the beginning. It was relatively simple for him, since being environmentally conscious already fit into his ideology. The positive impact on the community — and positive word-of-mouth advertising that ensues — should help defray the costs for even more reluctant business owners.

“It shouldn’t come down to having $200 or you’re going to be going out of business. If that’s true, you’re probably doing something else wrong,” Elman says. “Also, if you’re doing something environmentally friendly, you’ve got to COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 67

Five Steps to Creating an Eco-Friendly Business Culture Barbara Buffaloe, sustainability manager for the City of Columbia, has five main recommendations for business leaders looking to inspire confidence in environmentally conscious practices: 1. State your goals: Let your employees know about your intent to run a sustainable business, one that keeps in mind the “triple bottom line” of social, ecological, and financial success.

2. Take stock: Measure your energy usage and compare it to similar-sized businesses in your field.

3. Set reduction goals: Find areas in which you can improve the most, then set tangible benchmarks to hit.

4. Implementation: Concept and execute projects that will help your company meet those reduction goals.

5. Advertise: Put on events celebrating your successes, or hold meetings to talk about areas in which you faced difficulties.

“What that does is helps show your path of where you are on this trip, and then it also gives opportunities for your employers or consumers to know that you’re on the right track, or it shows adjustments that might need to be made,” Buffaloe says.

Since 2015, the city has recognized the accomplishments of sustainable companies through its Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement Awards.

Buffaloe says her office usually gets between 10 and 40 submissions a year in the five award categories: the Mayor’s Award, Environmental Stewardship, Innovative Best Practices, Pollution Prevention, and Resource Conservation. Dana Incorporated was one of the Innovative Best Practices winners for 2017, and Fretboard Coffee won for Resource Conservation.

Businesses can nominate themselves or be nominated through a form on the city’s sustainability website (como.gov/sustainability/awards). Deadline for 2018 submissions is December 31, 2017.

68 SEPTEMBER 2017

tell people about it. If they don’t know it, they’re not going to give you that loyalty and warm fuzzy that they get that’s going to make them go to your business. It’s about picking the thing that’s going to make the most sense to the business, but also communicating that to the world.”

GETTING PEOPLE ON BOARD Mike Jones wanted to cover his bases.

The director of custodial services for Columbia Public Schools went into overcommunication mode after researching possible green cleaning changes that could be made across the district, spurred by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines that came out in 2009.

Jones sold it to his boss (who then sold it to district administration), saying that, even though the guidelines were voluntary, they were the right thing to do for the health of the children in Columbia Public Schools.

Before he put any of the green cleaning supplies into circulation, he went around to the schools and did demonstrations for the principals and custodians. He had his custodial staff try out all of the products, from new mops to less toxic disinfectants.

In this way, he earned buy-in.

“Custodians were actually testing the products for us, then we brought them together and gave them a survey sheet,” Jones says. “It’s hard to take the old-fashioned string mop out of the custodians’ hands and get them to use the flat mop. It was just getting them to understand why we’re doing it.”

The district produces its own cleaning chemicals now, saving nearly 550 shipping boxes and 2,200 gallon plastic bottles of their former supplies. It has reduced the number of trash cans in its classrooms and sent 40,000 fewer trash bags to the landfill than it would have.

Jones switched out the conventional paper towels in the bathrooms to a higher-quality brand and limited the placement of dispensers and, within a year, saved $40,000. Those savings allowed him to undertake even more green initiatives. He’s one of 12 members of the national Green Cleaning Leadership Council, one of the foremost advocates of green cleaning in the country.

“We’re pretty heavily involved in making sure we use environmentally sensitive cleaning products and procedures,” Jones says. “Years ago, when we had our conventional cleaning products, we had health ratings that were not good for our district custodians. The chemicals left on the surfaces just weren’t good for students either. We try to do everything to improve this to help them too.”

Barton enjoyed a similar experience at Dana, where he says the employees have been on board with the plant’s sustainability measures.

“A couple of the things we’re doing [the company is] trying to benchmark across all plants,” Barton says. “I’ve had a couple plants reach out to me and ask how we sustain some of these items. It seems like everybody’s involved with it one way or another.”

As with any practice, going green is something that looks different at different places, depending on the industry, resources, circumstances, and capability.

For businesses in Columbia, though, it’s a move that’s making more and more sense.

“We’re open seven days a week, and we need to make sure employees are not being overtaxed with things that are ridiculous,” Elman says. “I temper what we’re doing and how we’re doing it with ways that I think are reasonable for them, that are the same and don’t add much in effort or anything for them to do. And we just kind of go from there.” CBT

OFFICE AND RETAIL SPACE AVAILABLE! S q ua re

w it h in d oo r R oo ft op d e c k e & ou td oo r s pa c

36,000+ sq. ft.

G re a t vi e w s of th e A ve n ue of th e C ol um n s & C ou rt h ou s e

Projecte d completio n Spring 2018

CALL FOR AVAILABILITY & PRICING! Direct: 573-424-2895 • Office: 573-449-6200

© 2016 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 69 the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.‰ Equal Housing Opportunity.

We Believe Women Empower One Another …

Especially when they share a passion for collaboration and hold one another to the highest standards We are skilled at helping our clients understand the “language” and context of their portfolios. All five of us truly want to make our clients as financially savvy as possible.

By forming strong emotional connections and understanding their struggles, goals and values, we create an environment of trust and assurance. As financial advisors, we are both analytical and intuitive, which helps develop relationships that withstand the test of time and unpredictable markets.

