A Trelay Tradition The Start of It All

At Trelay, seed corn goes back to 1906 when Elmer Biddick sold his first bushel of open-pollinated seed corn at age 11. Every year since then, seed corn has been sold from the farms at Livingston that represent Trelay today. Open pollinated varieties, like Golden Glow and Clark’s Yellow Dent were popular at that time. Hybrids had not yet been invented. Elmer grew up farming with his father, Adolphus, and had a good eye in selecting ears to be used for seed. Hand selection and appreciation for good seed was ingrained in Elmer from the start.

Elmer attended the University of Wisconsin Short Course. This connection to the UW became the source of help in the following years to successfully produce hybrid seed corn.

Elmer married Ada Bethke in 1919. Ada contributed to the success of the seed corn business with her marketing talents and artistic skills. Brand names, bag designs and display signs carried Ada’s touch. Her strong constitution and Elmer’s ingenuity made them a strong team.

Elmer’s first bin dryer, built in 1928, had 5 bins, each 3 ft. x 10 ft. He used a 5 HP fan to blow air heated by burning corn cobs. Later, in 1936, his second dryer used a 25 HPfan with coal as a heat source. Elmer always remarked about the sparks that would fly when the 25 HP motor was started. Additions were made to this dryer, coal was replaced with gas, and larger fans provided more air until 1967 when one of today’s dryers was built. For many years, coal was hauled from Livingston and burned. The smell of burning coal and drying corn left a lasting impression.

Roger, Elmer’s son, born in 1923, grew up amidst the hybrid seed corn development. His dual interest in cattle feeding and seed corn formed the diversity that characterizes Trelay today. Shoveling coal into the dryers at midnight and detasseling 3/4 mile corn rows in 90 degree heat helped build the Trealy we know today.

The name “Trelay” was given to the land north of Livingston, Wisconsin by Hercules Rundle, Elmer’s great uncle. Having come from Cornwall, England, Hercules combined the prefix “Tre” which meant “from the place of” and “lay” meaning “a grove of trees” to form Trelay. It is a common word in Cornwall today and can be seen on farm gates. Hercules enjoyed many large cottonwood trees on his farm. Many of these trees still stand on the home “Trelay” farm today.

Hybrid seed corn and the Biddick family have been together since the beginning of hybrid corn. Our history provides a deep understanding of the practical side of seed production and also the “art” of producing hybrid seed corn. It is with this source of confidence that Trelay continually searches to bring value to the future of agriculture.