For more than 75 years, Latham® Hi‑Tech Seeds has served farmers with the latest seed genetics, highest-quality products and unparalleled hometown service. But Bill Latham’s cancer diagnosis spurred a new way to serve: funding the treatment and research of cancer.

One in three people are diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and the disease affects millions of others. That’s why — for more than a decade — Latham Seeds has been a proud supporter of the American Cancer Society (ACS), beginning with its involvement in Coaches vs. Cancer. As die-hard Iowa State fans and basketball enthusiasts, we began sponsoring the Cyclones Charity Stripe event for Coaches vs. Cancer in 2013. Eventually, we expanded our support to the Hawkeyes’ program. Each season, our family-owned company donates money to the ACS for every free throw made by a Cyclone and Hawkeye player.

Through our sponsorship of the Charity Stripe Promotion, Latham Seeds has given more than $65,000 to the ACS. Each year representatives from Latham Seeds are honors at half court of a college basketball game to present a check to the ACS.

“Our family’s experience gave us a new appreciation for all the lifesaving research, treatment and support provided by the American Cancer Society,” John Latham says. “After my dad’s stem cell transplant, he and my mom stayed in the Gift of Life Transplant House. They truly felt surrounded by caring people, which meant the world to them and our entire family.”

Latham Seeds’ partnership with the ACS was further deepened in 2022 when the company launched a campaign called “Sowing Seeds of Hope” in celebration of its 75th Anniversary. The goal is to raise $75,000 for the American Cancer Society within three years.

Help Us Sow More Seeds of Hope

Thanks to Latham® Dealers, customers and employees, the company met its goal of raising $25,000 in the first year of the campaign. We need your help to stay on track to meet our goal for Year Two of this campaign.

Below are three quick and easy ways you can help during the 2023-2024 sales year:

1. Share our social posts. Latham Seeds will be recognized for its contribution to American Cancer Society at half court during the Cyclones men’s basketball games in Ames on Feb. 25. Feel free to “like” and “share” our related social media posts on Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.
2. Promote designated hybrids. For every unit sold of LH 3937 VT2 PRO, LH 5377 VT2 PRO and LH 6477 VT2 PRO, Latham Seeds will give $1 to the American Cancer Society.
3. Donate. If you feel so inclined you can make an online donation. You can also write a check payable to the American Cancer Society and mail it to Latham Seeds, 131 180^th, Alexander, IA 50420. We also appreciate the dealers who let us know they’re providing an additional $1 donation on each of the designated “HOPE” hybrids.

Thank you for joining our mission to fight cancer, one unit at a time! Learn more about this amazing opportunity.

The Latham Team placed second on August 24, 2023, in the 16^th annual Coaches vs. Cancer Charity Golf Classic presented by the Iowa PGA Section.

“We had an amazing time playing Talons of Tuscany in Ankeny,” says John Latham, president, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds. “The fairways and greens were immaculate.”

Team Latham included: John, Chris and Ian Latham plus Latham Seeds District Manager Noah Snedden and Scott Helverson.

Some Iowans will remember Helverson as a wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeyes. For the past 16 years, he has been a referee for the National Football League.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better teammate,” John says. “Scott is in great shape, and he was driving the ball extremely well. Plus, he is a great guy. He shared interesting experiences he has had as a NFL referee.”

Helversen recently officiated the preseason game between the Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. He has officiated three Super Bowls, including Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots. The New York Giants upset the undefeated New England Patriots when David Tyree made an amazing fourth quarter-catch of an Eli Manning pass by pinning it against his helmet as he was pulled to the ground.

Regardless of whom you’re cheering for, everyone wins when we play together to beat cancer.

Employees and friends of Latham Seeds are invited to join the company owners and team members in raising funds for the American Cancer Society. It was harvest season 2009 when past Latham Seeds President Bill Latham was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML).

As Blood Cancer Awareness Month is underway in September, Latham Seeds announces its commitment to year two of raising funds for the American Cancer Society. Watch the video to learn more about “Sowing Seeds of Hope”.  We hope you’ll consider a $15 donation in honor of Bill Latham’s fight against AML. Learn more and donate.