Investments & Services We Provide • Retirement & College Savings • Stocks, Bonds & Mutual Funds • Life & Long Term Care Insurance

Madalyn Gramke,

AAMS ™

1905 Cherry Hill Dr. Suite 100, Columbia 573-234-1700

Jody Frank, AAMS ™

4240 Philips Farm Rd. Suite 107, Columbia 573-442-0504

Gina Mauller 2509 Bernadette Dr. Columbia 573-445-7671

Ann Echelmeier 1729 W. Broadway Suite 3, Columbia 573-446-2770

• Trust & Estate Considerations • Annuities

Kathy Lou Neale, AAMS ™

1000 W. Nifong Bldg. 3, Suite 210 Columbia 573-442-9590 EdwardJones.com Member SIPC

70 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P ROVE M E N T • F YI

OR G A N I ZAT I ON AL H EALT H

brain power figuring out what to do each time we do something routine. A lack of a process typically results in wasted time and effort.

Effectiveness and efficiencies usually yield better results by having those processes handy.

4. Take a break every 90 minutes.

Most e-mails and texts can wait an hour and a half for a response. While you’re taking 10 minutes, check your messages and take action. Most e-mails and texts can be answered within two minutes each. But make sure you don't get pulled into a conversation — offer an alternative as to when you can get back to them if it requires a longer answer.

ORGA N I Z AT IONAL H E ALTH

Seven Strategies to Keep Your Focus Sharp

BY TON Y RICHA R DS | Fou n de r of C le ar Visio n Deve l o p m e n t G ro u p

FOCUS IS THE BLADE YOU MUST SHARPEN to cut through the distractions and clutter you face every day. Exercising your focus (like you would exercise a muscle) builds your ability to stay sharp.

You may have heard this metaphor: the sun's heat warms the Earth gently, but if you apply a magnifying glass to that energy, you can burn paper — if you focus the sun’s energy enough, you can melt anything. That’s how you should think about your focus. The more energy you can direct, the sharper the focus and the more powerful the outcome.

Every time we get thrown off course or pulled into a bunch of mindless Facebook updates or our text alarm sounds, it takes several minutes for us to regain our focus and get back to what we were doing. Fortunately, the more you can exercise your focus, you’ll be able to bounce back quicker after getting distracted — and you’ll get distracted less in the first place.

Here are some ways to sharpen your focus: 1. Manage your environment. Don’t let it manage you. Turn off your e-mail, your text alarms, and other things that grab your attention away from the areas you need to focus on.

2. Make a to-accomplish list for every day. In order to maintain a sharp focus, you need to prioritize activities for each day. I typically make the most difficult task the first on the list and the easiest task the last.

My energy levels run higher in the morning and decrease throughout the day, so I want the most difficult tasks first, when I have the most energy. Your energy levels may be different than mine, but you get the picture.

3. Have a process for everything.

Documented processes help us because they simplify our thinking — we don’t have to spend

5. If you get distracted, catch yourself in the act. If you begin to tell yourself "I'm distracted now," it will begin to cut a new neural pathway to help you catch yourself easier in the future. Once you catch yourself in the act, adjust your behavior accordingly and get back to your planned or scheduled activity.

6. Get plenty of sleep. One reason we find it hard to focus is it requires mental energy.

A lack of energy allows us to be pulled off focus really easily. Being able to apply energy in holding our attention is the more effective route, but you can't apply energy if your tank is low on fuel due to lack of good sleep.

7. Be specific about your goals. Have them handy so you can review them several times a day. Our priorities can get lost, especially when we’re really busy. Have the ability to grab your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. Remember, your brain is not designed to hold everything in it. Use notes and lists to free your brain from extra work.

The more you can direct its energy toward focus, the better you will be able to perform.

Also, make sure you keep reminders of the reasons it's important to keep your focus sharp. These might be pictures of your family, vacations you want to take, a house you want to buy, and so on. Remember, there are reasons you work so hard to maintain your focus and great performance. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 71

“

“Business Times Interactive made website design and content a custom project for Huntline Dental Group. I don’t believe in putting clients into a system that works for the company.

I believe in customizing a plan that works for the client! That is what I feel Business Times Interactive has done for my businesses. Thank You to Jamie and all the team members that worked on my projects.”

—Dr. Sam Barnhart DDS, Huntline Dental Group

DISPLAY ADVERTISING

SEO/PAID SEARCH

EMAIL MARKETING

CONTENT AND WEB

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

MULTIMEDIA SERVICES

BusinessTimesInteractive.com | Facebook.com/BusinessTimesInteractive | @BTIComo 72 SEPTEMBER 2017

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 73

Join Us...

From

YOUR MOST PRECIOUS AND PERSONAL

Silverbox Photography

Photo provided by Veteran United Home Loans NMLS# 1907

EVENTS

To

CORPORATE GALAS AND

Photo provided by Veteran United Home Loans NMLS# 1907

CELEBRATIONS OF 5000 OR MORE Photos provided by Veteran United Home Loans NMLS# 1907

UCLUB.MISSOURI.EDU 107 Reynolds Alumni Center | Columbia, MO 65211 p573-882-2586/f573-884-7831 74 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P ROVE M E N T • F YI

POLI CY

builds wealth by working with city and community partners to preserve the quality and stability of affordable homes.

Stable housing also has a powerful impact on children, their performance in school, and their future success in life.

• Children changing schools due to housing instability often fall up to two months behind in curriculum per move.

• The average household wealth in the U.S. is $8,000 for African-American families and $81,000 for white families. This is largely a result of disparity in homeownership rates and lack of generational wealth passed down through African-American households.

P OL IC Y

Community Land Trust Comes Together

BY JERRY DOWELL | Director of Government Affairs, Columbia Chamber of Commerce

COMMUNITY LAND TRUST IS A BUZZ-PHRASE you might hear around Columbia these days. So what exactly is it? A community land trust, or CLT, offers individuals and families a path to homeownership that otherwise might not be affordable.

