About
Petrus Feed & Seed
The Petrus Family started in the feed and grain business in 1926. Alphonse Petrus, with another business partner, started selling dry goods and feed in Alexandria, Louisiana. Popular items at the time were wheat shorts, corn meal, and flour.
In the early 1930s, Alphonse moved the business across the Red River to Pineville, Louisiana, calling the store Pineville Feed and Seed. Times were tough during the Great Depression, but he worked hard to keep the business alive. It was a small business, specializing in consumer goods such as nails, garden seeds, plows and plowing equipment, and dry goods.
Alphonse died in 1938. His youngest child, James, took over the business at an age of 18. James Petrus married Edith White in 1940, and they worked together to grow the family business. A mill was opened on 13th and Ashley Streets in Alexandria to mix a few grains and store feed and supplies. The retail store in Pineville remained open for business. In 1950, another retail location was opened on Bolton Avenue in Alexandria to sell feed, seed, and hardware.
Until this point, they sold other brand name feeds, such as Wayne Feeds, Mocomo Feeds, K-B Feeds, Valley Mills Grade A Feed, and General Mills grains. In the late 1950s, James purchased a hammer mill and began grinding corn in the Alexandria mill. He would grind corn for many of the local dairies and chicken farms. He would also purchase some of the corn meal and mix it with other grains to resell. The feed was called Alpine Feed, short for Alexandria Pineville. By 1959, larger bins were built to handle bulk quantities of feed. After much thought, James and his family decided to start calling the feed Petrus Feed rather than Alpine Feed.
As the business grew, more space was needed. Construction on a new manufacturing facility started in 1972. By the end of 1973, the new mill on North Bolton Avenue was finished. Pellet mills were installed to begin pelleting feed. A mixer had yet to be installed, so feed was mixed at the old mill and hauled to the new mill to be pelleted. By the late 1970s, all the feed was mixed and milled at the North Bolton location. In 1977, the Pineville store was closed, and in 1981, the Bolton Avenue store also closed. The mill located on North Bolton Avenue is still going strong to this day. Feed is manufactured six days a week, ensuring customers get a fresh, high quality product.
James and Edith had a large family, having eight children, all of whom worked in the various stores during the summers and throughout high school and college. Two of his sons run and manage the business to this day. Joel Petrus began working full time in March 1970, and Greg Petrus began working full time in May 1976. They have continued to expand and grow the business to this day, with Joel focusing on the feed manufacturing and Greg focusing on the hardware, lawn and garden, and livestock supply areas.
