The aptly surnamed family who owns and operates Los Banos Feed And Ranch Supplies has had quite a 'battle' the last couple of years. Between the opening of two additional large retail stores that carry competing products and some serious health issues with their daughter, Steven and Jody Battle have somehow managed to keep doors open and make ends meet. "The Lord did a lot for us and kept us going," says Steven as he looks at his daughter who sits contentedly in her stroller drinking heart medication from a baby bottle while surrounded by bales of hay and bags of dogfood.

Los Banos Feed And Ranch Supply came into being in a somewhat serendipitous manner last year. Steven Battle who is an eighteen wheel trucker and hay broker had purchased a full load of wheat hay and had somehow found himself stuck with half a load that was left over - and unsold. He had taken the load to his property and started to try to sell it in smaller amounts. Steven actually got stuck with an extra half load on two separate occasions and as he was selling off the extra bales, friends and family started to encourage him to make the smaller hay sales into a business and open a feed store here in Los Banos. As Jody Battle tells the story, her husband Steven sat down with her father (who himself owns a feed store in Tres Pinos) and discussed the idea and explored details of the business - even down to which brand of feed to stock.

On March 20, 2008 things apparently came together. The last county permit was issued and the feed store opened its doors. The couple explained that they opened the store at a good time because Jody really wanted Steven home for the new baby and because, (between the increase in fuel prices and the decrease in the amount of money that was being offered per load), his truck driving was not bringing in as much money as it had previously.

The first few months that the business was open were, apparently, fairly challenging. The Battle's both worked in the feed store and Steven supplemented their income by working for Windecker driving a fuel truck just to make ends meet. Shortly thereafter, Jody gave birth to Hailey, their baby girl. Within four months of her birth things got even more challenging. Hailey needed to have open heart surgery because she was diagnosed with a 'transitional atrioventricular (AV) canal' - a form of congenital heart disease that if not repaired right away would be irreparable - and fatal according to Mr. Battle.

"If it wasn't for the Lord she wouldn't be here." said Steven as he related the story of his daughter's treatment, her surgery at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, and the family's subsequent stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto. He went on to tell about how his brother Matt supported the family by coming down from Oregon, working in the store for free, and keeping the business going while Hailey and her parents did what was necessary during those several weeks at the Stanford area hospital which is over one hundred miles away.

Things are going better now for Hailey. She and her parents are back home and though she is taking medication for her condition three times per day and still has mild leakage, she is growing well and is scheduled for another diagnostic checkup in August. According to her parents, Hailey has a ten to twenty percent chance of needing another surgery.

Similarly, the feed store and the rest of the family is also making it through as well. Jody works the business during weekdays and Steven continues to work at the store when he is not driving his trucks or brokering hay. Hailey's brother Allen just finished up a week at the Against The Crooked Sky horse camp here in Los Banos.

The feed store has a regular clientelle and as more people learn that they are there, Steven and Jody hope to see even more new faces. Steven wants to service his customer's needs fairly and thoroughly. "I'd rather lose a dollar than rip someone off." says Steve. He also speaks about classes that he has taken from King Feeds and can explain in pretty intricate detail the differences between the feed that he stocks and brand names that some people are more familiar with. "This store is all about quality." says Steven who seems pretty sold on the King brand - in part because it is a 'fixed formula feed' and according to Mr. Battle does not change its ingredients based on the stock market. He is also impressed with the fact that King supports the FFA, 4H and other community programs.

The Battles also believe it is important to support the community and have themselves supported the Los Banos Little League, the FFA with a scholarship, donated a gift certificate to Volta School, and purchased animals at The Merced County Spring fair to which they also donated the 'goat buckle'. The Battle's have also, on occasion, allowed members of the 4H and the FFA to keep animals on their property. Steven even used one of his trucks to pull a float for the Yellow Brick Road preschool in the last Christmas parade - just a few days before Hailey's surgery.

Los Banos Feed And Ranch Supplies motto is "We feed them all" and, despite the fact that there are several other large chain stores in town that sell competing goods, the Battle's seem determined to make a go of it. They carry five kinds of hay as well as dog food, cat food, horse feeds, rabbit food, poultry food, goat feed, lamb food, medical supplies and more. They also carry goods such as roping ropes, riding crops, apparel, and other items.

Los Banos Feed And Ranch Supply is located at 21245 Ingomar Grade Road. They can be reached at 209-587-1261 for questions or driving directions.

Here are some photos;

Jody Battle Helps A Customer

Los Banos Feed And Ranch Supplies

the store sells five kinds of hay

...And a large number of feed products.

Most certainly a family business, Hailey and her brother Allen were in the shop this afternoon :-)

Dad (Steven) leaning on a pallet of Chicken Scratch

If this young man hanging out at the feed store looks familiar to readers of OurLosBanos.com or readers of the Los Banos Enterprise there is a good reason for that. He was pictured in previous stories that I wrote just last week about the new horse boarding and Horse Camp - 'Against The Crooked Sky. He happened to be attending their Horse camp.

The Enterprise Story is here.

The OurLosBanos story is here:

If everyone in Los Banos would just take 1 or 2 hours a month to do something to help their neighborhood or their community we could truly make Los Banos the gem of the valley.

The above is only my personal opinion and I strongly encourage readers to seek out more information from expert sources. Copyright 2009