A CLT is a nonprofit corporation that develops and cares for affordable housing. A CLT maintains ownership of the land but sells long-term affordable homes on that land to qualified buyers. By maintaining ownership of the land, the CLT can sell affordable homes to low-income families for the long term and maintain the homes.

There are over 10,000 community land trust housing units nationwide in 42 states. Columbia started on this path in 2008. The Affordable Housing Policy Committee, created by city council, identified the need for a housing trust fund and organization. In 2015, city council approved the purchase of and appropriated funding for what is now the Columbia Community Land Trust and the land on which the first houses will be built and sold.

In August 2016, with community support from organizations like the Heart of Missouri United

Way, Columbia Board of Realtors, Job Point, Columbia Chamber of Commerce, and others, city council voted to establish a community land trust organization and transferred funds for its initial operation. In December 2016, council voted to approve the appointment of the inaugural board, which will guide the organization and provide oversight over the expansion of properties to add to the city’s affordable housing stock.

Why do we need a community land trust?

Homeownership is becoming increasingly less affordable. While housing costs have steadily increased, household income, especially for those in the middle to lower income brackets, has seen a decline from the peak years of 1999 and 2000.

Homeownership overall has seen a steady decline from a high of 69 percent in 2004 to 63.7 percent in 2015, the lowest rate of homeownership since 1989.

Affordable, owner-occupied housing stabilizes families and neighborhoods; it creates equity and

• Funding available for the development of affordable housing in the City of Columbia has decreased by 30 percent over the past decade, increasing the importance of protecting any investments in affordable housing for the future.

Why was it important for organizations like the Columbia Chamber of Commerce to endorse the creation of a community land trust?

A guiding principle of the chamber is that government should prioritize core issues such as economic development, infrastructure, public health, public safety, transportation, and the financial well-being of our community. Creating community-based solutions to address one of the biggest challenges facing low-income individuals, seniors, and people with disabilities is an effort worthy of citywide support and chamber endorsement.

The City of Columbia, before the creation of the community land trust, subsidized the sale price of homes with public and private charitable resources up to $25,000. The CLT will accomplish three things: • Protect city investments in affordable homeownership opportunities. It ensures homes re-sell to income-qualified buyers at affordable rates. It ensures homes developed with public– private subsidies remain owner-occupied. It eliminates the need to provide additional subsidies to future buyers, and it ensures homes maintain their quality and condition.

• Protect neighborhoods from adverse impacts of foreclosure.

• Provide support for low-income buyers to ensure successful homeownership. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 75

ions Solut ke Ma That e Sens

We make employee management easy •Expert: Certified payroll & HR staff •Dependable: 50 years of reliable service •Payroll: Payroll/tax, workforce management

Hometown values — Nationwide service Call us for your consultation

ColumbiaEDP.com | 573-474-8431 | payroll@columbiaedp.com

76 SEPTEMBER 2017

BU SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P ROVE M E N T • F YI

ASK AN N E

doing to fix it too. If you don’t address it and you hire them, they may feel duped.

• Remember that turnover happens no matter what. The best thing you can do when someone quits is to thank them for their hard work — don’t burn a bridge. You may want them back.

Q Can we require an applicant to provide a recent paystub as proof of salary?

A SK A N N E

Stop the Revolving Door

BY A N N E W ILLIAM S | P re side n t of JobF in de r s E m p l oy m e n t S e r vi ce s

Q I manage a chain store throughout the state of Missouri. It seems like we have a revolving door — I’m either hiring or firing someone weekly. What can I do to be more successful with recruitment?

Bar the door! Hiring and firing is a natural part of the business cycle, but it seems you and your staff may not be on the same page. When this happens, it’s disastrous for morale.

This question does not have a one-size-fits-all answer. Here are a few simple things to consider for better recruitment.

• Know your brand and your culture. This means you should know who you are and what you stand for, and make sure others know too.

• Embrace proactivity. It’s tempting to put off the hiring and the firing of people, but you shouldn’t have to delay an employee termination if you’ve proactively kept your eyes and ears open for

good candidates. Talk to candidates that fit your brand and culture when you find them.

You don’t have to offer them a job on the spot.

From the managers down, hire only those who fit your culture and your brand.

• Plan for today and for tomorrow. Know your needs and identify your short- and long-term plans for each position.

• Know what an ideal candidate looks like.

Look at what types of employees have been successful in the past. Just because you work in retail does not mean each job takes the same type of person, right?

• Get in the trenches with your people once in a while. It never hurts for the managers or the owners to get out and work with the people.

Sometimes we can just watch, but working lets the employees know you want to know what they do and how they do it.

• Have fun. Laugh at work. Joke around with your staff. There is more to you and your business than the numbers. Your employees will be more loyal if they know you’re human.

• Be honest with people you’re trying to hire. If your business is in a state of flux, the interviewee should know. I suggest telling them what you’re

When I received this question, I thought I should defer to an HR specialist, so I turned to HR director and general counsel of JobFinders, Samuel Trapp. Here are his thoughts.

“The proper response to this question, which is a hot-button issue at present, is not whether an employer can require an applicant to provide a recent paystub, but whether an employer should require a paystub. I answer that question firmly in the negative. In fact, one state has already outlawed the question in the interview process, and others are considering doing so.

“Not only is such a request generally offensive to the candidate, but it could be used as the basis for a discrimination claim. Think about it: If women and minorities are historically paid less and an employer requires them to provide proof of a prior or current salary amount before the offer of employment, isn’t that employer perpetuating the discrimination by using the pay stub in the equation?

“My advice to employers is to know what you expect first and then try to justify why you believe past salary information is important. My bet is that the negative far outweighs the positive in this seemingly above-board request.

