Several familiar seed brands are changing hands or disappearing ahead of the 2027 season, and American corn and soybean growers finalising next year's orders need to know who is behind the bags they buy, Farm Progress reports.

Pine Creek Seed Farm in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, is launching 10 corn and six soybean lines under the Doebler Family Genetics name. Doebler seed was first sold in 1935; Pioneer Hi-Bred, then part of DuPont, bought Doebler's PA Hybrids in 2011, and after the DowDuPont merger and the creation of Corteva in 2019 the regional name was replaced by Seed Consultants.

Corteva, which is spinning its seed business off into a separate company called Vylor, announced earlier this year that it will unify all its regional brands, Seed Consultants among them, under the Hoegemeyer name for 2027. Pioneer and Brevant remain its flagship brands.

LG Seeds is also going. The Argentine company GDM bought AgReliant Genetics, parent of AgriGold and LG Seeds, last summer, adding them to a portfolio that includes Mustang, Revere and DonMario Seeds. For next season GDM is realigning around AgriGold in the central Corn Belt and Mustang Seeds in the northern Corn Belt, with LG Seeds consolidated into the new structure.

Knowing who owns a brand tells a buyer where its genetics come from and what traits may be available. The article also points growers to independent university variety trials: in 2025 Ohio State tested hybrids from 21 corn seed brands, Michigan State evaluated 151 commercial soybean varieties from 19 companies, and the University of Maryland tested 43 corn hybrids at five locations. The 2026 results are due later this autumn. The report was written by Chris Torres.

Photo: Rasbak / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Farm Progress