Proprietary Grass Seed Business Prioritizes Quality

Becky Meeuwsen Berger’s grass seed business evolves to prioritize quality and family harmony

Whether she’s meeting with potential buyers in China, weighing a new crop option or sitting at a table surrounded by her family council, Becky Meeuwsen Berger knows difficult times don’t define you – they propel you. And, through hard work and focus, no challenge is too great.

“I’ve been through some tough times, but those tough times make everything else easier,” Berger says.

Around 45 years ago, Berger married into a farming family. The operation, headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., focused on turf grass seed production. Her father-in-law retired early, so her husband took over. At age 30, Berger’s husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which eventually took his life in 2011.

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Barenbrug and Simplot Enter Into Agreement for the Sale of the Jacklin® Seed Business

The Royal Barenbrug Group and the J.R. Simplot Company announced they have agreed on terms for the sale of the Jacklin® Seed business to Barenbrug USA. The transaction is expected to close in the next few weeks, subject to standard closing conditions. Both Simplot and Barenbrug are privately held, family owned companies with storied legacies in agriculture and expect a smooth transition that will benefit Jacklin® Seed employees and both companies.

The combination of Jacklin® Seed’s deep portfolio with Barenbrug’s vision, R&D, and industry leading market development will provide a strong value to turf growers and distributors across the world.

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Local Grass Seed Farm Boy Finds Niche in Developing Fine Whiskey

By Sarah Brown
Lebanon Local


DUSTIN HERB checks the oil level in a glass of Waterford whiskey as he explains how to experience fine whiskey. Photos by Sarah Brown

Dustin Herb considers his path in life part heritage, part hard work, and mostly luck.

If he could brag about anything – which isn’t a natural trait, he would say it’s that he got paid to go to school to drink beer and whiskey, and travel.

He was not, actually, a big beer drinker at the time, and he “couldn’t stand” whiskey, Herb said.

“I had to learn to love it, and then ended up loving the process behind it and the culture and the people.”

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DLF Pickseed Announces New Company Promotions

Over the past couple years, DLF Pickseed has been working on succession planning and development. It is a valuable process to ensure continuity, leadership, and success. As a result of their work and conversations, the company has two exciting changes to share.

Sean Chaney was promoted to vice president of the Pro Turf Division.

Chaney is an Oregon native who has been involved in the Ag community since childhood. His first experience with seed was hands-on – working in fields and warehouses as a teenager. Beginning at age 14 and on to his graduation from the University of Oregon, Sean worked for a local seed producer and marketer. He learned about the seed production process, and was able to bring many of these skills to DLF Pickseed. Chaney was hired 6 years ago, beginning as a buyer and a sales representative. He continued in the buyer role as his sales and brand management duties expanded. As time went on, he also added international sales experience to his resume, something he has been doing for over 3 years now.

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Chris McDowell: Starts seed business with her daughters

Chris McDowell’s long history in the grass seed industry has taught her and her two daughters that Oregon is fertile ground for more women in agriculture.

McDowell has been a part of the mid-Willamette Valley’s grass seed production operations for nearly 40 years, she said, while daughter Marissa Donahue transitioned from production into turf grass sales in 2008.

“We’d been working together long enough and she had been in the industry for a long time and had all this knowledge and relationships, which was essential,” Donahue said. “But we work together well, which can be considered a big advantage.”

In 2014, McDowell, Donahue and her other daughter, Mandi Mack, decided to toss the dice and start their own business, which they called Vista Seed Partners.

“We saw the need in the industry of a real customer-based seed company,” McDowell said. “The timing was right in 2014, so we just said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

Today, Vista markets high-performance grass seed varieties and blends for professional landscapes (Central Park in New York City is a client), sports turf, golf courses and sod applications. Turfgrass products include Bermudagrass, perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass and others.

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Consumer demand overwhelms vegetable seed producers

Jun 3, 2020

The panicked rush to buy vegetable seeds in the wake of this year’s coronavirus pandemic is something that farmer Frank Morton has seen before.

Previously, the surge in demand was spurred by the Great Recession over a decade ago, and before that, by fears of the Y2K glitch causing technological mayhem at the turn of the new millennium.

Worrying about widespread havoc tends to make humans prioritize basic biological imperatives, said Morton, who started his Wild Garden Seed company in 1994 near Philomath, Ore.

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