In the past, the seed corn industry was hit very hard with droughts and extreme temperatures. There was a need in the industry for small lot production (1-20 acres) to help breeders to increase their lines. Since our area has favorable weather and soil conditions to fill this need, we began to pursue this venture with 288 acres. Our current manager of the Lord’s Seed Specialty Lots (LSSL) is Ryan Seymour. Our breeding program works with some of the nation’s largest seed corn companies. We also have a counter cyclical production in South America.
Working with specialty lots can be very tedious work. There are very specific standards and distances that must be adhered to in breeding plots. The seed from our lots are harvested separately and dried in a research tub. After the shelling process is complete, this corn is shipped in mini bulk bags containing 40 bushels each.
All of our specialty production is inspected by Indiana Crop Improvement which makes them available for certification and OECD status.