There is a new man in charge at the Rappahannock CFC Farm and Home Center.

Michael Cannon began as manager of the CFC, known as "the Co-op" to locals, at the beginning of February. The Castleton native is taking over for Nick Norman, who has managed the Co-op for six years and is planning to retire.

"He's got a grade A, No. 1 attitude," Norman said of Cannon. "He doesn't riled when customers get upset. He cares about his customers.

"Rappahannock customers are good people and they want their service," Norman continued. "And with Mike, they'll get their service."

Cannon, a 2003 graduate of Rappahannock County High School, was prepared for the position through the CFC's management trainee internship. He had been an intern since the summer of 2006.

"It was an overall exposure to everything, including other stores," he said. "It was kind of a crash course with everything."

Cannon graduated with a business degree from Radford University in 2007 and wanted to return to his home county.

"I love this area, I grew up here," Cannon said. "I wanted to suit the needs of the citizens of this county."

The job carries long hours, but Cannon says, "It helps when you're dealing the people you like to deal with. I love these people."

Cannon's mother, Marti Cannon, and stepfather, Bob Lander, live in Castleton as well. The 22-year-old lives on the family farm, El Rancho Grande, which is owned by his grandfather, Ray T. Cannon.

Culpeper-area farmers founded the Culpeper Farmers’ Cooperative in 1932. Since then, the CFC has grown from a basic feed and farm supply store to include six retail stores that carry products for the farm and home. The stores operate under the trade name of CFC Farm and Home Center. CFC also has two bulk fertilizer plants and a feed mill with a grain storage facility.

The Rappahannock branch, which has 16 employees, was added in 1952 in what is now the Sperryville Antique Market. In 1979, the Co-op purchased and renovated the former Rediviva Cold Storage Co-op and apple-packing shed and moved to the present location on U.S. 211. The Rappahannock store also serves as the appliance distribution center for the six other Co-op stores. Sales through the Rappahannock store in 2006 totaled $3.6 million.

"There's a retail side of things and an agriculture side of things," Cannon said, adding that the Co-op's employees take input from locals to order inventory. "We want to make sure we can provide for the farmers and contractors in the area and make sure they get what they need."

The rising price of animal feed has been the biggest challenge for Cannon in his first few weeks on the job. Prices for corn, soy beans and wheat are at all-time highs, he said, because of higher fuel and production costs.

"Anything that has a price tag attached to it has gone up," Cannon said. "If we don't go along with it, there's no way we can stay in business."

The Co-op's customers have noticed the higher feed prices and employees have heard more complaints as a result.

"And that's understandable," Cannon said. "I buy feed myself. I grew up on a farm and I still live on the farm. We raise Black Angus cattle and it's expensive to feed them."

The Co-op carries more than agricultural products. The store has a lot more, including clothing and home appliances. With an increase in weekend residents in Rappahannock in recent years, home-improvement, gardening and landscaping materials have become an important part of the Co-op's inventory.

"We cater a great deal to our weekend residents," Cannon said. "A lot of people who do projects on the weekends have needs that should be met close to home. They don't want to go to Warrenton or Culpeper and we want to make sure we have what they need. There is not that much we can't get – we have really good suppliers."

The Co-op competes with big-box stores like Lowe's and Home Depot for customers' home-improvement dollars. "We've had a lot of pressure price-wise from box retailers," Cannon said. "But our top priority is to provide a service to our customers that the big boxes might not provide."

The Co-op is not just for farmers, but it is still a farmer-based company, Cannon said.

"Our board of directors is represented by farmers from each location. That's the root that our business is based on," he said. "But we try to suit the needs of any customer. That's what we're here for. ... Everyone can shop at the Rappahannock CFC."

E-mail the reporter at kallen@timespapers.com.