Born out of a co-op in the heart of the Mid-Willamette Valley, Mountain View Seeds has emerged as a top player in the global grass seed market, providing high-quality turfgrass, forage, and cover crops with a focus on environmental sustainability.
Today, the company contracts with more than 200 growers across the Pacific Northwest and sells anywhere from 60-80 million pounds of seed every year. Species include cool-season grasses like kentucky bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass, bentgrass, Bermuda, wildflowers, legumes, brassicas and much more used in lawns, parks, landscaped areas, golf courses, sports fields, and sod farms around the world.
Being vertically integrated also allows Mountain View Seeds to have a hand in every step of the process — from being involved in developing varieties, seed processing, and shipping. This offers more guidance and quality assurance from start to finish. Tony Ramirez, accounts manager for the company, said this is what gives Mountain View Seeds a strong foundation.
It just makes our turnaround time quicker and more efficient,” Ramirez said. “We’re able to work closely with our growers to ensure quality and performance standards are met. With our highly efficient automated seed blenders, we are able to ship products in a timely manner”.
Rooted in Oregon
Mountain View Seeds is part of Pratum Co-op, established in 1946 by a group of local farmers cultivating premium grass seed east of Salem. In 1998, Troy Kuenzi and Todd Bond started Mountain View Seeds to handle the rising demand for Pratum’s private varieties.
Though the scope of the business is now global, Ramirez said the company remains dedicated to serving Oregon agriculture. Mountain View Seeds is a supporter of several industry groups, including the Oregon Seed Growers League, Tall Fescue Commission, Fine Fescue Commission, and Annual Ryegrass Growers Association. The company also donates to the annual Oregon Ag Fest, as well as local FFA chapters.
As members of the Oregon Seed Association, Ramirez said the company benefits by being able to network and exchange insights that strengthens the entire seed industry.
“We’re all competitors in the room, but we have common goals,” he said. “It’s a really good place to gain knowledge of what’s happening, especially in a diverse industry such as ours. There are so many different things that go on.”
Fighting for Grass
One of the biggest challenges facing the seed industry, Ramirez said, is fighting against the perception that grass lawns are bad for the environment. In addition to grass’ ability to sequester carbon, improve air quality, and prevent erosion, Mountain View Seeds is constantly working to develop more sustainable varieties that use less water, fertilizer, and pesticides while maintaining quality.
To do this, Ramirez said the company utilizes the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf (ALIST), multiple universities, and other research partners.
“The biggest thing is we do a lot of research and trials to figure out which varieties can have reduced inputs, more heat tolerance, and decreased water use,” Ramirez said. “A lot of it ties into the environment, but it’s also about cost savings in a way where you have fewer inputs, and you’re also doing better by the Earth.”
Vertical Integration Key to Success at Mountain View Seeds
/in Member News, Member Spotlight, OSA Updates, Recent NewsBorn out of a co-op in the heart of the Mid-Willamette Valley, Mountain View Seeds has emerged as a top player in the global grass seed market, providing high-quality turfgrass, forage, and cover crops with a focus on environmental sustainability.
Today, the company contracts with more than 200 growers across the Pacific Northwest and sells anywhere from 60-80 million pounds of seed every year. Species include cool-season grasses like kentucky bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass, bentgrass, Bermuda, wildflowers, legumes, brassicas and much more used in lawns, parks, landscaped areas, golf courses, sports fields, and sod farms around the world.
Being vertically integrated also allows Mountain View Seeds to have a hand in every step of the process — from being involved in developing varieties, seed processing, and shipping. This offers more guidance and quality assurance from start to finish. Tony Ramirez, accounts manager for the company, said this is what gives Mountain View Seeds a strong foundation.
It just makes our turnaround time quicker and more efficient,” Ramirez said. “We’re able to work closely with our growers to ensure quality and performance standards are met. With our highly efficient automated seed blenders, we are able to ship products in a timely manner”.
Rooted in Oregon
Mountain View Seeds is part of Pratum Co-op, established in 1946 by a group of local farmers cultivating premium grass seed east of Salem. In 1998, Troy Kuenzi and Todd Bond started Mountain View Seeds to handle the rising demand for Pratum’s private varieties.
Though the scope of the business is now global, Ramirez said the company remains dedicated to serving Oregon agriculture. Mountain View Seeds is a supporter of several industry groups, including the Oregon Seed Growers League, Tall Fescue Commission, Fine Fescue Commission, and Annual Ryegrass Growers Association. The company also donates to the annual Oregon Ag Fest, as well as local FFA chapters.
