Oklahoma Foundation Seed Stocks (OFSS), a nonprofit connected to Oklahoma State University, celebrated its 75th anniversary in Stillwater, honoring decades of work supplying high-quality crop genetics to farmers. Established in 1950, OFSS was created to connect OSU plant breeders with certified seed growers, ensuring improved varieties reach producers across the state. Today, the organization produces foundation seed for wheat, peanuts, rye, bermudagrass, mungbeans, oats, and barley.
In the early 1900s, Oklahoma farmers had limited access to reliable crop genetics. “I imagine wheat production would have been a game of ‘whatever you can get your hands on,’” said Dr. Brett Carver, OSU wheat genetics chair. “There were genetics available, but it was highly unregulated and unstructured, and there were a lot of unknowns.”
The seed production process starts with breeder seed, which OFSS grows into foundation seed. That seed is then sold to seedsmen, who produce registered seed, which can be grown for one more generation as certified seed — the type most farmers plant. “Planting certified seed is generally 3 to 5 bushels per acre better in yield, but it really comes down to knowing what you’re planting,” said Jeff Wright, OFSS director. “You know you’re getting weed-free seed with good germination and newer varieties better suited for end uses like baking and milling.”
Oklahoma Genetics Inc. (OGI) was formed in 2005 to handle the licensing of OSU wheat varieties and protect the university’s intellectual property. OGI also works with producers to grow large fields of experimental varieties, expanding the reach of OSU’s breeding program.
The Lasley family of Eakly has been a key partner in OFSS’s peanut program for nearly 70 years, beginning when founder George Lasley produced the first foundation seed peanuts in the mid-1950s. “Grandaddy was the only one who had irrigation and the only one who had made a crop that year,” recalled Loyd Lasley. His brother David remembers the extra care needed to maintain seed purity: “Everyone else was blowin’ and goin’, and we were sitting there trying to blow every peanut out of every crack in that combine.” Today, the family still grows foundation peanuts while also selling edible peanut products.
OSU Ag Research associate vice president Dr. Scott Senseman called OFSS “a crucial part of our breeding program since its inception,” noting its role in moving high-quality genetics from development to farm fields. Carver summed up the program’s importance: “Oklahoma Foundation Seed Stocks provides the launchpad for putting new OSU wheat varieties into orbit for adoption by the United States wheat industry. Without it, we are a grounded spaceship.” ⚫