VALPARAISO, Ind. – A small family-owned provider of high yield hybrid seed for corn, soybeans and wheat has has stayed strong for close to a century while other similar sized companies were gobbled up by the competition.

Wyckoff Hybrids is in its 90th year serving farmers in northern Indiana and southern Michigan, with seed that works best in the soils and climate of the region. In addition to providing high quality seed, other keys to longevity include their dozen or so employees offering experience as farmers themselves and a personal touch to their customers, said Matt Zeigler, a district sales manager for the company.

“You can relate to the people because you’re doing the same thing they’re doing,” he said.

Zeigler, who has about 100 acres of corn and soybeans on his fourth-generation farm, along with 60 head of sheep and 20 farrow-to-finish sows, considers the company’s staying power a remarkable achievement.

“You’re going up against the big guys all of the time,” he said.

Wyckoff Hybrids receives a variety of seed containing different genetics from suppliers across the nation. Zeigler said the seed is then planted by the company on a trial basis to determine which varieties do best in the sandy and mucky soils common throughout the region, and in the climate.

The highest performing seeds are planted on thousands of acres of ground. The seeds are harvested, stored, processed and delivered to their customers for the next planting season.

“We’ll test a lot of different varieties and select the ones that work here. All we care about is what works in Indiana and Michigan,” Zeigler said.

The company is based near Valparaiso in northwest Indiana, with a second location at Decatur in southwest Michigan. Each site has a storefront and warehousing space. The seed production facility is at the Indiana location.

Zeigler said seed orders from small to large scale are delivered straight to the farmer either in bulk with a semi-truck or in bags on a trailer.

The company also offers seed for grass, a pasture mix and alfalfa.

According to the company website, the firm was started by L.K. Wyckcoff, the son of a farmer who earned a degree in animal husbandry at Purdue University. Wyckoff worked as a truck salesman for several years until he saved up enough money to begin farming his father’s land.

He later became interested in the emerging field of hybridizing seed corn. Wyckcoff was curious enough to approach a Purdue Extension agent who told him that hybridizing seed corn was too complicated for an “ordinary person to understand,” according to company website.

Not one to back down from a challenge, Wyckoff kept pursuing what turned out to be his calling and opened the company in 1932. He later died in 1963 when the plane he was piloting crashed into the side of a mountain in Wyoming.

His great grandson, Ken Wyckoff, now operates the company along with his brother in-law Chris Goetz.

Nothing specific is planned right now to recognize the milestone. Zeigler said a celebration of some sort will probably occur during their annual Field Days in the third week of August.

That’s when an open house is held for farmers to come see the latest in seed products and what’s previously been in stock.

Zeigler said another ingredient to company’s success has been national brand seed providers, once they reach a certain size, falling short on customer service.

He said Wyckoff Hybrids knows the type of seed that works best in their region and never lost focus on its commitment to the customer.

“We want our customers to be successful so, in turn, we’ll be successful. Treating people right goes a long way also,” Zeigler said.