April 30, 1967, Earl J. Buhn, Moews Seed Co. retired general sales manager, published the history of the Moews Seed Company in Granville titled "The Founding and Growth of the Moews Seed Co."
He wrote this, "'Bernhardt' Ben E. Moews, founder of the Moews Seed Company, was born on the family farm near Granville, Illinois. This farm was home to him throughout his lifetime. He received his formal education in the local schools and at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Ben possessed an inquisitive and progressive mind. He kept studying as long as he lived. Ben was an innovator. He became interested in hybrid corn while at Ames. After college, Ben returned to the farm and began working with hybrid corn. The family garden served as his first research plot. His mother's kitchen stove supplied the heat to dry the few ears of hybrid corn he harvested.
"The old, once popular U.S. 44 was originally produced here. The inbred M14, widely used in the United States and foreign countries was developed on the Moews farm. The Moews family farm became the home of the Moews Seed company. The home offices and the company is one of the reasons that Highway 89 is where it is, rather than a mile west of its present location. The first Moews Seed corn was sold in 1928.
"In those days it was known as Moews Illini Super Corn. The first varieties were open pedigreed hybrids. Ben Moews' neighbors were his first customers. They bought a bushel or two of the new seed corn. ... All shapes and sizes of seed corn kernels were in one bag. A severe drought in the early 1930s proved the value of the hybrid seed corn. The farmers who planted only their own open pollinated seed corn had complete crop failures. Neighbors who planted some hybrid seed corn during those dry years harvested 10, 20, 30 bushels per acre.
"Most of the early Moews dealers were farmers. Ben Moews was a strong believer in quality. He possessed a high sense of integrity. He carried on a intensive program of plant breeding. He also required integrity and quality in the people associated with him. In 1934, 1936, 1937, three men who are still associated with Moews joined the organization. William "Vince" Ploplis, James Tonarelli and Robert Kidd. The first two worked in all phases of the plant operations and production of Moews Seed Corn. Bob started in the transportation division. He delivered seed corn to dealers in Illinois and Iowa. He has been a dealer, a district manager and has worked in plant breeding. At the present, he is in charge of the production of seeds at the home plant. At one time four son-in-laws, a son, Ralph, and two daughters of Charlie Gallcher worked for Moews.
"Ben Moews placed his own line of pedigree seed corn hybrids into the Illinois Yield Trials in 1938. Moews' varieties topped the yields in every plot they were planted in. The news spread and sales of Moews Seed Corn expanded rapidly. Thomas Machetle and Earl J. Buhn joined the Moews Company. Between 1944 and 1950, sales territories were established throughout the entire state of Iowa, northern Missouri, eastern Nebraska, parts of South Dakota, southern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. More modern sorting, drying research, warehousing facilities were added in the 1940s. In 1950 the Corn Belt Hybrid Company in Boswell, Ind., was purchased. Later the Moews Seed Company started a third plant in Perry, Iowa.
"Dec. 29, 1950, was a sad day for the Moews Seed Company. Ben Moews died, following surgery. He provided for his wife, Gladys, and his small daughter, Bettina, by establishing trusts for them. March, 1951, Bob Huey, a friend of Ben's, was hired as general manager of the Moews Seed Company. The present 1966-67 sales year will be Moews' largest. The three plants at Boswell, Ind., the home plant at Granville and the new plant at Perry, Iowa, makes it possible to serve the cornbelt farmers well. Moews customers and companies themselves, have every right to be proud."