2007 Another End of an Era

A well-respected and prolific member of Illinois Extension once quipped that he could remember when the annual meeting was “a four-day event with hundreds of people.” The unspoken response was that we could recall when public varieties were released to a foundation seed organization and certified by the state crop improvement association. As Illinois Foundation Seeds exited its traditional role for soybean and small grains and the University stopped releasing new and improved varieties, the association worked to make Coldwater Seed Farm, Wilken Seed Grains, Bohl Brothers, John Remmers, and Hamel Seed & Farm Supply “designated maintainers.” Varieties without maintainers like Loda, Linford, Pana, Rend, and Yale ceased to exist in Illinois’ seed certification program. Thus, 2007 marked the end of an era of public varieties, family seed companies, and seed certification for domestic markets.