Big Seed: How Industry Turned From Small-Town Firms To Global Giants

"Most food, if we trace it back far enough, began as a seed. And the business of supplying those seeds to farmers has been transformed over the past half-century. Small-town companies have given way to global giants.

A new round of industry consolidation is now underway. Multibillion-dollar mergers are in progress, or under discussion, that could put more than half of global seed sales in the hands of three companies.

If there's anyone who can trace the course of this transformation, and explain what drove it, it's Ed Robinson.

For most of his life, Robinson ran the family business: the J.C. Robinson Seed Co. of Waterloo, Neb. He's 92 years old now, feisty and full of opinions, especially about the seed business."

Dan Charles reports for NPR's Morning Edition April 6, 2016.