“My advice to employees? Don’t provide a pay stub. In fact, do not discuss salary until negotiating post-offer. Draw the line here. What possible relevance could your prior salary have to new position? Instead, direct your focus toward the salary range of the position and your comfort level with that range." CBT Anne Williams is not an attorney. All content in this column is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality and is not to be construed as legal advice.

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 77

For your windows...

Call us for your free consultation & measure!

Intelligent shades that simplify your life.

105 Business Loop 70 E. | 573-449-0081 | carpet1columbia.com

78 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P ROVE M E N T • F YI

B U SI N ESS SM AR TS

• Complex background patterns that deter “cut and paste” alterations.

• Micro-printed backs, faces, and borders that can be difficult to reproduce with most printers.

Also ask if your financial institution uses automated check fraud detection tools that match account numbers, check numbers, and verify dollar amounts so they can notify you if a questionable check comes through their system.

At the point of sale, it’s important for businesses to train their employees about the following signs of a possibly counterfeit check: • The check lacks a perforated edge.

Most authentic checks have one edge that is rough or perforated.

• The check number is missing. Any

B U SI N ESS S MARTS

legitimate check issued by a bank

Combating Check Fraud

includes a check number.

• The customer’s address is missing.

• The bank logo is missing or does not match the bank routing number. You can verify routing numbers with the

BY SEAN SP ENCE | Re gion al D ire ctor of Be tte r B u s i n e ss B u re a u Co l u m b i a

financial institution, on the Federal Reserve Bank Services website, or even by doing a quick web search.

• The address of the financial

EVERY YEAR, CHECK FRAUD IN WHICH a business’s own checks are used costs businesses and financial institutions billions of dollars. The way it works is pretty simple: Criminals alter an existing check or create a counterfeit check using stolen or illegally purchased account information from a business. With today’s software and personal printers, it can be easy for a scammer to reproduce a company check. They can then attempt to cash the checks, make purchases, or conduct transactions.

A 2016 Payments and Fraud Control Survey conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals found that 73 percent of companies reported they were victims of payment fraud, with the majority falling victim to check fraud.

Businesses are often the targets of check fraud scammers, and any one business can lose thousands of dollars to these crimes.

Businesses that are successfully hit once are often targeted again, so it’s particularly important for past victims to take preventive measures in an effort to protect their bottom line (although everyone should).

These security measures will help ensure your company checks are counterfeit resistant. Many check printing services and banks offer some or all of these as options.

institution is missing.

• The magnetic ink character recognition line is fake. This is the magnetic ink or toner used at the bottom of checks and other negotiable documents, is real. A fake one will tend to rub off, smear when wet, or not be shiny.

• The paper is flimsy. Authentic checks are typically printed on matte,

• Foil holograms. These are multicolored, 3-D holograms with specific designs that cannot be reproduced by copiers and scanners. These can also be purchased inexpensively as stickers.

• Watermarks and visible fibers.

• Multi-tonal pantographs that cause the word “void” to appear on checks and cause other aspects of the check to disappear if it’s copied.

thicker paper.

• There are stains or discolorations on the check. This could be an indicator of erasures or alterations.

The bigger a business gets, the more likely it is to face check fraud situations, but any business can be a target. Take the necessary prevention steps and provide employees the training they need to know what to look for. CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 79

From the very first meeting, my clients feel a sense of

relief.

They now know what needs to be done and why. And then they discover a level of personal service they’ve probably never experienced before.

I can do the same for you, as well.

Wills & Trusts Business Law 303 N. Stadium Blvd. Suite 200 Columbia | 573-874-1122 NathanJonesLaw.com The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.

80 SEPTEMBER 2017

BU SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P ROVE M E N T • F YI

M AR KET I N G

Ads in 2016 was 27.29 cents. The cost per 1,000 impressions in the same period was $7.19.

Retargeting. A retargeting ad is triggered to display only to visitors who have been to your website. People are 10 times more likely to click on a retargeting ad than a normal ad, and after clicking on a retargeting ad website, visitors are 70 percent more likely to contact you or buy something from your website. You spend so much money bringing traffic to your website, it seems crazy not advertise to them once they leave.

These ad types can be set up as pay-per-click or pay-per-impression. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest all offer retargeting ad options.

MA RKET I NG

The Big, Bad Wolf: Online Advertising

BY MON ICA P ITTS | C h ie f C re at ive D ire ctor o f Maye C re ate D e s i g n

AFTER MULTIPLE YEARS AS YOUR CBT marketing columnist, what better way to retire my column than by tackling the big, bad wolf: online advertising. It’s a booming industry, with good reason. It delivers the ability to reach anybody, but not just anybody — the exact someone you want to do business with. It’s more trackable than any other marketing medium and easy to modify, scale up, scale down, or scale off with a click of a button.

Online advertising can be all kinds of things, from email marketing to social media. But for our purposes, let’s discuss placing ads online. You can place ads through Google, on social media, on other company’s websites and email newsletters.

We’ll start with the biggie.

Google ads, AdWords, and pay-perclick advertising. According to Define Media Group, an audience research firm, Google accounts for 93 percent of search traffic. You can place ads through Google AdWords on the search and display networks. Also called “pay-per-click” ads, the search platform shows your website link when people search for key terms related to your industry. This is great to capture website visitors who are ready to buy. With pay-per-click, as you

might imagine, you only pay when people click on your ad. Advertisers pay $1 to $2 per click on average, but some pay more than $50 per click, depending on the competition for the key terms they’re targeting.

Alternatively, the Google Display Network serves ads to people based on demographic data such as age, interest, and more to brand your business and get in front of new potential customers. Average cost per click on the display network ranges from $0.20 to $1.66, depending upon the industry.

Both Google networks ask you to set a per-day budget. Google serves your ads based on your budget and past ad performance.

