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In 1824, Mr. Isaac Funk, an Ohio native, settled 10 miles southwest of present Bloomington, Ill., where he built his first home. Isaac's family prospered by buying land and raising cattle for many years. By the time he died (shortly after the Civil War), he left over 22,000 acres of land to his children.

Isaac's grandson, Eugene Duncan (E.D.), the son of Lafayette Funk, studied agriculture in Europe. He returned home to Illinois with the intent of starting a family and a seed business. Twelve Funk family members joined him to found Funk Bros. Seed Company, Inc. in 1901.

In the early years, the company was well-known for high-quality seeds of all kinds, particularly corn. Because row breeding was the best known method of improving yields and performance of corn, Funk used this method extensively.

In 1915, J.R. Holbert, a recent graduate of Purdue University, came to work for Funk Bros. He began to inbreed corn and make crosses among those inbreds. FUNK'S TRIBRED was marketed in 1916 and became the world's first recorded sale of hybrid seed corn.

By 1918, E.D. Funk became alarmed at the spread of corn diseases he observed in fields. As a result, he persuaded the USDA to establish a disease and hybrid corn experiment station on Funk Farms, which was headed by J.R. Holbert. Later the station was moved to the University of Illinois.

By the late 1930's, growers recognized the high yields of hybrid corn. Most publications seemed reluctant to use seed company names with the numbers. Funk had used plain numbers until 1937 when it entered hybrids in the Illinois State Yield Tests under a B series and a G series. The G series fared particularly well. Farmers began to equate the G with Funk, and so the company incorporated the G into the company logo. Debate remains over what the G stands for (G for Eugene, good, great, gold, genetic, glorious, etc.).

E.D. Funk died in 1944, and was succeeded as President by one of his sons, E.D. Funk, Jr. Under E.D. Jr.'s leadership, Funk expanded its business into Italy. Eventually Funk had joint seed ventures (with Corn Products Refining Company) in Europe, Asia, South American and Africa. After 48 years of service, E.D. Jr. died in 1968. D.D. Walker was named president.

Research remained an important factor in the Funk Bros. company. Dr. Holbert continued to direct research, until he die din 1957. Major accomplishments under his leadership include:

1. the first use of seed treatment
2. the first use of field inoculations for disease resistance studies
3. the first studies of insect resistance in corn
4. establishment of the first hybrid seed business in Europe
5. directing the research that led to the first corn yield over 300 bushels/acre

Dr. Leon Steele succeeded Dr. Holbert as Research Director in 1957, helping advance the program scientifically and establishing research programs internationally.

In 1967, Corn Products Co. (CPC) purchased Funk Bros. Under the company's new management, Funk grew and prospered. In 1972, CPC sold 75 percent of their shares in deciding that Funk Bros. should go public, after which Funk Bros. became Funk Seeds International, Inc.

In 1974, Ciba Geigy purchased all the company's shares held by the public. Funk and the international companies become wholly owned by Ciba Geigy as part of the Agricultural Division. Later, the company name would be changed to Ciba Seeds.

Northrup King Co.       Pride Seed Co.       Stauffer Seeds       Coker Pedigreed Seed Co. Ciba Seeds       Funk Bros. Seeds

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