In 1933, Ray W. Hagie graduates from Iowa State College and begins to experiment with hybrid seed corn on 1.5 acres of his father’s farm. The following year, Hagie Hybrids is founded. In 1936, the drought shows the advantages of hybrid, and the seed business booms. In October 1943, a fire occurred at the Hagies Hybrids seed dryer. The following year after the fire, a new Hagie’s Hybrids seed corn plant was built in Clarion, IA.