Social media advertising. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram all offer options for online advertising. You can target your ad to homeowners, job titles, business names, location, interests, even email addresses. People with a low ad budget (less than $5 per day) may be restricted to pay per impression ads, meaning your ad will be served a set number of times regardless of clicks, while those with a larger budget can serve pay per click ads. According to AdEspresso, the average cost per click of Facebook

Affiliate email newsletter and website ad placement. Referrals are the best kind of business. Advertising on an affiliate email newsletter or website is a great way to encourage the referral system online. You can run ads on the email newsletters and websites of organizations or companies you work with who share your target audience. This is a valuable advertising opportunity — your brand is seen in conjunction with a brand the audience already knows and trusts. Consider creating a graphic ad or even asking if you can contribute content to their email newsletters.

Which is right for your business?

The trick to picking the right online advertising medium to reach your market is finding one that gives you the most exposure for your budget. You may start out with trading for ad space on a client’s newsletter and eventually venture into payper-click ads. Overall advice: Don’t be scared of the big, bad wolf. Tackle him and invite him to tea.

All marketing is a calculated risk. You can’t win if you don’t play, and you won’t know if you’re winning if you don’t measure your results.

The story ends, but the saga continues.

Thank you to all of you who read my articles these past years for your comments and support. It’s rewarding to know my marketing tales stuck a chord and hopefully inspired braver and more confident marketing decisions.

Although I’m retiring as the CBT marketing columnist, you can still get a dose of my marketing mojo at mayecreate.com/blog. The other MayeCreaters and I serve up new marketing musings with all the fixin’s each week. (Subscribe to our email and those little bundles of joy can arrive right in your inbox!). CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 81

Are you living to your fullest potential?

Chiropractic care goes beyond neck and back pain.

Achieve

your fullest potential

Balance

with focus on these areas

Increased energy | Improved digestion Boosted immunity | Better clarity

Nutrition | Physical activity | Positive attitude Sleep | Properly functioning nervous system

you heal Chiropract ic helps and feel better

MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER – ORGANIZE THAT SPACE!

Call for an appointment 573-442-5520 1000 W. Nifong Woodrail Centre, Building 8, Suite 100 AchieveBalanceChiropractic.com

. Dr. Phelps is an International Speaker and Wellness Expert .

• Safe, floor-based systems • Elegant features • Designer colors and woodgrains • Fully adjustable • Professional installation • Family owned & operated

Custom solutions for every room in your home.

573-659-9000

Free, In-home consultations. Call today.

OrganizeThatSpace.com

82 SEPTEMBER 2017

BU SI N ESS • P EOPL E • IM P R OV EM EN T • FY I

New Business Licenses SEPTEMBER 2017

COMO Growlers

Hole in the Wall

Kirlin’s Gifts

1413 Grindstone Plaza Dr.

910 E. Business Loop 70

203 E. Nifong Blvd.

573-214-4070

573-442-7491

573-442-5225

Sale of draft beer in

Bar

Retail greeting cards

containers to go

and gifts Soccer Stars

COMO Pints

4400 Kentsfield Ln.

1413 Grindstone Plaza Dr.

864-706-6887

573-214-4070

Youth soccer private

Bar

lessons and small clinics

La Di Da

Heavenly Sent Cleaning

2001 Corona Rd.

4511 West Bridgewood Dr.

573-397-6991

573-356-6229

Children/baby clothing/

Residential cleaning

The Hatchery

206 Corporate Lake Dr. 573-356-9567 Work space with on-site child care Protect-a-Deck & Home Painting

707 Fairview Ave.

shoes retail shop COMO Painting

573-424-4214

Burning Coals

4001 S. Ponderosa St.

Residential painting

128 E. Nifong Blvd.

573-239-1497

573-424-6815

Painting and remodeling

Hookah bar and lounge

Beautiful Day Spa LLC

212 E. Green Meadows Rd. Towneplace Suites

626-236-0165

I Am Sushi Burrito

by Marriott

Massage therapist

904 Elm St.

4400 Nocona Pkwy.

573-442-7748

573-817-0012

Fast casual restaurant

Hotel

GOBE, LLC

Primary Lender LLC

1708 Amelia St.

303 N. Stadium Blvd.

573-742-8077

573-442-3344

General contractor

Real estate finance solutions

Pick up a little gourmet!

YOUR TIGER GAME DAY HEADQUARTERS! Quick Tailgate Pick-Ups Full Service Tailgate Events Touchdown Tailgate Package For 6 - just 65.00 Pre-order & pick up on game day Visit our website for details

www.hosssmarket.com 573-815-9711 eatathosss @hosssmarket

C&D Commercial Cleaning

2611 Pine Dr. 660-537-0885 Commercial cleaning Abacus 340B Management

Diaz Auto Brokers LLC

2203 Rangeline St.

The Golf Vault

601 W. Nifong Blvd.

573-476-6034

2909 Falling Leaf Ln.

573-271-2272

Purchasing used vehicles to

573-499-5000

Pharmacy management

repair to sell

Golf retail

and consulting CBT

Large Selection of Game Day Clear totes and Purses at Hoss’s COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 83

B U S I N E SS • P E O P L E • I MP R OV E M E N T • F Y I

DEEDS OF T R U ST

Deeds of Trust WORTH MORE THAN $583,000

STEAK • BRATWURST MONEY SAVING MEAT PACKS CHICKEN WINGS

$88,000,000

$1,400,000

$640,000

Jade Properties LLC Simmons Bank LT 1 SFH Subdivision

Foote, Bryan & Jessica N Central Bank of Boone County STR 20-47-13 /NW/NE

Wollard, Blake & Larissa Central Bank of Boone County STR 23-47-13 //SW

$8,800,000

PDP III LLC Dwight Capital LLC LT 300 Providence Village Plat 1-C

$1,400,000

Foote, Bryan & Jessica N Central Bank of Boone County LT 213 Thornbrook Plat No 7

