Established 1937.

Our story

Planting its roots early, the Moore family farm has records dating back to 1857, when James Moore began farming a plot of land in Clinton County, Michigan. Moore Seed Farm was established on that same ground when James' grandson, George Moore, started growing certified small grains and navy beans in 1937. George's son, Robert joined the family business after returning home from WWII and marrying his wife, Doris. In 1962, Robert planted the first 15 acres of seed corn and the business quickly expanded.

In 1965, showing his entrepreneurial spirit, Robert joined with six other Michigan seed farmers to create a seed company called Great Lakes Hybrids. GLH was successful in producing viable and productive hybrids, and became a significant competitor throughout the Midwest region. Great Lakes Hybrids was purchased by AgReliant Genetics, LLC in the early 2000’s, and was re-branded to LG Seeds in 2019. Moore Seed Farm continues a vibrant relationship with AgReliant Genetics as a partner in the seed industry.

In 1972, Roberts youngest son Alan returned home to the family farm after graduation from Michigan State University. Soon after he married his wife Phyllis (Dershem), became partner in the farm, and began raising a family of four children; Suzzette (Ed Pross), Ben (Stephenie), Becki (Mike Keenan), and Dana (Amanda). In 1988 Robert retired, handing the reigns over to Alan and Phyllis who continued to grow and expand MSF through innovative partnerships and practices. One of those innovative partnerships came from a new rye variety that was released from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station in 1971. Alan successfully secured the patent and MSF became the exclusive grower of certified Wheeler Rye, which he has since built a successful market both domestic and internationally.

Over the last 47 years Alan has continued a vibrant career, receiving many accolades along the way, including serving on the United Soybean Board for 9 years and being a 2015 recipient of the Master Farmer Award. Today, Alan continues his involvement through organizations such as the FFA Foundation and the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee. And of course, he wouldn’t be where he was today if it were not for his wife Phyllis, and her commitment to overseeing administrative duties and sales for nearly 40 years.

But Alan & Phyllis’s proudest accomplishment is the involvement of their family in the farming operation. In 1998, shortly after graduating from MSU, their son Ben joined the operation. 6th generation on the families ground, and 4th generation in seed, Ben brought new ideas to the farm as well as the need to add another crop into rotation. In 1999 MSF invested into the sugar industry, growing beets for (then) Monitor Sugar. Partnering with neighboring farms, MSF managed nearly 700 acres of sugar beets. Then in 2004 MSF developed another innovative partnership with Monitor Sugar, in an agreement that MSF would purchase a Euro Maus from ROPA North America and do custom loading for beet farmers throughout the region. The first Euro Maus in the US and the first agreement of its kind, MSF changed the landscape of the sugar industry in Michigan. The partnership continued for 10 years, adding steady growth and success in the sugar industry. In 2015, MSF left the sugar industry to refocus on seeds, but its time spent was both successful and profitable.

As part of MSF’s mission to refocus on seed, Moore Seed Farm and other independent seed farms and processers joined together to form Premier Seed Group in 2009. Combined, PSG’s members have over 300 years of experience in growing, conditioning, and distributing seed corn with state of the art technology, and giving members the ability to leverage our collective knowledge and capabilities to deliver a full service experience to our wholesale seed customers.

In 2011 Ben's wife Stephenie joined them in operation. Since then, MSF has seen significant growth in it’s production facility, expanding its capacity & services within the mid-Michigan market. In 2018, MSF joined in a partnership with TriCal Superior Forage for production & distribution services of triticale in the Midwest. A relatively new crop to this region, MSF & TriCal are optimistic of the growth potential and the opportunity to service the area. Ben & Stephenie have three children and are looking forward to continuing the family farming tradition begun over 160 years ago with James Moore.

Moore Seed Farm Today