The History of "Trelay"

Seed corn at Trelay goes back to 1906 when Elmer Biddick sold his first bushel of seed corn at age 11. At that time there were no hybrids but rather open pollinated varieties like Golden Glow and Clark's Yellow Dent. Elmer grew up working with his father, Adolphus, who had a "good eye in selecting ears" to be used for seed. This hand selection and appreciation for good seed corn was ingrained in Elmer from the start. Elmer attended the U.W. short course in 1910-1911. This connection to the U.W. became the source of help in the following years to successfully grow hybrid seed corn.

Elmer married Ada Bethke in 1919. Ada contributed to the success of the seed corn business with her bag designs, brand names, and display signs. She was an artist with a strong constitution.

Elmer's first bin dryer, built in 1928, had 5 bins, each 3 ft. x 10 ft. He used a 5 H.P. fan to blow air heated by the burning of corn cobs. Later in 1936 his second dryer used a 25 H.P. fan with coal as the heat source. Elmer says, "The sparks would really fly when we turned on that son of a gun." This dryer was used until 1967. During those years many loads of coal were shoveled, and several chimney fires occurred. The smell of burning coal and drying corn left a lasting memory.

Roger, Elmer's son, born in 1923, grew up amidst this seed corn development. His dual interest in cattle feeding and seed corn helped develop the diversity that characterizes Trelay today. Whether it was shoveling coal into the burners at midnight or detassling 3/4 mile corn rows in 90 degree heat, success at Trelay has been based on total dedication and hard work.

The name "Trelay" was given to the farm by Hercules Rundle, Elmer's great uncle. Having come from Cornwall England, Hercules combined the prefix "Tre" which means "homestead" and "Lay" meaning "grove of trees" to form "Trelay". A large group of cottonwood trees characterize the original Hercules Rundle farm. Many of these same trees still stand today on the home farm at Trelay.

Hybrid seed corn and the Biddicks have been together since the conception of hybrid seed corn. Today, Trelay continues with as much history as any seed corn business can claim. Our history dates from Elmer's pioneering efforts in the first days of the seed corn business, followed by Roger's leadership and innovative cattle feeding concepts, and now the third generation's unique answers to the modern seed corn world.