$7,200,000

SNACK STICKS FRESH HAND CUT STEAKS RIBS • JERKY

Tompkins Homes & Development Inc. Central Bank of Boone County STR 17-48-13 //W SUR BK/PG: 3182/105 AC 50.23 FF PT Tract 1

$1,020,000

$3,760,000

Puri; Ravinder K, Mrinoal & Mona Central Bank of Boone County LT 149 Spring Creek Plat 1

Forum Boulevard Christian Church of Columbia Missouri Central Bank of Boone County LT 1 Forum Blvd Christian Church $3,100,000

Trerry Investments LLC First State Community Bank Lt 1 Fireside Condos

84 SEPTEMBER 2017

$950,000

$915,000

B8E LLC Landmark Bank LT 1 Boone Electric Plat 1 $710,985

THD-REB Properties LLC Landmark Bank STR 21-48-12 //E

Grindstone Village Properties LLC Scott, Carlos E & Mary A LT 1 Wyndham Commercial Corner

$2,500,000

$700,000

North Stadium Investments LLC First State Community Bank LT 2 PT Scheulen Acres Blk 4

Cook, Bridget B Revocable Trust Central Bank of Boone County STR 22-47-13 //SE SUR BK/ PG: 4579/7 AC 11.15

$3,000,000

125 E. Broadway St. New Franklin, MO 65274 JenningsPremiumMeats.com 660-848-2229

Diya, Fadi M & Vickie Lea Bank of America LT 121 Copperstone Plat 1

$2,400,000

NCP Investments LLC Mid America Mortgage Services Inc. LT 2601 South Canyon View Condo Plat 1

$653,000

Martin Builders Inc Central Bank of Boone County LT 65 Liberty Landing Plat 3

$630,000

Marroquin, Rafael Jr & Torres, Vanessa US Bank LT 1418 Highlands Plat 14-B The $630,000

Marroquin, Rafael Jr & Torres, Vanessa Landmark Bank LT 1418 Highlands Plat 14-B The $626,400

MG 2009 Revocable Trust UMB Bank LT 5 PT Country Farms Sub $625,000

Zara, Robert & Whitney Landmark Bank STR 29-49-13 /E/NE FF W/ Exceptions $615,500

Nettrour, John F & Alicia Landmark Bank LT 450 Thornbrook Plat No 13 $583,000

Christ, Shawn E & Sara The Callaway Bank LT 1 Harpers Pointe CBT 561 deeds of trust were issued between 7/3 and 7/28

BU SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • FY I

Economic Index LABOR

HOUSING

June 2017

June 2017

(not seasonally adjusted)

Total single-family home UNITED STATES

sales: 306

Labor Force: 161,337,000

Existing single-family home

Employment: 154,086,000

sales per month: 273

Unemployment: 7,250,000

New construction single-

Rate: 4.5 percent MISSOURI

Labor Force: 3,084,792 Employment: 2,964,256 Unemployment: 120,536 Rate: 3.9 percent BOONE COUNTY

Labor Force: 96,313 Employment: 93,485 Unemployment: 2,828 Rate: 2.9 percent COLUMBIA

Labor Force: 65,677 Employment: 63,669 Unemployment: 2,008 Rate: 3.1 percent

family home sales per month: 33 Single-family active listings on market: 664 Single-family homes average sold price: $228,751 Single-family home median sold price: $200,000 Single-family homes average days on market: 42 Single-family pending listings on market: 233

UTILITIES July 2017 WATER

July 2017: 48,973 July 2016: 49,137

CONSTRUCTION June 2017

Change # -164 Change %: -0.334% Number of customers

Residential building

receiving service on August 1,

permits: 84

2017: 49,016

Value of residential building

permits: $9,698,288

Commercial building

ELECTRIC

permits: 22

July 2017: 49,862

Value of commercial building

July 2016: 49,480

permits: $4,428,126

Change # 382

Commercial additions and

Change %: 0.772%

alterations: 17

Number of customers

Value of commercial

receiving service on August 1,

additions: $3,657,581

2017: 49,877

CBT COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 85

olumbia Region al A

by C irp red or we o t P

TOP

CBT’s

OF THE

TOWN 2017

TOP PLACE TO WORK – 1-25 EMPLOYEES

TOP ARCHITECT

TOP ADVERTISING AGENCY

TOP ACCOUNTING SERVICE

1st Place: Columbia Eye Consultants 2nd Place: Caledon Virtual

1st Place: Simon Oswald Architecture 2nd Place: PWArchitects

TOP PLACE TO WORK - 26-50 EMPLOYEES

TOP HR FIRM

1st Place: True Media 2nd Place: Visionworks Marketing Group

1st Place: Williams-Keepers LLC 2005 W. Broadway, Columbia 573-442-6171, williamskeepers.com

1st Place: Woodruff 2nd Place: Century 21 Advantage

1st Place: Moresource, Inc. 2nd Place: Accounting Plus 1604 Business Loop 70 W. B, Columbia 573-445-3805, accountingplusinc.com

TOP PLACE TO WORK - 51+ EMPLOYEES 1st Place: Veterans United Home Loans 2nd Place: Central Bank of Boone County

TOP EMERGING PROFESSIONAL 1st Place: Amanda Quick, The Hatchery 2nd Place: Brandon Banks, Modern Media Concepts

TOP SEASONED PRO 1st Place: Eric Morrison, Providence Bank 2nd Place: Gina Gervino, Columbia Insurance Group

TOP COMMERCIAL REALTOR 1st Place: Paul Land, Plaza Commercial Realty 2501 Bernadette Dr, Columbia 573-445-1020, paulland.com

