Nordsaat Granskevitz

What Nordsaat Granskevitz does

Nordsaat Saatzucht GmbH (operating under the Nordsaat Granskevitz name) is a German private plant-breeding company founded in 1910 by Karl von Schultz on Rügen Island and headquartered in Langenstein, Saxony-Anhalt. The company develops high-performance cereal varieties across six core crops — winter wheat, hybrid wheat (a European specialty since the 1980s), winter and spring barley, oats, and triticale — using conventional breeding techniques such as double haploid tissue culture, outdoor high-throughput disease-resistance screening, GPS satellite-controlled field testing, and an in-house quality laboratory. It operates three breeding stations covering approximately 150 hectares of trial ground and cultivates roughly 3,000 hectares of seed annually across its own agricultural holdings, supplemented by contracted multipliers.

Nordsaat earns revenue primarily through licensing and royalty streams generated by seed varieties it breeds and that are sold globally through Saaten-Union, a distribution alliance in which Nordsaat is a co-shareholder alongside six other mid-sized European breeders. Captive agricultural subsidiaries (Nordsaat Agrar GmbH, Nordsaat Salzau, Gutsverwaltung Wittenberg, Gutsverwaltung Granskevitz, and Pflanzenbau Langenstein) provide vertical integration for pre-basic and basic seed production, with the 2025 acquisition of Agrofarm eG Lüssow adding another 2,100 hectares of arable land. The company maintains a structured apprenticeship program, a roster of specialist breeders led by Managing Directors Wolf, Claus-Henning, and Alexis von Rhade, and joint R&D programs with Saaten-Union Biotec, ASUR Plant Breeding (France), Elsoms Wheat (UK), and Hybro Saatzucht (Germany/Poland) for hybrid rye.

Key enterprise customers are anchored in the brewing industry — most notably Heineken N.V., which in 2024 placed Nordsaat's FANDAGA spring barley on its global Green List of Preferred Varieties — while the bulk of downstream demand comes from commercial farmers and contract multipliers reached through the Saaten-Union network across Germany, France, the UK, Poland, Hungary, and Romania.

Name

Nordsaat Granskevitz

Legal name

Nordsaat Saatzucht GmbH

Website

https://nordsaat.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1910

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nordsaat Saatzucht GmbH breeds high-yield cereal varieties — winter and hybrid wheat, barley, oats, and triticale — across three German breeding stations and sells them exclusively through the Saaten-Union distribution network to commercial farmers and grain processors across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant Breeding & Seed Production

NAICS

Oilseed and Grain Farming (1111), Wheat Farming (111140), Other Grain Farming (11119)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Production & Multiplication (Contract Growing, Foundation/Certified Seed) (AFABAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cereal & Grain Seeds (Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye) (AFABAFAB), Hybrid Seed Production (AFAGAIAD), Plant Breeding & Variety Development (Conventional) (AFAGAIAF)

Keywords

• Cereal seed breeding
• Plant breeding programs
• Hybrid wheat varieties
• Winter barley varieties
• Spring brewing barley

Headquarters

HQ city

Langenstein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Seed Production and Sales: Nordsaat breeds cereal varieties and Saaten-Union sells the seeds. Seeds are reproduced through direct contract cultivation in Nordsaat's own agricultural holdings, with order-based and licensed reproduction in partner firms. Focus is on production of preliminary stage and base seed. Approximately 3,000 hectares of breeding cultivation occur annually in their own agricultural holdings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nordsaat Granskevitz (legal name: Nordsaat Saatzucht GmbH) develops and breeds high-performance cereal seed varieties — winter wheat, hybrid wheat, winter and spring barley, oats, and triticale — across three German breeding stations covering approximately 150 hectares. Seeds are multiplied through the company's own agricultural holdings (~3,000 ha annually) plus licensed reproduction partners and sold exclusively through the Saaten-Union distribution network in Germany and internationally.

Product overview

Nordsaat Saatzucht GmbH is a leading European cereal breeding company offering a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance seed varieties across six core crop categories: winter wheat (including quality and high-yielding varieties), hybrid wheat, winter barley (6-row and 2-row), spring barley (brewing and feeding), spring oat, and triticale. The company operates three breeding stations on approximately 150 hectares and distributes all varieties through the Saaten-Union network. Nordsaat also provides integrated seed processing services through four processing facilities and offers agricultural holdings that link breeding research with on-field application. Educational programs include apprenticeships for Agricultural Technical Assistants, Plant Technologists, and Farmers. The company is the only European breeder working on hybrid wheat since the 1980s and has developed notable varieties like FANDAGA, which was selected by Heineken for its global preferred varieties list.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nordsaat Agrar GmbH: Agricultural holding company of the Nordsaat group managing farming operations
• Nordsaat Salzau
• Gutsverwaltung Wittenberg

Products and services

• Winter Wheat Varieties High-yielding and quality winter wheat varieties developed for European markets, including quality wheat and high-yielding wheat categories. Sold through Saaten-Union distribution.
• Hybrid Wheat Hybrid wheat varieties developed through Nordsaat's pioneering hybrid winter wheat breeding program running since the 1980s — the only European company with this capability. Developed in collaboration with ASUR Plant Breeding SAS (France).
• Winter Barley Varieties

