Moneta Farm Service opened as a retail store in 1973 on the property that was home to a family poultry business since 1923. Samuel (Pete) and Lula May Woodford began the poultry operation with the help of a World War I veteran’s program. Calvin Woodford, the third of four sons, returned to the family business in 1950 after serving in World War II and after earning a degree in poultry husbandry at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. In 1965, after Samuel’s death, Calvin purchased his younger brother Warren’s interest in the business. The poultry business grew to a production peak of 12,000 dozen eggs per week in the late 1970’s. Calvin and his wife Macklyn raised five children (Patricia, Jim, Kathie, Stuart and Mark) and they all participated in the growth of the family business.
As the poultry operation was becoming less profitable Calvin was presented the opportunity to open a Southern States store in 1973 and he named the store Moneta Farm Service. Feed, seed and fertilizer were the primary products sold in the early years of operation. Jim’s return to the business in 1978 brought a mechanical interest to the operation that has now evolved into a strong Power Equipment department. The growth of this department can be attributed to selling top quality equipment at competitive prices while maintaining a parts and service department second to none.
Stuart returned to the family business in 1982 after graduating from East Tennessee State University with a degree in business management. He has overseen the growth of many of the other departments including hardware, lawn and garden, construction materials, marine, etc. Jim’s wife Vickie and Stuart’s wife Teresa work behind the scenes in the office and nephew Clifford (son of Kathie) is a mainstay in the power equipment department. Stuart and Teresa’s daughter Laura Beth works part-time in the garden center and their son Ben has entered the scene on a part-time basis. Calvin is retired now but can usually be spotted on his golf cart driving to and fro while working on one project or another.
Moneta has certainly changed over the years and the impact of Smith Mountain Lake on the area has been extensive. Not only has the population increased but the lifestyles and needs of our residents have become more diverse. For this reason Moneta Farm Service has recently been renamed Moneta Farm & Home Center. The name change should help existing and future customers more easily recognize the wide variety of products that are now being stocked. Moneta Farm & Home Center tries to meet the needs of the community by stocking and selling the products that are most frequently asked for. For this reason you will find not only the common products associated with a farm store or hardware store but a wide variety of products that cannot be found elsewhere.
The primary business philosophy for Moneta Farm & Home Center is that all customers should feel they have been greeted with courtesy and treated fairly and honestly by a professional well-run business. This philosophy has helped Moneta Farm & Home Center grow and adapt to the needs of the community and hopefully will help guide the family business into the future.
