The History of
Richardson Seeds

Richardson Seeds, Ltd., originally Richardson Seed Farms, has a long legacy in the hybrid sorghum industry dating back to 1941 when C.G. Richardson purchased the land on which the headquarters is located today. Around 1945, the first wooden granaries were built to store grain. The same year a portable grain cleaner was purchased and the following year C.G. began cleaning and storing grain for the neighbors, charging them for cleaning and storage. In 1949, the second generation of Richardson’s, Wayne, graduated high school and joined his dad in the farming and seed cleaning operation.

A few years later, in 1953, they drilled one of the first irrigation wells in Deaf Smith County which lead to the production of irrigated sorghum seed and the sale of the first bag of seed in a Richardson Seed Farms bag in 1955. In 1956, Hugh Clearman, the Deaf Smith County Agricultural Extension Agent, approached C.G. requesting him to grow a new kind of sorghum produced by crossing a female sorghum plant with a male sorghum plant, therefore creating the first hybrid sorghum seed grown commercially. The following year, Richardson Seed Farms was recognized for selling hybrid sorghum seed and has continued that legacy through today.

In 1968, Wayne took over as president of the family company and in 1976 Richardson Seed Farms was incorporated into Richardson Seeds, Inc. Richardson Seeds began producing the Texas A&M foundation seed and as a result of this relationship began their own breeding program which became known as MMR Genetics.

Expansion into the global market began in 1984 with the first sale of sorghum seed to Japan. Export sales continue to increase into a growing global market. In 1994, Larry became the third generation of Richardson’s to manage the family business; which continues to develop new products and technologies to meet the ever-changing needs of the sorghum producer.