Stine Seed Company is the world's largest private seed company, and the largest independent

seed company Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruits and vegetables to commercial growers and amateur gardeners. The production of seed is a multibillion-dollar business, which uses growing facilities and growing locations worldwide. While ...

in the US. It has more than 900 patents, specializing in

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

and corn genetics, is based in the small town of

Adel, Iowa Adel ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Iowa. It is located along the North Raccoon River. Its population was 6,153 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Adel is the oldest town within Dallas County. Originally called Pen ...

, and is almost entirely owned by Harry Stine and his four children.

History

Stine Seed Company was founded by Harry Stine's father in the 1950s as ''Stine Seed Farm''. In 1997, they entered into a large-scale collaboration with

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in th ...

, focusing on increasing corn and soybean yields. In 2014, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' estimated that the company was worth almost US$3 billion, with estimated sales of over $1 billion and margins over 10%. In fall 2017 with

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and

President Xi Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

in attendance, Stine Seed's China subsidiary Stine Seed China signed a $10 million deal with Beijing W. Seed through the China Iowa Group allowing China much greater access to seed technology. In 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the company by a group of black farmers who allege that they were deliberately selling inferior seeds. The seeds sold to them were certified to be genetically pure and have a near 100% germination rate, but testing done by the Mississippi State Seed Testing Laboratory indicates that the seeds sold to the farmers had a 0% germination rate. In a statement responding to the lawsuit, the company declared the lawsuit is "''without merit and factually unsupportable''". The company has conducted an internal investigation which they claim has found no evidence of the claims brought in the lawsuit.

Operations

It is the world's largest private seed company, has 15,000 acres of Iowa farmland and is almost entirely owned by Harry Stine and his four children. Stine has nearly 400 employees in 16 states, and 500 globally. According to Harry Stine, his children are active in Stine Seed with his eldest Lucinda crossing soybeans, Myron in charge of the Brand, Warren as the liaison between marketing and research, and Brenda as a part-time attorney with Stine Seed.People's Company staff (January 14, 2025)
Myron Stine, Son of Billionaire Seed Entrepreneur Harry Stine, Slated for the 2015 Land Expo
People's Company (

Clive, Iowa Clive is a city in Dallas and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 18,601. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clive is known for its Greenbelt Park and ...

). Retrieved September 5, 2020.

Products and patents

The company has over 900 patents, specialising in soybean and corn genetics. Customers include

and

Syngenta Syngenta AG is a provider of agricultural science and technology, in particular seeds and pesticides with its management headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It is owned by ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Syngenta was founded in 2 ...

. Stine Seed have developed high-density corn varieties, with shorted plants but planted 8-12 inches apart, rather than 42 inches apart when horses were used, allowing for average yields of up to 300 bushels per acre. Stine Seed was hoping to get approval to sell their seeds in China in 2015. They have been partnering with Chinese firms for a few years.

References

{{Authority control Agriculture companies of the United States Biotechnology companies of the United States Seed companies