As members of the Oregon Seed Association, Ramirez said the company benefits by being able to network and exchange insights that strengthens the entire seed industry.
“We’re all competitors in the room, but we have common goals,” he said. “It’s a really good place to gain knowledge of what’s happening, especially in a diverse industry such as ours. There are so many different things that go on.”
Fighting for Grass
One of the biggest challenges facing the seed industry, Ramirez said, is fighting against the perception that grass lawns are bad for the environment. In addition to grass’ ability to sequester carbon, improve air quality, and prevent erosion, Mountain View Seeds is constantly working to develop more sustainable varieties that use less water, fertilizer, and pesticides while maintaining quality.
To do this, Ramirez said the company utilizes the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf (ALIST), multiple universities, and other research partners.
“The biggest thing is we do a lot of research and trials to figure out which varieties can have reduced inputs, more heat tolerance, and decreased water use,” Ramirez said. “A lot of it ties into the environment, but it’s also about cost savings in a way where you have fewer inputs, and you’re also doing better by the Earth.”
Smith Seed Services Offers Full Spectrum of Industry Tools
/in Member News, Member Spotlight, OSA Updates, Recent News, UpdatesA lot goes into making Oregon’s seed industry renowned worldwide. From breeding quality genetics to seed coating, cleaning, and packaging, producers rely on a bevy of services to help them increase productivity and satisfy customers around the globe.
For more than 60 years, Smith Seed Services has been providing the tools that seed growers and distributors need to prosper. What started as a small seed cleaning operation working out of a converted dairy barn has since expanded to include specially formulated seed coating, blending, storage, distribution, and marketing. The company also offers its own exclusive lineup of high-performing turfgrass, forage, and cover crop seeds.
“With a commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, Smith Seed Services has grown to over 300 team members with a coating and packaging capacity of over 15 million pounds per month, serving clients globally and continuing to thrive as a privately held, family-oriented business,” said Dustin Withee, a spokesperson for the company.
Seeds of success
Headquartered in Halsey, Smith Seed Services was founded in 1956 by George Smith. Originally a seed cleaning business serving Willamette Valley farmers, the company has gradually expanded its reach and added to its repertoire of services and products.
One of its biggest accomplishments came in 2008 with the completion of a new multi-million dollar seed coating facility. A second coating and retail packaging facility was also built in Lamar, Missouri in 2018.
Throughout its various departments, Withee said Smith Seed Services employs a robust and experienced team.
“We take pride in the fact that most of them have been here for five years or longer, including several who have worked here for 15-30 years,” Withee said. “We have a loyal, long-term, and stable team that has invested in and is integral to the success of our business.”
Engaged with OSA
As a key player in the seed industry, Withee said Smith Seed Services is constantly pursuing market access while navigating ever-changing regulations. Being a member of the Oregon Seed Association allows the company to access information and ensure they have a seat at the table when discussing industry issues.
“As a company alone, our voice is small, but as we work collectively with the larger industry, we can all affect change,” Withee said. “While we may not directly influence policy in every case, we work to find solutions and ways to work within the regulatory framework we are given.”
Smith Seed Services also supports causes and organizations that benefit all of Oregon agriculture. These include Oregon Ag Fest, the Oregon Seed Growers League, Oregon Annual Ryegrass Growers Association, and the local Central Linn FFA Chapter. In addition, Withee said the company provides logistical and regulatory support for mission groups sending relief containers to areas afflicted by poverty and armed conflict around the world.
“Part of our ethos is encouraging and supporting employees with their involvement in community organizations and charities,” Withee said.
Pure Seed Cultivates Varieties for the World
/in Member News, Member Spotlight, OSA Updates, Recent NewsDeveloping new grass seed varieties is no easy feat for Crystal Rose-Fricker and her team at Pure Seed. The process usually takes a decade or longer of careful breeding, cultivating the right mix of genetic traits that can withstand drought, diseases, and other environmental pressures while also maximizing yield for growers.
“Breeding is always a numbers game,” Rose-Fricker said. “For every variety that we license, we probably throw away at least 10 because they’re not good enough.”
It is that level of detail that has established Pure Seed as a top player in the seed industry. The company’s products can be found all over the world, from the lawn and garden section at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores to major sporting events like the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.
A family business
Pure Seed was founded by Rose-Fricker’s father, Bill Rose, in 1972 as a marketing and wholesale supplier of warm- and cool-season turfgrass and forages. Two years later, Rose started Pure Seed Testing to cultivate new varieties at its 175-acre research farm in Canby, and a second 25-acre research farm in Rolesville, N.C. Pure Seed Testing will celebrate its 50th anniversary in June.
