In 1927 an alliance was formed between Roswell Garst and Henry Wallace to develop and promote hybrid seed corn. Garst & Thomas Hybrid Corn Company founded in 1930, later known as Garst Seed Company, was one of the world’s leading hybrid seed companies.

In 1926, the Hi-Bred Corn Company, later known as Pioneer Hi-Bred International, was founded in Des Moines by J.J. Newlin, Si Casady, Fred Lehmann, Jr., Walter Welch, George Kurtzweil, Earl Houghton, Jim Wallace, and future Vice President Henry Wallace.

In 1955. Garst sold hybrid seed to the Soviet Union and played a role in improving US-Soviet communication. In 2013, Syngenta announced the retirement of the Garst seed brand. Operations ceased in 2014 and remaining Garst hybrid corn seed products were rebranded to Golden Harvest.