MONROE, Ore. — Hoot and Leslie Paulson started small with H. Paulson Livestock & Feed, selling hay out of their barn.

Seven years later, the married couple has big plans with a new location on Highway 99W, surrounded by grass seed fields and hazelnut orchards.

And they sell a lot more hay. Every week, the store stacks 18 to 20 tons.

“That is our biggest and most important inventory item,” Leslie Paulson said.

Strong consistency of their hay, from the Klamath Basin, has built a customer base with local farmers, stables and 4-H families, Hoot Paulson said.

Grand opening

A grand opening for the business, which includes a cafe, apparel, and a bit of farm supplies and food, was held Nov. 23.

The farm store also has a Sinclair gas station that’s the only place for the public to fuel up between Corvallis and Junction City, Ore.

The cafe, which offers breakfast and lunch, uses food sourced within 25 miles of the store.

The meat is from Farmer’s Helper in Harrisburg, Ore. Bacon is smoked in-house.

So far, the top seller has been breakfast burritos.

Expansion planned

The Paulsons plan to increase their offerings of farm and grocery items by expanding into the storefront next door. The current tenant, Puffin Produce, a hydroponic, organic herb grower, will move into a larger spot elsewhere.

H. Paulson Livestock & Feed carries milk and other dairy products from Royal Riverside Farm near Albany, Ore., and the Paulsons want to help other small farms sell their products and services.

Many customers are small-scale producers just like the Paulsons, who have 10 cattle, chickens and horses.

“We struggled a lot, so we try to keep our prices as low as we can,” Leslie Paulson said.

Faith and perseverance

The Paulsons are involved in Monroe’s religious community and said church relationships resulted in business opportunities. God put the right people in their path, they said.

Perseverance also helped.

The Paulsons have been in business seven years, but as they were first getting started, dogs killed dozens of their sheep.

The couple wanted to expand with a brick-and-mortar location three years ago. They moved into an old Wilbur-Ellis location in Monroe, but things didn’t work out. Shortly after that storefront closed, a space north of town became available.

Hoof trimming on hiatus

Hoot Paulson also trims hooves, traveling from the southern end of the Willamette Valley to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast.

The couple said that side gig allowed the farm store extra margin during lean times.

He estimated he trims 10,000 to 12,000 head of cattle per year. Unfortunately, shoulder injuries have sidelined him for now.

Where everybody knows your name

The Paulsons said they want to create a space where everybody knows your name, like the theme song of “Cheers” — minus the drinking, of course.

They want rural residents young and old to be glad they came to play pool, grab a cup of coffee, learn about local fundraisers or check out the veterans wall to see which neighbors served in the military.

Hoot Paulson is easy to remember because he looks like the textbook definition of a cowboy. The Oregon State University graduate has a big mustache, usually wears a cowboy hat and open-carries a sidearm.

H. Paulson Livestock & Feed

H. Paulson Livestock & Feed

Address: 27678 Highway 99W, north of Monroe, Ore.

Owners: Hoot and Leslie Paulson

Offerings: The store sells hay and other feed, has grocery items, farm supplies and a cafe, as well as a gas station.

Hours: The business is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and the cafe operates from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Family: The married couple have a merged family with four children — two from him and two from her.

Adoption: The Paulsons hope to adopt three orphans from the Ukraine who stayed with their family in 2021. The siblings returned to their country two weeks before war broke out.