TOP SALESPERSON 1st Place: Brooke Berkey, Central Bank of Boone County 2nd Place: Danny Gingerich, Joe Machens Toyota-Scion

TOP CHAMBER VOLUNTEER 1st Place: Tom Trabue, McClure Engineering Co. 2nd Place: Sherry Major, Columbia EDP

TOP CEO 1st Place: Steve Erdel, Central Bank of Boone County 2nd Place: Gary Thompson, Columbia Insurance Group

TOP BANK 1st Place: Central Bank of Boone County 2nd Place: Landmark Bank

2nd Place: Gina Rende, Maly Commercial Realty

TOP COMMERCIAL LENDER

1st Place: Coil Construction 2nd Place: Little Dixie Construction

1st Place: Chris Widmer, Landmark Bank 2nd Place: Chris Rosskopf, Central Bank of Boone County

TOP REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER

TOP BUSINESS INSURANCE

1st Place: Mike Tompkins, Tompkins Homes & Development 2nd Place: Jay Lindner, Forum Development Group

1st Place: Stephanie Wilmsmeyer, State Farm 2609 E. Broadway, Columbia 573-445-5774, insurecomo.com

TOP COMMERCIAL BUILDER

TOP PLACE TO CLOSE A DEAL 1st Place: 44 Stone 2nd Place: Boone-Central Title Co.

TOP STAFFING COMPANY 1st Place: JobFinders Employment Services 1729 W. Broadway #4, Columbia, 573-446-4250, jobfindersusa.com

2nd Place: Kelly Services

TOP JANITORIAL SERVICES 1st Place: Atkins, Inc. 2nd Place: Safi Sana

TOP HAPPY HOUR 1st Place: Logboat Brewing Co. 2nd Place: The Roof

TOP IT COMPANY 1st Place: Midwest Computech 311 Bernadette Dr., Ste. A, Columbia 573-499-6928, midwestcomputech.com

1st Place: Fresh Ideas Food Service Management 2nd Place: Missouri Employers Mutual

1st Place: LG Patterson 2nd Place: Casey Buckman

TOP COMMERCIAL VIDEOGRAPHER 1st Place: The Evoke Group 2nd Place: Cosmic Sauce

TOP EVENT LOCATION 1st Place: Logboat Brewing Co. 2nd Place: Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center

TOP PLACE FOR BUSINESS LUNCH 1st Place: Addison’s 2nd Place: D. Rowe’s

TOP COFFEE MEETING LOCATION 1st Place: Kaldi’s Coffee 2nd Place: The Grind Coffee House 2nd Place: EasyPC IT & Computer Repair

TOP NATIONAL PRESENCE 1st Place: True/False Film Fest 2nd Place: Veterans United Home Loans

TOP CATERER 1st Place: Bleu Events 2nd Place: Hoss’s Market 1010 Club Village Dr., Columbia 573-815-9711, hosssmarket.com

TOP WEB DEVELOPER 1st Place: Hoot Design Co. 2nd Place: Delta Systems

TOP B2B PRODUCT OR SERVICE

1st Place: Crockett Engineering 2nd Place: McClure Engineering Co.

1st Place: GFI Digital 2nd Place: CoMo Connection Exchange

2nd Place: Columbia Insurance Group

TOP OFFICE DIGS

TOP COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER

TOP ENGINEER 86 SEPTEMBER 2017

2nd Place: Accounting Plus

TOP LOCAL TEAM-BUILDING EXPERIENCE 1st Place: Breakout CoMo 2nd Place: Escape Plan

ADVERTISER INDEX ACCOUNTING PLUS............................................................................................91 ACHIEVE BALANCE...........................................................................................82 ANTHONY JINSON PHOTOGRAPHY............................................................13 ARTISAN BUILDERS OF COLUMBIA............................................................37 BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOME SERVICES.............................................. 69 BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL MISSOURI......................... 6 BIG CEDAR LODGE.............................................................................................24 BLEU EVENTS...................................................................................................... 34 BRINGING UP BUSINESS............................................................................ 8 & 9 BUSINESS TIMES INTERACTIVE....................................................................72 CARPET ONE.........................................................................................................78 CITIZEN JANE FILM FESTIVAL.......................................................................88 CITY OF COLUMBIA WATER & LIGHT......................................................... 10 COLUMBIA EDP....................................................................................................76 COLUMBIA REGIONAL AIRPORT..................................................................78 COMMERCE BANK............................................................................................. 34 COMO LEADERS..................................................................................................37 D & M SOUND........................................................................................................32 DOGMASTER DISTILLERY...............................................................................38 EDWARD JONES ............................................................................................... 70 FERGUSON............................................................................................................... 3 FIRST STATE COMMUNITY BANK.................................................................78 GFI DIGITAL.............................................................................................................11 GRAVITY...................................................................................................................12 HAWTHORN BANK.............................................................................................92 HEART OF MISSOURI UNITED WAY...................................................... 4 & 5

HOSS'S MARKET & ROTISSERIE....................................................................83 JASANY HOME......................................................................................................16 JENNING'S PREMIUM MEATS........................................................................ 84 JOBFINDERS........................................................................................................ 80 LANDMARK BANK................................................................................................ 2 MAHER COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.........................................................88 MAYECREATE WEB DESIGN...........................................................................73 MISSOURI EMPLOYERS MUTUAL..................................................................32 NATHAN JONES LAW....................................................................................... 80 NAUGHT NAUGHT INSURANCE AGENCY.................................................82 ORGANIZE THAT SPACE..................................................................................82 PERSONAL TOUCH CLEANING SERVICE..................................................38 RESTORATION EYECARE............................................................................... 20 SOCKET...................................................................................................................85 SPARK PROMOTIONS.........................................................................................18 STANGE LAW FIRM.............................................................................................87 STATE FARM INSURANCE - STEPHANIE WILMSMEYER.....................88 SUPERIOR GARDEN CENTER/ROST LANDSCAPE.............................. 80 SYDENSTRICKERS..............................................................................................76 THE DISTRICT...................................................................................................... 20 THE TRUST COMPANY........................................................................................ 7 TIGER SCHOLARSHIP FUND.......................................................................... 40 UMB............................................................................................................................18 UNIVERSITY CLUB..............................................................................................74 WILSON'S FITNESS............................................................................................59

