Stine Seed

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 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the company by a group of black farmers who allege that they were deliberately sold inferior seeds[4]. 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[5]. In a statement responding to the lawsuit, the company declared the lawsuit is "without merit and factually unsupportable"[6]. The company has conducted an internal investigation which they claim has found no evidence of the claims brought in the lawsuit[7].

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.[3] Stine has nearly 400 employees in 16 states,[1] and 500 globally.[2]

The company has over 900 patents, specialising in soybean and corn genetics.[3] Customers include Monsanto and Syngenta.[3] 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.[2][8] 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.[8]