About Golden Harvest Seeds
WHO ARE WE?Seed is our focus, plain and simple. Our interest in developing superior seed is what opened doors for our business more than a century ago.
Our ongoing commitment to bring our customers seed and solutions is what keeps producers coming back, and our customer base growing, year after year. We consistently deliver high performance seed genetics and technology farmers can rely on. And we have technically trained people in the field to support each bag of seed we sell at a higher level than other seed companies, hands down.
With Golden Harvest proving it all comes down to top quality seed that’s:
- Farmer Tested – Your dealer is a farmer who lives in your community, testing Golden Harvest seed on land like yours.
- Farmer Trusted -You can have confidence in the seed you're planting because of the extensive agronomy research program that helps solve problems before they start.
- Farmer Delivered -You can count on friendly, helpful service from a dealer who knows you and your fields.
WE ARE DEDICATED PEOPLE BOUND TOGETHER BY A MISSION
We value, above all else, our ability to make decisions which are in the best interests of our customers. In fact, when we ask customers why they continue to choose us over the competition, the answer is almost always the same: Our people and our unmatched personal service which has become the hallmark of our business.
WE ARE THE FASTEST GROWING BRAND
Some people only look at growth in terms of numbers. We believe growth reflects our ability to deliver products that solve problems for farmers. One of the biggest reasons we continue to grow is because customers have been successful with our products and rewarded us with more business.
It is satisfied customers who have put the Golden Harvest brand on a steady upward climb on local, regional and national levels.
WE ARE SPECIALISTS WITH A REGIONAL FOCUS
We have built region knowledge and expertise to help our customers and make the best decisions for their unique operations. And while we’ve developed a strong position in the Corn Belt, we have a growing presence in the western and southern United States as well as in Mexico.
With the largest agronomic information database in the industry, we continue to gather facts that will help us understand very specific environmental factors, as well as how they can affect a hybrid or variety's performance from one region to the next.
WE ARE BACKED BY THE RESOURCES AND RESEARCH OF SYNGENTA
We are fortunate to be backed by the largest ag input supplier in the world, Syngenta. With 16 corn and soybean plant locations nationwide, Syngenta supports our world class customer service with a strong, quality minded supply chain.
Spending over 2 million dollars a day on global research and development, Syngenta research means a product development effort second to none. We are proud to be part of a unique organization that has leading positions in crop protection, agricultural biotechnology, seed treatments and seed genetics. The potential of combining those for the benefit of our customers excites us and motivates us to find ways to improve customer profitability.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
The farming roots of the founders of Golden Harvest go back to the 1850s. Seed businesses were started as early as 1888. These founders had a knack for understanding the needs of farmers.
These founders had a knack for understanding the needs of farmers. They also had a talent for inspiring innovation and cultivating solutions. It’s remarkable to see how far the ideas of these early seedsmen have reached and how long their inspiration has lasted!
324 YEARS OF SEED EXPERIENCE
If you add up the seed histories of our five legacy companies, there’s 324 years of experience in Golden Harvest. The Garwood family began farming in Illinois in 1854 and, in 1924; the Garwood brothers were the first farmers to use a combine east of the Mississippi.
Theodore Sommer started his business, Sommer Brothers Seed Company, in 1909 and was the first certified seed producer in Illinois.
JC Robinson started his business in 1888, and in 1909 was president of the American Seed Trade Association, beginning a family tradition of ASTA officers which carried on for 3 more generations.
Before World War One the number of tractors used in Illinois could be counted on the fingers of one hand. One of those iron horses worked on the Claude Thorp farm. By 1927 he was already experimenting with hybrid corn.
Amos Golden began farming near Cordova, Illinois in 1853. His son, Claire Golden, founded his seed company in 1920 and by 1928 was already selling hybrid corn, making him one of the early pioneers of the new seed technology.
EXPERIENCE AND PASSION THAT LIVES ON TODAY
The tradition of those early seedsmen lives on today. Golden Harvest still has employees that literally “grew up in the seed business”. They share a genuine dedication to customers, along with a deep respect and appreciation for all employees that make up the companies’ “family”.