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 87

FOR SALE 1000 W. Nifong Woodrail Centre Office Park Building 6

• Luxury office condo • 2,650 square feet • Price reduced to $357, 500

Contact John Hancock Broker-Salesperson 573-489-5201 JohnHancock33@gmail.com

We Know CoMo Business

Offering prime commercial & investment properties MaherCRE.com 573-228-6321 88 SEPTEMBER 2017

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • FY I

T H I S OR T H AT

CALEB ROWDEN State Senator

Mac Details

Big Picture

Cursive

Print

Early Bird Cinema Michael Jackson Firefox 9-5 Learn At Your Desk

Chrome Flexibility Teach In a Meeting

Cake

City

Planner Traditional Certain Country

Save

Spend

Summer

Winter

Cat Passenger Car Ocean Optimistic Business

Dog Driver Plane Mountains Realistic Casual

Solo

Team

For Here

To Go

DISC Books

StrengthsFinder Magazines

Reading

Writing

Creative

Analytical

Introvert

Extrovert

Podcast Cluttered

either, so unfortunately neither.

The Beatles

Pie

Skeptical

1. I am both.

2. I haven’t had sugar in six months, so neither (for the moment).

3. I would say “sandwich,” but I haven’t had grains for six months

Netflix

Beer

Modern

A M E N DME N TS A N D CONDI TI ONS

Night Owl

Wine

Improviser

Photography by Keith Borgmeyer

PC

Card Game Concept Fiction Text Soup

Playlist Minimalist Board Game Execute Non-fiction Call Sandwich

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 89

B U SINESS • P EOP L E • IM P R OV EM EN T • FY I

FLASH BAC K

Sanborn Field STORY A N D P HOTOG R A P HY BY BR EC K D UMAS

THE NATION’S FIRST FACILITY FOR measuring crop erosion was established in 1888, and it continues to operate as an agricultural experiment field today. Research conducted at MU’s Sanborn Field has had wide-reaching influence on soil conservation policy and has continued to evolve with production practices over the decades.

Sanborn Field’s seven acres of test plots sit on land first purchased by MU in the 1870s, located on the east side of campus, off College Avenue.

The top of the adjacent Bond Life Sciences Center offers a nice view of the field — a sign of the progress and evolution of agricultural research.

Formerly known as Rotation Field — one of its original uses was to study crop rotation techniques — it was renamed Sanborn Field by the UM Board of Curators in 1926. Following the first 100 years of crop research, the “Second Century Plan” was developed by Dr. William Upchurch in

1985. The plan outlined objectives for managing the role of Sanborn Field moving forward, including protecting it as a research field laboratory, displaying the effects on soil productivity applied to various cropping systems, maintaining samples systemically, and following a framework for preserving its vitality.

In 1964, the National Park Service designated Sanborn Field as a National Historic Landmark, 76 years after it was founded by Dean J.W. Sanborn. His original research focused on crop rotation and the utilization of manure as fertilizer; one of his first experiments was seeding the area with winter wheat. Not only does the ground continue to be used for experimentation, but it also now includes a weather station as part of the MU Extension’s commercial agriculture automated weather station network.

Careful consideration is given before any changes are made in research at the field, as sci-

entists recognize the value of maintaining the oldest continuous experimental agriculture field this side of the Mississippi River. A soil sample cultured in a plot at Sanborn was even placed in The Smithsonian Institute after a researcher identified the first tetracycline — the precursor to penicillin — in the soil at Sanborn. A plaque stands on a pillar outside the field at the corner of College Avenue and Rollins Street, honoring the discovery.

While modern buildings have sprouted up near the field (the shade is less than ideal for some research), the field’s contribution to agriculture assures it will continue be a site worth preserving. CBT

Sanborn Field Rollins Street and College Avenue cafnr.missouri.edu

We love Columbia business history. If you have any interesting photos and stories, please send them to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com 90 SEPTEMBER 2017

“

I can rely on the ACCOUNTING PLUS team to keep track of our bookkeeping, deposits and reconciliations.

Samantha’s guidance has helped streamline our procedures, allowing me more free time to focus on my business. My advice to small business owners is, get ACCOUNTING PLUS on your team.

“

ZACH WAGNER OWNER, Bright City Lights

Leave it all to us!

573.445.3805 | www.AccountingPlusInc.com Schedule an appointment online!

Come see us for your Business Accounting & Tax needs!

1604B Business Loop 70W | Columbia, MO Right across from Cosmo Park!

COLUMBIABUSINESSTIMES.COM 91

COLUMBIA BUSINESS TIMES \ 2001 CORPORATE PLACE, STE. 100 \ COLUMBIA, MO 65202

“They are thinking with our business, for our business. It’s nice to have another brain in the game.”

– Dave & Melissa Rothove Precision PreCast

“I would describe Todd as a really good friend, with the strength of the bank behind him. He anticipates what we’ll need because he wants us to succeed.

“It’s a super partnership for us. I can’t imagine banking anywhere else.”

Call Todd Hoien at 573-449-3051.

Member FDIC NASDAQ: HWBK ©2017, Hawthorn Bank

NMLS #450119

HawthornBank.com