Mole Valley Farmers was started in 1960 by a small group of farmers around South Molton who were concerned by the discriminatory practices and the large margins being taken by many of their input suppliers.
was founded in 1960 when a group of farmers realised that buying in bulk would result in better prices for the group “members”, and that principle is carried forward into today’s environment.
Development over the years
Over the years, the company has made investment in:
- Nine "Branches" in the south west supplying a vast range of goods to farmers and the public alike. These range from farm requirements to clothing, footwear, garden supplies, pet food and accessories, domestic goods and power tools.
- Five feed mills for all animal feeds, producing compounds, blends, meals and mixes.
- A specialist feed supplement mineral plant.
- A quality farm building engineering division.
- A joint venture to blend and supply a wide range of conventional and new, technically advanced fertilisers alongside customised on-farm plant nutrition advise, particularly focused on the dairy farmer.
- Eighteen retail units under the "SCATS Countrystores" banner across the South and South-East of England, which supports our buying power which in-turn enables us to reduce farm in-puts whenever possible.
Timeline
Some interesting dates in MVF's history - click here
Today
Everyone is welcome to shop at MVF branches. We also offer an option of Membership which brings added benefits such as our monthly Newsletter. For more information on these added benefits click on "about us" above (membership)
Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, all of whom derive their main source of income from farming, the day to day running of the company is the responsibility of a senior management team. The company continues to grow and flourish.
In recent years significant investment has taken place, particularly, within our agricultural business, to ensure we have a sustainable long-term business for the benefit of both current and future farming generations. In 2005 we purchased a company called Pye Bibby which was subsequently re-branded Southern Valley. For various, practical and logistical reasons we felt it was right to maintain points of differentiation between Mole Valley Farmers and
Southern Valley.
During the last two years, the emphasis has been to progress towards integrating these two feed businesses into one combined enterprise.
We now feel the time is right to combine both brands into one, fully inclusive, feed company, Mole Valley Feed Solutions, offering an extensive range of products and services, including compounds, blends, meals, straights and minerals, combined with a range of technical support services – a total feed solution for the ruminant livestock producer.