Seed company firm on family ownership

One of Scott Beck’s earliest memories is seeing his playhouse converted into a refreshment stand during a field day on the family farm.

“I remember walking out to the test plot and thinking, what are they doing with this?” said Beck, president of the nation’s largest family-owned retail-seed company.

Beck’s – the company founded by his great-grandfather – doesn’t use the playhouse now, but its commitment to research and dissemination of knowledge is stronger than ever. So is its family-centered mission.

Sonny Beck, Scott Beck’s father and the company’s chief executive officer, recalls a talk in 1990 with his wife, Glendia Beck. They were at a fork in the road.

“I said, ‘How are we going to survive? There are 300 seed companies and a third of us will be gone by the year 2000 and another third will merge with someone else and take on another name,’” he said.

Beck’s is one of those seed suppliers that has not only survived but grown steadily through the decades. Its roots date back to 1833, when John and Ana Beck, along with three young children, first immigrated to the United States. One of those children was Francis Beck Sr. who, with his wife Sarah Beck, then had six children. The youngest of their sons was Lawrence Beck, who ultimately purchased the original 80-acre farm where Beck’s headquarters now sits.