Garst Seed Company and W.G. Thompson and Sons announce a joint venture between the two companies with an emphasis on an early maturity corn breeding program. The agreement will combine the global research efforts of Garst and W.G. Thompson's Hyland Seeds expertise
in early hybrid corn breeding.

"As we continue to develop and enhance our early season hybrid offerings, this joint corn breeding agreement with W.G. Thompson makes a lot of sense for both companies," explains Col Seccombe, President and CEO of Garst Seed Company. "Both companies have a great deal of expertise in the corn breeding industry and this type of effort will only speed up and enhance the corn product offerings for the Garst and Hyland Seeds brands."

Hyland Seeds, a division of W.G. Thompson, will continue to market and sell seed in the Canadian corn market as well as selected areas in the United States. Each company will market their own hybrids that are developed from the joint corn breeding program through their own established sales and dealer networks.

This agreement will allow both Garst and Hyland Seeds to develop separate and distinct hybrids that utilize a shared research and technology base.

"For more than 23 years, Hyland Seeds has focused on early maturity corn inbred lines and hybrids," says John Cowan, General Manager for Hyland Seeds. "Integrating the Garst and Hyland research programs will combine the genetic resource and biotechnology capabilities of Garst with the early maturity breeding expertise of Hyland to produce high performance hybrids
for corn growers."

Hyland Seeds is the leading Canadian-owned agricultural seed company and a division of W.G. Thompson & Sons Limited. Hyland Seeds is based in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada, which lies in one of the prime seed producing regions of the world.

Financial terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.

In North America, Garst is a recognized leader in the development and production of multi-trait (Garst G-STAC) corn hybrids as well as technology-enhanced soybean varieties, grain sorghum and alfalfa. Garst is also the market leader in the development of high pH corn, which is now
being tested in Canada. With corporate and research headquarters in Slater, Iowa, Garst is a member of the Advanta Group of seed companies, which ranks as one of the top five seed companies globally. Garst is the largest member of the Advanta group of companies, which is a joint venture between a leading global life-sciences company, Zeneca and Cosun, a major European food ingredient company.

For more information or a complete listing of all Garst products, see your local Garst Sales Representative, visit the Garst web site at www.garstseed.com  or call 1-888-GO-GARST for more information.

G-STAC* is a registered trademark of Garst Seed Company.

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