Quantifiable outcome

• FANDAGA spring barley approved on Heineken's Green List of Preferred Varieties
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Saaten-UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1965Nordsaat is a shareholder of Saaten-Union alongside six other medium-scale plant breeders. Saaten-Union coordinates breeding, testing and production activities across Europe and offers a wide range of cultivated species with international focus. Nordsaat's varieties are sold through Saaten-Union.
• Saaten-Union BIOTEC GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1984 as Saaten-Union Resistenzlabor (resistance laboratory), renamed in 2009 for international relevance. Ensures joint finance for research and development in biotechnology and supports successful development of varieties.
• HYBRO Saatzucht GmbH & Co. KGmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the leading seed breeding companies in Germany and Europe dealing with hybrid and population rye breeding. Initial breeding takes place in Germany and Poland with numerous test locations.
• ASUR Plant Breeding SAScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated in Estrées-Saint-Denis, France. Involved in breeding of hybrid and conventional wheat. Nordsaat is a shareholder. ASUR and Nordsaat work together to breed new hybrid wheat varieties.
• German Seed Alliance GmbH (GSA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnion of four market-leading German seed breeding companies: Deutsche Saatveredelung AG, Norddeutsche Pflanzenzucht Hans-Georg Lembke KG, SAKA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, and Nordsaat Saatzucht GmbH. Focuses on integrating R&D and tapping Russian market.
• Elsoms Wheat Ltd.majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew breeding programme between Elsoms (UK), Saaten-Union Recherche (FR) and Nordsaat (DE). Draws on genetics and skills from all three companies. Main breeding station at Spalding Lincolnshire, UK.
• proWeizenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch and breeding alliance in the GFP (Gemeinschaft zur Förderung der privaten deutschen Pflanzenzüchtung). Founded November 2012 as central platform for wheat research and breeding in Germany.
• GFPi - Gemeinschaft zur Förderung von PflanzeninnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of medium-scale plant breeding companies coordinating national and European joint research projects and representing research-policy interests in Germany and EU.
• LDL Klamroth (Partner Company)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner company for seed processing alongside Nordsaat's four own processing plants.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Syngenta Group: Global agribusiness and seed major with extensive wheat and barley breeding programs in Europe. Syngenta competes with Nordsaat as a broad incumbent pursuing hybrid wheat and high-performance cereal varieties across the same geographies.
• Bayer Crop Science (including Monsanto legacy): Global seed and crop protection major with significant cereal seed operations in Europe. Bayer competes with Nordsaat in wheat and barley genetics and is positioning in hybrid wheat — directly threatening Nordsaat's pioneering lead in that category.
• Corteva Agriscience: Global seed and crop protection company with Pioneer brand cereal seed programs in Europe. Corteva competes with Nordsaat in hybrid wheat development and high-yielding cereal variety pipelines.
• KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA: One of the world's largest plant breeding companies, headquartered in Germany, with deep cereal (wheat, rye, barley) and sugar beet programs. KWS is a far larger incumbent that competes with Nordsaat across multiple European cereal categories and has greater R&D and global commercialization scale.

Direct peers

• Hybro Saatzucht GmbH & Co. KG: German hybrid and population rye breeding specialist, founded by Nordsaat in 1982. Hybro is a closely aligned partner on hybrid rye (Nordsaat Salzau handles hybrid rye processing) but also a competitor in the European rye seed market.
• Norddeutsche Pflanzenzucht Hans-Georg Lembke KG (NPZ): German medium-scale breeder of cereals, oilseeds and legumes, also a Saaten-Union and German Seed Alliance member. NPZ competes directly with Nordsaat in winter wheat and barley variety development for Northern European conditions.
• Elsoms Wheat Ltd. UK-based wheat breeding joint venture between Elsoms, Saaten-Union Recherche (France) and Nordsaat (Germany). Elsoms Wheat directly extends Nordsaat's wheat genetics into the UK market and competes in the same hybrid and conventional wheat category.
• Deutsche Saatveredelung AG (DSV): One of Germany's leading medium-scale plant breeders, active in cereals, oilseeds and grasses. DSV is a co-member of Saaten-Union and German Seed Alliance alongside Nordsaat, with directly overlapping wheat, barley and rye breeding portfolios serving the same European market.
• SAKA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (SAKA / PIONEER Hi-Bred Northern Europe): German plant breeding company focused on corn, cereals and oilseeds; Saaten-Union and GSA member. SAKA is one of the six breeder-shareholders in Saaten-Union that distribute competing varieties through the same channel as Nordsaat.
• ASUR Plant Breeding SAS: French plant breeder specializing in hybrid and conventional wheat, in which Nordsaat holds a shareholder stake. ASUR is both a partner (joint hybrid wheat breeding with Nordsaat) and a competing wheat breeder in the French and broader European market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nordsaat-saatzucht-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nordsaat Granskevitz