Visit the maury county united farmer's co-op

It’s been serving Maury County for years, although it changed its name a couple of years ago when it merged with other co-ops in Middle Tennessee. United Farm and Home Cooperative is a farm supply store and so much more.

“When you go in a lot of co-ops, they tend to be smaller buildings, and technically, they’re just small farm stores,” says Ryan Pilkinton, Location Manager. “But with this one, while we’re a farm supply first, we also have clothes, boots, footwear, a home décor section, a huge pet section with a self-serve dog wash, and an automotive section, as well.”

Co-ops are created to serve their members, but anyone can shop there. What this store does offer, especially for farmers, is not only an array of items but expertise, insight, and advice.

“I have very good employees who are very knowledgeable,” Pilkinton says, “and we pride ourselves on customer service. Some of them have been working 30 plus years, so they’ve been around, done a little bit, and seen a little bit of everything. And a lot of them have animals themselves. So, if you have questions about a product, they can tell you how to use it, when you need to use it, how much you need to use, and they’ll even tell you if you probably shouldn’t use it right now.”

Pilkinton grew up in Maury County and had a farming background. When it came time to pursue a career, he knew he wanted it to be farm related.

“I always wanted to do something in agriculture, so when I got out of high school, I started working for what was then Maury Farmers Co-op. I worked on the dock as a warehouse employee, loading feed and stuff like that, then I moved inside and did sales. And I continued working part-time when I started college.” 

He stayed with the co-op, and in 2020, when they opened the new store, he was given the job as location manager. He’s seen some changes through the years, including a merger that brought different co-ops together. The list included Maury, Humphreys, Dickson, Marshall, and Williamson Farmers Co-ops.

“As I mentioned earlier, we were Maury Farmer’s Co-op, but in 2021 a group of us came together to make one co-op which is called United Farm and Home Co-op. And we now have 11 retail locations across Middle Tennessee.”

The move was designed to better serve co-op members.

“The bigger you are, the stronger you are,” Pilkinton says. “We’re able to take advantage of buying power, obviously. If you’re buying for one location, now you’re buying for 11 locations, so you tend to get a little bit of a better deal, and we can pass that on to farmers. It’s also made us stronger in terms of assets and equipment. We can share with each other.” 

United Farm and Home Co-op sponsors many local events and organizations, such as Mule Day, the county fair, and sports teams. It’s a way to make sure some of the money spent locally stays local.

Pilkinton says he’s proud of his store, the community it serves, and all it offers.

“If you’ve never been in our store, I would highly recommend it. I promise you, it’s not what you’re thinking when you hear co-op. This is not like any other co-op.”