Southern States has been around for 100 years, and the Glasgow store has been here since 1945. ADVERTISEMENT
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Southern States Cooperative was founded in 1923, and this year they celebrate the worthy milestone of 100 years in the business of serving American farmers.
In 1923, Southern States opened under a different name; Virginia Seed Service.
It was founded when Virginia farmers were unable to buy seed guaranteed to grow in the Commonwealth. The popularity of the venture was evident, and the agri-business soon expanded to include feed, agronomy inputs, energy and farm supplies. In the early 1930s, the cooperative became known as Southern States. The Glasgow store opened its doors on Front Street in the mid-40s and has served Barren and surrounding counties for almost 70 years.
“The first location in Glasgow was down here in this warehouse on Front Street,” Lindsey Simmons Jackson, the store’s bookkeeper of 13 years, said.
Jackson grew up in the farming community of Temple Hill and has a working familiarity with the region and the farmers who live here. She says that during her tenure, even with changes in American agriculture, one thing has stayed the same: Customer loyalty.
“We have a very loyal customer base. We have families that continue doing business with us,” she said. Part of the reason for the loyalty is that Southern States is a farmer-owned coop that pays back percentages to the patronage. But even more so, Jackson feels the loyalty is because if their service oriented nature.
“We try to serve others to get ahead of the competition,” she said.
Store Manager Billy Beckham, who has worked at Southern States for 22 years, agrees. It is the services and dedication to customer service that sets things apart.
“We offer services and we strive to do well with those,” he said.
They deliver feed, propane and spread manure to many local counties including Metcalfe, Monroe, Cumberland, Hart and Edmonson.
Southern States continues to operate 84 company-owned retail locations and maintains a working relationship with locally owned Southern States-branded cooperatives.
Glasgow’s Southern States employs approximately 25 people.
From left to right:
jared Shirley, Drew Russell, Lindsey Jackson and Amber Cross.
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