OUR STORY
THE RENK FACILITIES
The Sun Prairie processing facility is second to none. It has two processing towers, one for corn and the second for soybeans. In these we can process 400 bushels of corn and over 600 bushels of soybeans per hour. We also have bulk storage in excess of 650,000 bushels and warehouse space for 500,000 bushels of bagged seed.
The seed processing plants go beyond raw capacity. All equipment is geared to gently handle seed in order to maintain the highest germination and quality. All seed is moved using belt conveyors, bucket elevators and let-down legs to prevent seed from falling long distances. The plant has a full complement of machinery, including color sorters, to clean out debris and damaged seed and to accurately size seed. The warehouses are all heavily insulated to maintain germination until the seed is ready for delivery.
The seed processing towers are heavily computerized and equipped with the latest dual dust control systems. These make them an efficient, environmentally friendly and clean place to work.
We welcome tours of the facility with best viewing from September to January.
THE RENK MISSION
Renk is a family owned and operated company that prides itself on being progressive and responsive to its customers’ needs. This philosophy has kept us growing for over several decades. To give our customers the best experience, we concentrate on three:
EXTENSIVE BREEDING/TESTING:
We breed and test throughout our sales area to assure that the products in our lineup will work on your farm. We rely on research plots, dealer plots and state trial plots to make sure our customers have the right products. Over several hundred top finishes in the state trials with our current products.
SEED PROCESSING:
We believe our processing facility is the best in the business and we process (and grow) the vast majority of our seed ourselves. We consistently have higher quality and germinating seed then other companies.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
We provide answers when you need them. Our District Sales Managers have their C.C.A. and our plant breeders are only a phone call away. We have a 24-hour delivery policy for when you need extra seed in the spring and we offer some very good credit terms to help you manage your cash flow.
You should have a choice when you buy seed and Renk, as an independent seed company, can give you that choice clear of any bias. We advocate products that are right for your farm, not right for some parent chemical company.
At Renk, our customers are more than just numbers and our dealers are people that have been living next to you for years. We invite you to try our seed and experience the results other Midwest farmers have been getting for seven decades.
THE RENK FAMILY
Jeff Renk
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy and a Master’s in Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jeff led Renk’s biotechnology efforts beginning in the 1990s. Jeff continues to guide the company’s research efforts and directly manages Renk’s sales staff.
Alex Renk
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Agricultural Engineering, Alex has worked full-time at Renk Seed since 1988. He started his career in production, but has since moved to variety selection and agronomic support for soybeans and alfalfa. Alex is the architect of Renk’s information technology system and supervises marketing.
Brett Renk
Brett graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering, as well as a B.S. in Agricultural Mechanization and Management with an emphasis on Business and Industry. After graduation, he joined Renk as a District Sales Manager, later moving into production. Today Brett oversees all aspects of production for Renk Seed.
THE RENK STORY
In 1846, Joseph and Katherina Renk came to Wisconsin to farm after leaving Germany. Over the years the farm slowly grew and in 1936 the farm, under the ownership of William, Joseph’s grandson, and William’s two sons, Walter and Wilbur, was incorporated as William F. Renk and Sons. This was the first family farm to incorporate in the U.S. Another son, Robert, joined the company later. It was around this time in the early 1930s that universities were starting to push the benefits of hybrid corn. Renk Seed was in the forefront; growing and selling hybrid seed corn, the cornerstone of its business today.
Renk’s sheep business garnered a lot of headlines through its history with its production of several grand champions of Shropshire, Suffolk and Hampshire breeding. When the herd was dispersed in 1952 all breeds were sold at the highest average price obtained up to that time anywhere in the world.
In 1968 Richard, Steve and John took ownership of the company from Walter, Wilbur and Robert. By then the company was heavy into raising cattle in addition to its sales of hybrid corn seed and oats.
The seventies saw Renk Seed expand both domestically and abroad, adding Canada and Europe to where it did business. Renk started selling alfalfa seed at this time.
In 1990 Renk decided to quit raising beef and at the same time added soybean seed to their product lineup. It was then that the old processing tower (built in 1946) was torn down and a new tower was erected.
In 2000 the current generation of Renks – Jeff, Alex and Brett – assumed ownership of the company.
Renk had a major expansion in 2013 with a new soybean processing tower, bulk storage and additional warehouse space.
Renk Seed has at one time or another raised sheep, hogs, dairy and beef in addition to selling corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, alfalfa and grasses. Renk Seed still farms to this day, producing the vast majority of what it sells.
The Renk Family, along with the Renk Seed Company, has always been very innovative and forward thinking. The Renk farm had the first silo erected in the county in 1898, had one of the first tile drainage systems installed in Wisconsin in 1916 and had the first dairy herd to go on DHIA in Wisconsin. William Renk helped set up the Production Credit Association in Wisconsin and Michigan. Wilbur Renk was one of the founding members of the World Dairy Expo. Walter and Richard Renk were instrumental at getting the UW-Madison Veterinary School started and set up an agriculture business degree at the UW. Renk Seed did groundbreaking work on narrow row corn back in the late sixties. The Renk farm was one of the first to adopt no-till in its area.
Today Renk Seed continues its forward thinking with new innovations such as one of the first seed companies to offer Farm Plan, the first to use a robotic palletizer and now the first seed company to offer radar-in-motion and commodity markets on its website.
