Lord’s Seed is a family owned farm that has been farming for two generations. Our family has been farming in the area for six generations.
John & Sherrie Larimer, Founders of Lord’s Seed
John and Sherrie Larimer have three children whom all have active roles in Lord’s Seed. John is the fifth generation to farm in the Greenfield Township area.
John started his farming career in 1973 farming 200 acres in partnership with his father, Wayne, after attending Purdue University. That same year he and Sherrie got married. The farm operation was general farming with hogs, cattle, corn, wheat, hay, and soybeans. During the mid-’70s he and Sherrie had three children as the farm business began to grow. In 1980 the operation began growing its first seed corn crop, 250 acres. In 1985, the operation, (God’s Acres) joined Great Lakes Hybrids and stayed with them until 2000. By that time, John and Sherrie had bought out John’s parents in 1989 and changed the business name to Lord’s Seed. In 2001, the three children became owners and managers of the operation. By 2013, Lord’s Seed with John operating as President grew more than 2% of the US corn supply.
John has served on local and state Farm Bureau boards, the local extension board, Lakeland School Board, LaGrange and Orland Chambers of Commerce, LaGrange Economic Development Corp., and has held many different positions at Brighton Chapel Church.
Sherrie Strawser married John in October of 1973. She worked as a stay-at-home mom and homemaker for the first 10 to 15 young years of their three children, Mark, David, and Rebekah. She began working with her husband in their trucking company, JML Transport, along with helping on the farm with John and his parents. She served on the LaGrange County Farm Bureau as women’s leader and then the State Young Farmers committee with John. She has been active in her church serving as a deaconess and elder’s wife in the past and now teaches Sunday school along with also serving on the women’s ministry committee. Sherrie enjoys spending time with her 10 grandchildren.
Mark & Beverly Larimer with their four children.
Mark is the eldest son of John and Sherrie. He serves as Vice President of Lord’s Seed. As a child of a farmer, he decided at an early age that he wanted to work with the land in agriculture. In 1991, before even graduating from high school, he began a vegetable division for Lord’s Seed. He continued his education at Michigan State University, where he graduated from the Agri-Business School. Throughout the years, he continued to learn new techniques and methods though opportunities such as TEPAP (The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers) and The Family Business Institute Round Table Program. As agriculture changes, he feels his operation should be willing to grow and change with it. However, the core values and work ethic he learned from his grandfather and father have not faltered. It is important for him to share this life with his wife and four children.
David & Angelique with their four kids.
David M. Larimer currently holds the position of President of Lord’s Seed. After graduation of college in 1998, he wanted to come back to the family operation. He has had the opportunity to help grow the operation to its current capacity. David has had training in property and casualty insurance, and has been to the Texas A&M program TEPAP. He also serves as the Vice President on the Lakeland School Board. David is an active part of his church where he oversees the tech department.
David is married to Angelique and together they have four children: Gabrielle, Isabelle, Isaac, and Madison.
Brad & Rebekah Trump with their two children.
Rebekah Trump graduated from Lakeland High School in May 1997. She then went to Purdue University and obtained her associates degree in Agricultural Economics in May 1999. Rebekah attends Brighton Chapel Brethren Church.
As a teenager, Rebekah detasseled in the corn fields and then was promoted to driving a detasseling machine. Later she helped manage the pickle pit and worked on seed corn shakeouts and growouts.
In May 1999 Rebekah started working at Lord’s Grain, Inc. located in LaGrange, IN and was their office manager until February 2014. In May 2014 Rebekah started working at the Lord’s Seed office.