Rose-Fricker is now president of Pure Seed and Pure Seed Testing, carrying on the family business. The companies employ about 80 people depending on the season, she said, including her own kids, McKayla Fricker-Smucker and Austin Fricker.
“Between our companies, we’re almost 50% women, which is unusual for an agricultural company,” Rose-Fricker said.
Strengthening the industry
Being part of the Oregon Seed Association gives members the chance to come together and strengthen their industry, Rose-Fricker said. Even though they are technically competitors, she said they are stronger as a group when it comes to advocating for legislation and support that helps everyone along the supply chain.
“We’re all working together to keep this industry strong and valid,” she said. “We can’t stick our heads in the sand and just farm anymore. We have to get involved.”
That means making sure they tell the industry’s story, and explaining how companies like Pure Seed are cultivating better seed varieties that give all the benefits of natural grass while being more environmentally friendly — requiring less water and chemical inputs.
“People want to have a beautiful green landscape, but they don’t want to feel guilty about it,” Rose-Fricker said.
The next generation
Pure Seed also volunteers with Oregon Aglink’s Adopt-A-Farmer program, which pairs farmers with middle school classrooms for field trips and agricultural-themed lessons. This year, Rose-Fricker said the farm in Canby will welcome 200 kids from Sellwood Middle School in Portland.
For some kids, it might be the first time they’ve ever been on a farm or seen a tractor, Rose-Fricker said. The program aims to show them that they could consider jobs in agriculture, no matter what they’re interested in doing.
“It’s really needed to give kids that experience,” she said. “Who knows what they’ll end up being in the future?”
Lena Prine Joins OSA Administrative Team
/in OSA UpdatesLena Prine
Pac/West Lobby Group is expanding its administrative team with the addition of Lena Prine as assistant to Oregon Seed Association Executive Director Ryan Tribbett. Prine and Tribbett will be working together to help grow OSA’s membership and influence statewide.
“Oregon is the grass seed capital of the world, driving more than $1 billion in economic activity annually,” Prine said. “We need to make sure that our companies have a strong voice in Salem, advocating for the policies and resources they need to keep the industry strong and competitive in global markets.”
Growing up in Portland, Prine first took an interest in agricultural issues as a legislative assistant for former state Rep. Raquel Moore-Green (R-Salem), who served on the House Energy and Environment Committee. She later participated in the nonprofit Resource Education & Agricultural Leadership Program, commonly known as REAL Oregon. The program aims to increase knowledge and advocacy for Oregon agriculture.
Each class spends five months touring around different regions of the state, learning about the myriad of agricultural commodities they produce and what unique issues farmers, ranchers, foresters, and fishers face.
“I learned about the importance and significance of the natural resources economy in ways I didn’t previously understand,” Prine said. “I feel like my time in the program furthered my understanding of who the true caretakers of the land really are.”
In addition to her behind-the-scenes understanding of the Oregon Legislature, Prine has also spent the last year working closely with local companies as director of business advocacy for the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce. Prine said she hopes to use her experience in both business and politics to amplify OSA’s success.
“We sometimes make it hard for our natural resources producers, including seed companies, to do their job in this state,” Prine said. “My passion is really easing the regulatory environment so farmers can farm, fishers can fish, and foresters can forest.”
Saddle Butte Ag Co-Founder Wins 2023 Distinguished Service Award
/in Recent NewsDon Wirth, an innovative Oregon farmer and promoter of cover crops and forage in the United States and internationally, has been named the Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) Distinguished Service Award recipient for 2023.
The Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals who give back to the agricultural community and have demonstrated outstanding leadership efforts in education, science, or public affairs relevant to agriculture. The ACN has named Distinguished Service Award recipients since 1947. Past recipients have included Dr. Norman Borlaug, the only person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize for work in agriculture, and Dr. Temple Grandin, a noted animal welfare scientist, as well as farmers, economists, and agri-business people.
Wirth’s agricultural contributions include his 55 years of innovation in cropping systems, testing and evaluating forage and cover crops in Oregon and the CornBelt, and founding and co-founding five agricultural companies. He frequently and enthusiastically partners with land-grant universities and USDA scientists nationwide.
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Seed testing workshop planned to address need for analysts
/in Recent NewsSALEM — Seed technologists from across the U.S. are arriving in Salem next week for what the Oregon seed industry hopes will be an annual occurrence: A seed testing workshop.
