Smoky Mountain Farmer's Co-op

Customer Profile: Smoky Mountain Farmer's Co-op by Ashley Gardner

The saying ‘strength in numbers’ is defined as ‘a group of people have more influence or power than one person.’ The Smoky Mountain Farmers Cooperative proves that adage to be true.

The group is made up of more than 3,500 farmer members, who are stronger together than they are separate. The Co-op has four retail locations to benefit farmers in the Smoky Mountain region of Tennessee and North Carolina. The main retail center is in Sevierville, Tenn. Other locations include Morristown and Newport in Tennessee and Waynesville, North Carolina. There is also a crop center in White Pine, Tenn.

“For our co-op you have to have a certain amount of income from farming operations to be a member,” said David Majors, area manager for Smoky Mountain Farmers Coop. “Tennessee has a farm tax exemption. If you qualify through the state of Tennessee, then you can be a member. When you’re a member you’ll get patronage which is pretty much a rebate back on what you’ve bought. It just helps our farmers by saving them some money.”

Smoky Mountain Farmers Coop retail centers sell a variety of products and provide a wide range of services. Customers can find everything from farm supplies, pet supplies, lawn and garden products, hardware, plumbing supplies, different types of fertilizer, pro turf, fuel and auto care, and more. The diversity of products and services offered has kept Smoky Mountain Farmers Co-op at the forefront. Over the years they’ve grown to provide needed services and expanded their offerings to stay current and meet their customers’ ever-changing needs.

“Home lawn and professional turf have been growing for us over the years. We do lawn seed and chemicals,” Majors said. “We have a pro turf division which takes care of ballfields and golf courses. It’s fairly new. We added that about ten years ago. Pet products are a big thing for us - pet food and toys.”

“We also have car care centers at a couple of our locations. We deliver bulk feed and run several bulk fertilizer trucks. We also have a truck where we can go out on the farms and spray,” he said.

That willingness to change and grow has kept the co-op relevant in a competitive industry. “We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t so diverse. If we just did feed, seed, and fertilizer, I don’t think we’d still be in business. Pro turf and lawn-type items have really helped to move us forward,” Majors said.

The main crops grown in the area are corn and soybeans. “A lot of people grow wheat mostly as a cover crop in the winter but a few of them will combine it. As far as the corn grown here, part of it is for grain and part is for silage. There used to be a lot of dairies in our area. They’re mostly gone now but those guys will chop silage and feed their beef cows,” said Majors, who’s been part of the co-op for 18 years.

A focus on customer service helps set Smoky Mountain Farmers Co-op apart from the competition. Attention to detail and customer satisfaction is a priority for the co-op. “We really hit hard on that because that’s really all we have “We spend a to differentiate ourselves from lot of time on some of the big box stores. Customers training and don’t always come classes. We’ll to us for the price; they come to us do lunch and for knowledge and service. To learns with a lot of folks, it’s invaluable,” Majors them. We said. “You can’t go to a box store, carry really want a type of weed in them to be there, and get it identified. Most of involved and the time, someone can come into the invested in co-op and we’ll have someone that what we’re knows what type of weed it is, and if we doing.” don’t then we’ll find out pretty quick.”

One way the co-op ensures customer satisfaction is by making sure its workforce of 96 employees is well-trained. “We spend a lot of time on training and classes. We’ll do lunch and learns with them. We really want them to be involved and invested in what we’re doing. Our people on the sales counters and dock, they’re the ones that are dealing with people first-hand. Their heart is in it. They want to see us do well, and if we do well, they’ll do well,” Majors said.

Smoky Mountain Farmers Coop also tries to make getting the needed supplies as convenient as possible. “We have loading docks and customers just back up and we’ll load them up. We have people out in the field too. If people have questions and they can’t bring their problem to us, we’ll go to them,” he said.

Smoky Mountain Farmers Co-op was established in 2019 when Cocke Farmers Cooperative and Sevier Farmers Cooperative consolidated. Both of those organizations had a long history of serving the area. Cocke Farmers Cooperative was incorporated in 1947 while Sevier Farmers Cooperative incorporated a year later in 1948.

“They were originally started back in the 40s after groups of farmers got together and formed co-ops across the state to help with buying power and also help sell their products. They would group together and sell bigger lots. We still do that. We’ve got five locations in our co-op, so we’re able to buy things a little cheaper since we’re the size we are. We also buy grain and seed from farmers to help them move their products,” Majors said.

“Last year we actually merged with another co-op. That was a huge, huge deal. We’re still working out a few of the little things on that. We’re going to work to keep growing. The merger gave us three more locations and increased our buying power, and it helps us stay competitive in the market. It was good for us and the goal was to be able to be good for our members by being able to keep our prices competitive. It also helps with assets because you’re not doubling up on things,” Majors said.