Begun in 1914 when seven Missouri farmers got together to buy binder twine, the agricultural cooperative MFA today ties together 45,000 farmers in Missouri and adjacent states. It is one of the US's oldest regional co-ops, supplying its member/owners with agronomy, distribution, financing, and purchasing services. It runs some 100 retail farm supply centers and works with independent dealers. MFA supplies animal feeds, seed, fertilizer, and crop protection products. In addition to feed, fertilizer, and seed, the co-op also provides its members with agronomy services, animal-health products, and farm supplies. It also offers marketing services, and is the publisher of Today's Farmer.

For the first 35 years of his life, Jim Koch's family history and future career lay in the attic of his parents' house. Tucked away was an old family recipe from the 1800s for Louis Koch Lager. For five generations, the men in the Koch family were brewmasters, but the market for full-flavored beer had diminished and it seemed Jim's father would be the last Koch to carry on the tradition of brewing flavorful beer. However, Jim's passion for quality, flavorful beer kept him close to his roots. In the early 1980's he became convinced that he could build a niche in the competitive beer market for a high-quality American beer. Using the same recipe and traditional brewing processes that his great-great grandfather used, Jim brewed Samuel Adams Boston Lager® and took beer to a whole new level.

Chu nin chien kang! When this toast for good health is made, it's often with a glass of Chinese rice wine in hand ... rice wine made by China Shaoxing Yellow Wine Group. One of the largest producers of rice wine in the country, China Shaoxing Yellow Wine Group makes more than 110,000 tons annually for domestic and overseas markets. The wine is used for cooking, drinking, and as a solvent for Chinese herbal medicated ointment. Sometimes referred to as the "Champion of the Famous Orient Wine," the company sells its products under the brands Gu Yue Long Shan and Shen Yong He. Shaoxing is in southeastern China where the subtropical climate is ideal for producing rice and grains, two of the wine's key ingredients.

Atlantic Premium Brands doesn't operate along the Atlantic Ocean but it does have a boatload of premium regional meat brands. The company processes and distributes packaged value-added meats under names such as J.C. Potter, Blue Ribbon, Texas Traditions, Richard's Cajun Foods, Carlton, and Cajun Favorites. It also offers its customers private-label products and services. Atlantic Premium's meats include smoked and breakfast sausages, ham, bacon, and meat-based entrees. The Northbrook, Illinois-headquartered company distributes its products to US supermarkets and discount stores.

Lucas Bols BV is the oldest Dutch company still active, and the oldest distillery brand in the world. Since April 2006 it is back in Dutch hands thanks to a buy-out by the management and investor AAC Capital Partners. Lucas Bols has returned to the city where it all began in 1575: Amsterdam. Bols has mastered the art of mixing and blending; with old recipes and new flavors. Liqueur, genever, Corenwijn and gin. Both pure or as part of an exciting range of cocktails.Lucas Bols might best be described as an old soul making new spirits. The company, founded by its namesake, Lucas Bols, in 1575, makes Genevers (the national liquor of Holland, which is also called Dutch Gin), Damrak gin, Bols vodka, and a variety of Bols liqueurs. It also offers the Italian liqueur, Galliano and the green-colored, banana-flavored liqueur, Pisang Ambon. The Dutch distiller's products are distributed in more than 110 countries across the globe. French spirits maker R�my Cointreau acquired Bols in 2000; in 2006 the company returned to Dutch ownership as the result of a buyout by its management and ABN AMRO Capital.

Ginger Beef Corporation is a food company based in Calgary, Alberta. It is a public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Through two wholly owned subsidiaries, Ginger Beef Express Ltd. and Ginger Beef Choice Ltd., Ginger Beef franchises a number of take out/delivery service restaurants in Alberta and produces a number of frozen or ready to serve deli Chinese food products. The Corporation's manufacturing facility is certified and licensed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as a federally regulated plant and; therefore, all products manufactured can be shipped to all provinces and territories in Canada.

In 1985, Morinaga Nutritional Foods Inc. of Torrance, California began marketing aseptically packaged silken style tofu in the United States under the Mori-Nu brand name. Mori-Nu helped to develop the revolutionary new packaging process that seals in all the wholesome nutrition of tofu in an airtight, shelf-stable package. Thanks to the aseptic packaging, Mori-Nu Tofu remains free from the harmful effects of light, oxygen, and microorganisms without preservatives or irradiation. The package also conveniently requires no refrigeration until opened. This modern packaging system was voted "the #1 food science innovation of the last 50 years" by the prestigious Institute of Food Technologists because it increases nutrient retention and flavor while ensuring food safety. Mori-Nu's original product line consisted of silken style tofu in soft, firm, and extra-firm varieties. The creamy-smooth texture and mild flavor of original Mori-Nu Silken Tofu make it ideal for everything from shakes and cream pies to sauces, soups, dips, and main dishes. Retailers and consumers alike appreciate the miraculous package that assures Mori-Nu Silken Tofu, unlike traditional water-pack tofu, is free from contamination and easy to store.

For a company more than 600 years old, Antinori certainly has a lot of spirit(s). It is one of Italy's largest and most prestigious wineries, producing more than 10 million bottles of wine each year. The company owns 4,200 acres throughout the country's Tuscany and Umbria regions, as well as investments in vineyards in Napa Valley, California, and Szekszard, Hungary, among other locations. Antinori, known for rebelling against traditional wine-making methods, has created unusual wines (such as its Tignanello) that defy classification. Antinori also runs a handful of restaurants in Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. The family-owned and -run company traces its roots to 1385.

Succulent pork roast, yum. Your satisfied taste buds and full tummy has Quality Pork Processors to thank. The company is a fresh-meat processing and co-packing company that does the slaughter and cutting of fresh pork for Hormel Foods. Headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, Quality Pork operates a pork-processing plant in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and processes more than 19,000 hogs a day. A privately held company founded in 1987 by Richard Knight as a custom meat operation, today Quality Pork provides services such as loin boning, rib conversion, and packaging for Hormel.

Seafreeze company is a producer of bait products for the fishing industry, with freezing capacities both on water and land. Operating on the East Coast of the US, Seafreeze processes and packages such underused species as butterfish, Illex and Loligo squid, Atlantic mackerel, and Atlantic herring. Seafreeze operates two freezer trawlers (Persistence and Relentless) and an onshore freezing and cold-storage facility, from which it ships frozen seafood to both domestic and international customers. Part of the storage operation is available to the public for cold storage. Seafreeze's products are used as bait on longline ship fleets.

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