The origin of the modern-day BrettYoung is a 1930’s woodworking plant producing step ladders, incubators, and coat trees for the T. Eaton Company. The transformation from a woodworking manufacturer to an international seed supplier started in 1934 when Bill Brett, owner of the woodworking operation, joined forces with one of his employees, Reg Young, and formed Brett-Young Seeds Limited.
Over the years, we’ve added more seed varieties and products to the business. Chick feed, horticultural peat, and legume inoculants were the first to be added to the business mix. Then alfalfa, clover, and other forage seed varieties were added, and by the early 1950’s, production of turf seed varieties, particularly Kentucky Bluegrass, were added to the operation. BrettYoung completed construction on our first seed processing facility in 1953. By 1965, we completed a larger processing facility in Winnipeg to handle the ever-expanding business and a processing facility for creeping red fescue in Rycroft, Alberta.
A notable highlight for BrettYoung came in 1968 when we won an export award for seed sales to countries like the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, Italy, and the United States.
1975 was a pivotal year in the history of the modern BrettYoung. That year, Peter Dyck purchased the company after having worked for it since 1947. BrettYoung continues to be 100% family-owned with plans to keep the company in the family for generations to come.
Over the years, BrettYoung has made a number of significant investments in order to better serve our customers and partners. We recently added a state-of-the-art seed coating facility in Winnipeg and expanded our seed storage, blending, and bagging capacity. We’ve also improved blending and bagging at our Calmar, Alberta location.
Throughout our history, BrettYoung has maintained a reputation for honesty and integrity.
“It is critical this reputation be maintained for us to continue to be successful in exporting to markets in the US, South America, Europe, and the Far East,” said BrettYoung board director, Lloyd Dyck.
BrettYoung has kept its reputation and integrity clearly in sight, but Lloyd credits many others for the company’s success.
“We are grateful to our processors, customers, and suppliers who have made our long history possible and we look forward to serving them in the years to come,” he said.
