St. Elmo/Grand Bay Feed & Seed
Success StoryAlabama Couple Relies on Paladin to Help Their Feed & Seed Grow
Tracy and Craig McCarter with their grandchildren.
In the heart of rural Alabama, just 20 miles from Mobile and tucked inland from the Gulf Coast, St. Elmo Feed & Seed has been a cornerstone of the south Mobile County farming community since the 1950s. Traci McCarter’s parents, local farmers and loyal customers, purchased the business in 2003. Tracy, her husband and four children then moved back from Texas in 2009 to help and eventually run the business. The couple added stores in South Mobile in 2012 and Grand Bay in 2016. Paladin Point of Sale helps the McCarters run their thriving multigenerational operation.
“Paladin is vital. The older system we had just wasn’t built for how feed and seed stores operate. Paladin helps us manage margins, track inventory in small or large quantities, and make smart purchasing decisions.”
The South Mobile store closed in 2022 due to COVID complications but now serves as the company’s main delivery hub. Today, their stores and warehouse employ 17 staff members. All four of Tracy and Craig’s children began working in the stores at age 15 and continued throughout college. Her second son now manages the Saint Elmo location and works closely with Tracy as her right-hand man. She finds the business gave them all a great start in life.
“All four have an incredible work ethic,” Tracy says. “The business helped pay for their college, their cars, and even contributed toward their first homes.”
From its traditional farming roots, the business has shifted to meet the needs of today’s hobby farmers, often families seeking self-sufficiency, outdoor experiences, and a more grounded lifestyle. The stores are now best known for their impressive chick selection, offering nearly 60 breeds, and drawing customers from across Alabama as well as Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. They also carry ducks, geese, and guineas, as well as livestock and pet feed, gardening supplies, fertilizers, and are proud to be one of the largest bulk seed dealers in the region.
The McCarters added the Grand Bay store in 2016.
“Our customers want their kids outdoors—gathering eggs, growing vegetables, riding horses—not glued to screens,” Tracy says. “They want them to know eggs come from real chickens, not Walmart. It’s about staying connected to the land and passing down a rural way of life.”
With multiple stores and growing demands, the family needed a point-of-sale and inventory management system that could grow with them, and Paladin provides that. Paladin helps the McCarters simplify ordering and keep track of all their feathered, furry and other inventory items. Paladin can provide suggested orders, eliminating the need for extensive counting, and help store owners find lowest cost products if they have multiple EDI suppliers.
Paladin’s remote management tool, Paladin Pilot, proved especially valuable when the couple began traveling to visit their eldest son and his young family who live in Ireland several times a year.
“We were one of the first to adopt Paladin Pilot, and it’s been a game-changer. When we were investigating if we could travel for longer periods of time and still manage control in multiple stores, Pilot was the answer, no question, we’ve had zero issues. I can log in from anywhere and manage everything in the stores. It’s allowed us to step away and travel and see our grandchildren without worrying.”
Paladin has built a strong reputation with its customer support, which earned praise from Tracy, especially during the Gulf Coast’s frequent storm-related power outages. Tracy says the process of getting help is fast and seamless. “There’s a clear system. I go through the portal, and it’s quick and easy to get a call back and get everything running again.”
She recalls one incident when she and her husband were in San Antonio, Texas, and the power went out at their stores. After rebooting the modems, the systems remained offline. Sitting side by side on a park bench, they called Paladin support and looped in their store managers.
“Support calmly walked my husband and managers through the steps to get everything back up—despite us being hundreds of miles away. That kind of calm, reliable help is priceless,” she says.
The McCarters at the Coliseum in Rome.
Beyond the feed store, the McCarter’s have a passion for travel. Frequent trips to Ireland to see their son and his young family have expanded into adventures throughout Europe including visits to Germany, Hungary, Austria, Italy, the UK, and Luxembourg. Tracy loved seeing Rome on a recent trip and is eager to go back for a longer stay, as well as see the Amalfi Coast.
Closer to home, she hopes to revisit the Pacific Northwest, a region she fell in love with during a 50th birthday trip with Craig in 2020.
“I’m drawn to the Oregon Coast—it’s just so rugged and beautiful. I want to drive through the Columbia River Gorge again, see Crater Lake, visit Bend, and stop at the last Blockbuster.” We can’t wait to welcome the McCarters to Bend and wish them many more years as part of the Paladin family.
