Golden Harvest Seeds, Inc. was founded April 23, 1973 when seven companies in the 13-member Funk G Hybrids conglomerate decided to end their partnership with the latter.

[3] Akin Seed left the partnership early, while Columbiana Seed was purchased by SeedTec following bankruptcy; the remaining five members continued as Golden Harvest until it ceased to exist as an independent entity.

The lawsuit was prompted by J.C. Robinson Seeds' expressed interest in exiting the Golden Harvest association.

[5] In 2003, J.C. Robinson Seeds purchased a controlling interest in the Dutch company Zelder, adding its corn-related activities to the Golden Harvest group.

[7] Golden Harvest and Garst ceased to exist as independent legal entities at the end of 2012,[8] but Syngenta continues to market many of both companies' hybrid corn seed products under the Golden Harvest brand name.