Our Latham Team showed their support by wearing BLUE this month, because “Getting checked can’t wait.”

Did you know that one in 24 people will be diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer (CRC) in their lifetime, and colon cancer is the second deadliest form of cancer in the United States. That said, CRC is highly-preventable with proper screenings, and highly-treatable when caught early.

Too many people don’t get checked when they could — and, according to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, missed or delayed screenings give colon cancer a chance to grow and become more dangerous long before symptoms appear.

Latham Seeds is taking cancer on one unit at a time. Our “Sowing Seeds of Hope” campaign goal is to raise $75,000 for our 75 years of doing business. For every unit of LH 3937 VT2 PRO, LH 5245 VT2 PRO RIB and LH 6477 VT2 PRO RIB sold, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds will donate $1 to the American Cancer Society.

Everyone knows someone whose life has been affected by cancer, and together we can provide HOPE for the future.

Our risk of being diagnosed with certain cancers can be dramatically reduced — if not prevented — simply by making healthy choices. Here’s how to start: Eat right, stay active and don’t smoke. There. You’ve already struck cancer down in half!

Here’s another tip: get cancer screenings. Don’t wait. Screenings can help detect some cancers early. Oh, and because skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States (that applies directly to those of us in agriculture who spend a lot of time outdoors), don’t mess around. Make sunscreen your new best friend.

More than 1.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer annually in the United States. Whether it’s ourselves, our parents, a neighbor or a coworker, each of us has a cancer story. No one should fight alone.

The American Cancer Society has Cancer Screen Guidelines to help guide you when you talk with your doctor.

Just being aware of cancer threats isn’t enough. Put on your shield and take action!

Learn more about our Sowing Seeds of Hope campaign where we are fighting cancer one unit at a time.

All of us at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds are so grateful for the support that’s been given to our Sowing Seeds of Hope campaign. Earlier this year we set a goal to raise $75,000 for the American Cancer Society in commemoration of our company’s 75^th anniversary. Besides donating $1 for every unit of LH 3937 VT2 PRO, LH 5245 VT2 PRO and LH 6477 VT2 PRO sold, we’re supporting local events, matching employee contributions and raising awareness through stories on social media. Watch this video to learn more about our Seeds of Hope campaign and why it’s so near and dear to us!

Ready to make an impact? Donate here. 

On a random day in March of 2017, my dad, Steve Prokosch, thought he had a hernia. His stomach was bloated, his belly button was red and extended. He wasn’t feeling well. With encouragement from our family, he went to the doctor for a CT scan. He was told he’d get results in 48 hours.

Within 40 minutes – before Dad even got home from his CT scan – the doctor called. The message was to turn around, come back to the hospital right away because there was something more going on than a hernia. The tumor inside his abdomen was the size of a cantaloupe. Within two weeks, it would double to the size of a basketball.

There were tests, a LOT of tests, and they kept Dad in the hospital to start chemotherapy treatments immediately. He was diagnosed with a super-rare cancer called Triple Hit Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. No one was sure how to manage it, so they threw everything they could at Dad: a 12-drug regimen every two weeks that lasted for five months. It wiped him out. It brought my family together more than ever before.

My Dad had never been in a hospital, no broken bones or anything of the sort. Nothing his whole life. This hospital stay was his first. He only got to go home two weekends that whole time. I know it comforted him to watch us plant in the field while he rested in bed. He knew we were keeping things going.  Check out the Caring Bridge posts that my sisters did over those long months. We prayed hard and we had so many praying for us, too.

Latham Seeds is passionate about cancer research. Learn more about our Sowing Seeds of Hope campaign. 

A stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester finally brought us hope. A very kind doctor there said he knew we farmed. He told Dad to go home, get the crop out and come back to see him when we were done.

That was all my dad needed to hear.

To this day, Dad is five years cancer-free. He thinks about it every day and praises God every day. I want to share our family’s story to remind us all how important it is to celebrate the little things in life. The blessings we have are never guaranteed.

We all know someone whose life has been affected by cancer. It’s another reason why we’re taking cancer on one unit at a time. The Latham family is very passionate about cancer research and the services the American Cancer Society has to offer. Learn more about our Sowing Seeds of Hope campaign.