The Mega Cool Season Grass Seed Workshop on April 24-28 includes three days of hands-on classroom experience and a field tour of a seed cleaning plant, a hemp operation and a seed research farm.
The workshop is being put on by the Pacific Northwest Seed Technologists and the Oregon Seed Association in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Chemeketa Community College’s Agricultural Sciences Program, which is donating classroom space.
“I’m pretty excited because we have people from across the United States participating,” said Sharon Davidson, owner of Agri Seed Testing in Salem, who is spearheading the workshop. “Seed regulatory labs are sending people and even the USDA is sending two people.”
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How Oregon grass seed found its way to the World Cup
/in Showcase AreaCANBY, Ore. — Like billions of people worldwide, Crystal Rose-Fricker has found herself glued to coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
But unlike most soccer fanatics, Rose-Fricker is paying close attention to one detail in particular — the quality of the playing surface.
Rose-Fricker, president of Pure Seed in Canby, Ore., has a keen interest in this year’s tournament, with her company providing tens of millions of pounds of grass seed for the eight stadiums and 71 practice fields. It is a monumental task, made possible by years of research and development.
The result is that Oregon turf is again featured on the world stage. According to NBC Sports, an estimated 5 billion viewers are expected to tune in to the World Cup.
“It’s a long process of building relationships and connecting Oregon grass seed with that end market,” Rose-Fricker said. “This is one example of an international connection.”
Building relationships
Pure Seed is a wholesale producer of commercial turf and forage grasses, founded by Rose-Fricker’s father, Bill Rose.
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Canby company plays major role in creation of turf for World Cup matches
/in Recent NewsCANBY, Ore. — To say Crystal Fricker is giddy about grass would be an understatement.
“It’s a natural thing,” Fricker said. “It’s a good thing. It’s a green thing and we love working with it.”
That much is clear when you walk around the Canby-based farm that is home to Pure Seed. The grass seed company has been owned and operated by Fricker’s family for decades.
“Everything starts with breeding and genetics in the turf grass world,” Fricker said.
Producing the perfect pitch, Fricker says, does not happen over night. It is a long, methodical process as was the case for a client in the Middle East.
“We sent some of our seed varieties over there in the past eight years for them to try to decide what’ll work for the eventual World Cup,” Fricker said.
The World Cup? Yes. That World Cup.
The global soccer tournament features more than two dozen countries. It is played only once every several years. This year’s host country is Qatar, but the stadium grass is Oregon made.
“Growing it with a grower here in Oregon,” Fricker said. “Cleaning that seed, testing that seed, putting it in a bag and shipping it overseas to the Middle East to have it for the World Cup.”
It goes without saying, but Fricker is beyond tickled to see her family’s product in eight stadiums across Qatar.
“It’s very gratifying and it warms my heart to see a good surface for the athlete,” Fricker said.
World class athletes are realizing their dreams because a family back in Oregon realized their dream.
Originally published by KGW.com 12/13/22
Truck-to-rail facility ready to make life easier for ag exporters
/in Recent NewsMILLERSBURG, Ore. — Building a truck-to-rail intermodal facility to serve Western Oregon’s farm exporters took five years of overcoming hurdles.
Now that construction of the Mid-Willamette Valley Intermodal Center is finally complete, proponents face their biggest test yet: putting it in operation.
The facility in Millersburg, Ore., is meant to allow containers of farm and forest products to switch from trucks to rail, thus avoiding congested highways on the way to ports in Seattle and Tacoma.
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JTS Named 2022 NASTC Best Broker of the Year
/in Recent NewsJTS (Johanson Transportation Service), a leading third‐party logistics provider, JTS has announced that they are the recipient of the 2022 NASTC (National Association of Small Trucking Companies) Best Broker of the Year award.
Thomas Hawker, JTS Director of Pacific Northwest, proudly accepted the award on behalf of the company at the NASTC Annual Conference in Nashville, TN on October 20, 2022.
“The award recognizes the broker who demonstrates the very highest level of quality in partnership with NASTC member trucking companies and one who has a superior track record and credit history”, says David Owen, President of the NASTC.
“It is a privilege to be named 2022 NASTC Best Broker of the Year, and we are grateful to be distinguished with this honor. Small- to medium-sized carriers are the bedrock of our business, and we greatly value our NASTC members for providing the reliable, top-tier service that has earned us the trust of our shipping customers,” says Larry Johanson, President/CEO of Johanson Transportation Service. Read more