Stine Seed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | private |
|---|---|
| Industry | seeds |
| Founded | 1950s |
| Headquarters | , US |
| Products | soybean and corn genetics |
| Owners | Harry Stine and his four children |
| Website | www |
Stine Seed Company is the world's largest private seed company, and the largest independent seed company in the US. It has more than 900 patents, specializing in soybean and corn genetics, is based in the small town of Adel, Iowa, and is almost entirely owned by Harry Stine and his four children.
Stine Seed Company was founded by Harry Stine's father in the 1950s as Stine Seed Farm.[1]
In 1997, they entered into a large-scale collaboration with Monsanto, focusing on increasing corn and soybean yields.[2]
In 2014, Forbes estimated that the company was worth almost US$3 billion, with estimated sales of over $1 billion and margins over 10%.[3]
In fall 2017 with U.S. President Donald Trump and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping 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.[4][5][6]
In 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the company by a group of black farmers who allege that they were deliberately sold inferior seeds.[7] 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.[7] In a statement responding to the lawsuit, the company declared the lawsuit is "without merit and factually unsupportable".[8] The company has conducted an internal investigation which they claim has found no evidence of the claims brought in the lawsuit.[8] The suit was dismissed in 2020.[9]
