Family has been in the seed business for 35 years

ozarks roots

the people, places and traditions that make the ozarks home

Photo by Rachel Harper

35 YEARS in the Niche Business

By Rachel Harper Kincaid Seed Company processes products that other companies don’t offer

Jaret Kincaid is a fourth-generation farmer who grew up on the Kin- Kincaid Seed recently added a seed blender in hopes of expanding the next several years. caid family farm in Jasper, Mo., helping his dad Mac Kincaid and They are also starting to market their own seed wheat and seed beans. grandpa Dean Kincaid. “Many of the customers we process for are third generation,” Jaret said. “I cleaned their

About 35 years ago, he began looking for something that could make extra money in grandfathers’ seed and now they are grown and have kids of their own.” the wintertime. Jaret and his friend, Todd Clements, started custom cleaning Lespedeza Much of their business comes from customers who have been with them from the beginseed in 1985. Kincaid Seed Company began from there and has been growing ever since. ning. The biggest changes Jaret has seen over the last 35 years is that many of the seed com-

“I had a little bit of help from Terry Altic from Green Seed in Springfield, Mo., and he panies have merged, and the major seed companies have gotten larger and larger. Kincaid encouraged me to start peddling a little bit of seed, and from there it just kind of snow- Seed has learned different ways to be viable working with larger seed companies. balled,” Jaret said. “The new genetics and the new seed do give us more options for the customers,” Corey

The Kincaid family farm and the seed company benefit each other. The farm raises a lot said. “We aren’t able to clean a lot of it because they are patented. We have to have the of the seed for the seed company. knowledge of them because a lot of guys come in and want to know ‘what will work for

“The company buys seed from the farm, processes it, markets it, wholesales it and re- me’ and we have to try to answer that question.” tails it from there,” Jaret said, Kincaid Seed Company started out on the farm and with Many of their customers come from 80 to 100 miles away, and span from Springdale, steady growth is still at its same location but has added some additional building space Ark., to Coffeyville, Kan. over the years. With the growth in business, the company now has five employees. Jaret “There is always something new to learn on the soybean and corn side because there’s is the owner, his wife Beverly does the bookkeeping, nephew Macauley Kincaid helps so many new genetics,” Daniel said. with the cover crops, son-in-law Corey Hall works in sales and maintenance, and Daniel When they obtain books about new products, they always try to study up on the new Ritchhart is the plant manager. information, so they are able to answer questions instead of leaving it to the customer

Kincaid Seed Company processes and sells many types of seed as well as sells twine and to figure out on their own. Daniel has been to grazing seminars and all of the employees net wrap. They custom process Lespedeza, clover and Roundup Ready 1 soybeans. have been to cover crop seminars over the last few years, so they are able to offer up-to-

“We process a lot of products that most companies won’t process because they are niche date information for their customers. items such as oats, barley, Korean lespedeza and Roundup Ready soybeans, and this year It is important for all of the employees to get to know their customers so they can help for the first time, we processed winter peas. In the last few years cover crops have become figure out what is the best combination for their operation. the new age of farming and have really taken off.” “We try to keep the largest variety of small seed in Southwest, Mo., and I feel like we

Most of the big companies do not offer cover crops because there are so many variables probably do,” Jaret said. in what can be used for a cover crop. At Kincaid Seed, customers are able to request They are currently entertaining the idea of purchasing a seed treater to offer more oppacked custom blends. The market for cover crops has been growing every year and tions for their customers. 10 Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com NOVEMBER 2, 2020