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Ron Hefty founded Hefty Seed Company in 1969
as Hefty Farm Supply.Originally from north central Iowa, Ron moved the
family to Baltic, South Dakota that year and began farming. The only
problem was that the pesticides he used in Iowa, were not available
at any of the local elevators in South Dakota. So Ron went back to Iowa
to get his chemicals, and he picked some up for the neighbors as well.
Pretty soon, this became a business for Ron, and it has led to the company
becoming one of the largest independent ag-chemical dealers in the
Midwest.
As time went on, seed sales became a major focus for Ron, and led to
the only name change in company history. Hefty
Farm Supply became Hefty Seed Company in 1984. That same
year, a seed cleaning facility was constructed at Baltic.
Thru the years, we've continued to expand. We now have 19 locations
spanning 5 states. Our South Dakota sites include Centerville, Watertown,
Huron, Aberdeen, Kimball, Freeman, Roscoe, Gettysburg, and company headquarters
at Baltic. We have facilities in Minnesota at Hancock, Winthrop, Marshall,Breckenridge,
Fairmont, and Olivia, and our Iowa offices are in Renwick and Sheldon.
You'll also find locations in Pembina, ND, and Farmington, WA.
In addition to ag-chemicals and seed, we also offer Outback Guidance
Systems, Kinze, Schaben, Brillion, and Redball equipment; sprayer parts;
and fertilizer at all our locations. We also have seed cleaning plants
at Baltic and Centerville. |
Ag
PhD TV is a weekly, half-hour show that airs on stations throughout
the country each week.
Ag PhD has been broadcasted since April, 1998; and all the production
for the show is done in-house, at the studio located at the main Hefty
Seed Company office in Baltic. Ron's two sons, Brian
Hefty and Darren
Hefty host the show; and Ron's daughter,
Jannel Brueggeman, works in production. While most
ag shows on television talk about national issues that farmers have
little control over, the focus of Ag PhD is on  production
agriculture in the upper Midwest. We cover topics like herbicide choices,
insect outbreaks, and soil testing, as well as weekly features like
Farm Basics and the Weed of the Week.
Although the show is meant for active farmers, Ag PhD tries to reach
those in school who are interested in agriculture, as well as non-farmers.
As farmers, we are less than 1% of the population, and it's that other
99% that sets the rules for us. We, at Ag PhD, feel that educating
non-farmers about what farmers do is vital to the long-term success
of American agriculture.
For that reason,
we also air a weekly feature on many news broadcasts throughout the
Midwest called the Ag Minute. The Ag Minute is a one minute weekly
piece that is designed to educate non-farm viewers about agriculture.
The United States has the safest food supply in the world and the
most environmentally conscious farmers, but unless we let the general
public know that, they will continue to worry about the job we do
out here in the country.
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