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| Type | Agriculture/Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | Coon Rapids, Iowa (1931) |
| Defunct | December 31, 2013 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Roswell Garst, Founder Charley Thomas, Founder |
| Products | Hybrid and varietal seeds |
| Parent | Syngenta |
| Website | Golden Harvest Seeds |
Garst Seed Company was a U.S.-based subsidiary of Syngenta that produced hybrid seeds for agriculture.
In 1931, Garst and Thomas Hi-Bred Corn Company was founded by Roswell Garst and Charley Thomas in Coon Rapids, Iowa, and was "instrumental in promoting the use of hybrid corn." [1] During the Cold War, Garst formed a relationship with Nikita Khrushchev and assisted the USSR in modernizing its corn production. [1]
In 1983, the company split up and Garst Seed Company was formed. [1]
In 1985 Garst was acquired by Imperial Chemical Industries's American subsidiary. [1]
In 1993, ICI sold off its North American assets, and Garst seed business became part of a new company called Zeneca. [1]
In 1996, Garst became part of Advanta Group, formed through the merger of Zeneca Seeds and VanderHave. [1] Zeneca became part of AstraZeneca and VanderHave was controlled by a Dutch farmer-owned co-operative called Cosun U.A. [2]
In 2004, Astrazeneca and Cosun sold Garst to Syngenta. [1] [3]
In 2013, Syngenta announced the retirement of the Garst seed brand. Operations ceased in 2014 and remaining Garst hybrid corn seed products were rebranded to Golden Harvest. [4]
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Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was a constituent of the FT 30 and later the FTSE 100 indices.
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Coon Rapids is a city in Carroll and Guthrie counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,300 at the 2020 census, which is a decrease of 5 from the 2000. The small portion of Coon Rapids that lies in Guthrie County is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Roswell "Bob" Garst was an American farmer and seed company executive. He developed hybrid corn seed in 1930 that allowed greater crop yields than open-pollinated corn. He was perhaps most well known for hosting Nikita Khrushchev on his farm in Coon Rapids, Iowa, on September 23, 1959. He sold hybrid seed to the Soviet Union beginning in 1955 and played a role in improving US-Soviet communication.
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