Our Story

How Our Seed Cleaning Company Came to Be

Learn how we got our start in Choteau, MT

We first got our start in 1967 cleaning seeds. Lloyd Hodgskiss discovered the community was lacking seed cleaning facilities in Choteau, MT, and decided it was his duty to provide. He then purchased some seed cleaning equipment and started cleaning seeds for neighbors, friends and so on. It wasn't long before he was running a full-blown business as a seed cleaner. His son, Bob, saw the opportunity for something even bigger, and Hodgskiss Seed was born.

A passion turned into production

Generation after generation, Hodgskiss Seed continued to grow and expand into the company it is today. We went from operating a simple seed cleaning business to building an entire facility dedicated to the process. As the company expanded, so did our client's needs. Throughout the years, we have remained dedicated to providing local farmers with high-quality seeds at an affordable price. To this day, we continue to stick to our roots as skilled seed cleaners, put people first and produce quality products that can't be beaten.

The Story of Our Seed Retailing Company in Choteau, MT

In 1967, Choteau farmer Lloyd Hodgskiss needed some seed cleaning.

The local elevator was the only facility in the area that provided such services so he hauled a load over. When he returned to pick it up, it was even dirtier than before! Lloyd had survived the Depression, been shot at in the Army, and contracted nearly every jungle infection a soldier could get; he could put up with a lot, but when it came to farming, he'd be damned if he was going to plant dirty seeds. The following year, Lloyd purchased some modest seed cleaning equipment. Before long, he was cleaning seeds for neighbors, and for the neighbor's neighbors, and after a few years he decided to just accept that he had a full-blown business on his hands.

Around that time, Lloyd's son, Bob, became instrumental in Hodgskiss Seed's development. As the second generation to work the farm, Bob expanded the number of bins for cleaning and became certified in custom seed cleaning and seed sales. He saw that the business his father started had a larger potential and in the late 1980s, he put together a plan to build a seed load-out facility in Choteau. In 1994, Hodgskiss Seed purchased five acres on the east side of town and built the facility with a scale, six bins, and a seed treater. In 1998, Bob installed high volume seed cleaning equipment on site. Over time, bins were added, more farmers were contracted to grow seed, and a new generation of Hodgskisses stepped into the family business.