The L.D. Oliver Seed Co. property in Milton, VT is lined by nearly a quarter mile of railroad track and includes a local farm and feed store, production plant, and warehouse.
Adapted from Company Profile by Chris Lusvardi, Seed Today, Third Quarter 2019
Key Personnel
- Steve Hardy, Owner and President
- Cynthia Hardy, Administration and Finance, General Manager
- Toby Larocque, Turf Seed Specialist, Inventory Manager
- Lori Donna, Organic Product Specialist, Accounts Receivable
Company Profile
- Products include custom blended fertilizers and a wide variety of turf seed mixes along with home and garden supplies.
- Service territory includes Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine.
- Started in 1971.
As L.D. Oliver Seed Co., Inc. has grown over the years, the company has maintained its small town historical New England roots. The company is located on a thin strip of over 20 acres along a quarter mile of railroad tracks in Milton, VT, about 17 miles outside of Burlington.
The company also sells its custom mixes of grass seed and fertilizers.
Green Mt. Fertilizer (GMF), which is used for field crops or Christmas trees, and Catamount Grass Seed are L.D. Oliver’s own custom and trademarked blends of fertilizer and seed.
However, Owner and President Steve Hardy says the seed and fertilizer production can sometimes go unnoticed.
“The property opens up after the main building,” Hardy says. “Nobody realizes what goes on in the back.”
Behind the main building, the L.D. Oliver property includes a production plant with blending equipment along with a greenhouse and an over 20,000-sq.-ft. warehouse.
Company History
L.D. Oliver was started by Lawrence Oliver and Bill Nichols in 1971, selling forage, corn seed, and Purina feed. A fertilizer blend plant was built in 1978 with a focus on bulk delivery to farms. Turf seed was added at the same time. Then, by the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the focus shifted primarily to bagged products. In 1995, the warehouse was built, which consolidated all product lines, including horticulture and hydro seeding products along with seed and fertilizer.
Hardy and his wife, Cynthia, bought the company from Nichols’ wife, Peg, in 2018. Hardy, who has worked for the company since 1989, has moved up from operations manager to salesman before becoming CEO and is now owner/president.
Turf Seed Distribution
L.D. Oliver provides a wide range of Catamount grass seed mixes for its customers’ farming or gardening needs, Hardy says.
L.D. Oliver utilizes a network of distributors to sell its products. The blended seed is supplied mainly to the local market in Vermont and surrounding areas of New England including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
L.D. Oliver has its own trucks and is located along a rail line. Operating its own delivery system, Hardy says, is a benefit because it allows the company to control the product, provide timely delivery, and track its inventory.
Orders can be made on short notice and they’re able to make changes as necessary, he adds.
“We can shift on the fly,” Hardy says. “It’s not often companies control the product from start to finish.” The seed is used for a variety of purposes, including athletic fields, playgrounds, landscaping, and conservation.
The plant includes seed blending equipment to produce a variety of mixes.
L.D. Oliver distributes its seed and fertilizer products from its warehouse to customers mainly in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Warehouse
L.D. Oliver has packaging and storage capabilities in its warehouse.
Everything such as bagging and stacking pallets is done manually, which Hardy says can be physically labor intensive. Hardy says the warehouse provides the space the company needs for now, but expanding the building could help expand its capabilities for the services it provides.
As the property opens up in the back, Hardy says it could provide the space potentially expand the warehouse as more storage capacity is needed.
Products in the older part of the plant can be moved from the ground level to elevated storage using a conveyor belt.
The L.D. Oliver warehouse includes over 20,000-sq.-ft. of storage space.