By Emily Lencioni
Just outside of Hobart, Oklahoma, a peaceful two-story farmhouse stands surrounded by barns, grain bins and farmland. The residents of that home are as loyal and true to their crops as they are to their alma mater.
“It is mind-boggling how far the seed and wheat business has come over the years compared to when my dad first started the business,” said Larry Null, whose father started Null Seed Farms in 1950.
Null Seed Farms raises and sells registered and certified seed wheat. What sets the business apart is its
focus on offering certified seed sourced exclusively from Oklahoma Genetics Inc., which is renowned for its exceptional Oklahoma State University wheat varieties. To access foundation seed for OGI varieties, producers must become members of OGI.
Null took over the family business in 1960. He said he always wanted to farm and continue building what his dad started. To prepare for that future, he attended college to get an education in agriculture.
Graduating in 1958, Null was among the first class of students known as the OSU Cowboys.
Before graduation that same year, he married Carroll Noske, who was a member of the last class of Oklahoma A&M Aggies. She graduated in 1957 with a degree in elementary education, and he earned his degree in agricultural economics.
While Noske grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Null grew up in Hobart. Her trips to Hobart to visit relatives led her to her future husband. He was even her date to the 1953 senior prom for Stillwater High School.
The couple’s wedding was planned around wheat harvest and took place at the First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater. Larry Null was anxious to get the harvest done because he was not sure when he was going to be drafted into the U.S. Military, he said.
While he was a student, he was deferred, but he knew when he graduated he would be called to serve.
In 1958, he was drafted to the U.S. Air Force but was stationed stateside, so his wife followed him.
“The goal was always to return to the farm,” Null said.
So, after declining an appointment to West Point, he returned to Oklahoma to pursue his passion for the agricultural industry.
“Hobart is so well-centralized in southwest Oklahoma in the wheat country,” said Null, who settled back in Hobart when he was honorably discharged from the Air Force.
“Our location has been fantastic,” he said. “We do a lot of seed business in Texas. People will travel to get quality seed.”
With Larry Null taking over the seed business his father started, Carroll Null found her career success as a teacher. She taught for 18 years with 10 spent teaching music, which she loved.
When she retired, she transitioned to working at the farm.
While growing up, Carroll Null was around agriculture her whole life, she said, but it was never part of her plan for her future.
“When Larry and I got married, I was not a farm girl,” Carroll Null said. “I didn’t know one end of the cow from the other or that peanuts grew in the ground.”
The family’s close ties with OSU formed when the Nulls attended college and have continued to thrive along with their business in Hobart.
Larry Null has served on several boards at OSU throughout the years, and the couple has remained connected to the university through the OSU Alumni Association.
In 2005, the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences presented Larry Null with the Master Agronomist Award. The award recognized his dedication to agronomic education programs and public service in the areas of soil conservation and crop production.
Of all the awards and honors Larry Null received, this one holds a special significance, he said. His father received the same award in 1956.
Also an alumnus of OSU, Larry’s father planted the seeds of agriculture, education and partnership that strengthened and endured for decades and into the next generations of OSU Cowboys and farmers.
Farming can be tough and agriculture is always changing, Larry Null said. The relationship the Nulls built with OSU allowed them to learn and grow with the industry along with the young agriculturalists coming out of the university.
Four generations of the Null family have graduated from OSU and all remain actively involved in the family business, Larry Null said.
Their son Tom graduated from OSU in 1986 followed by their younger son, Scott, in 1988. Scott Null’s wife, Janice, who graduated from the university in 1988, helps with the daily activities at the farm and has been the office administrator for 19 years.
“Never give up even when the going gets tough,” Scott Null said. “Perseverance is your greatest ally on the journey.”
As any farmer knows, each year brings new challenges, but the Nulls are always ready to face them and continue building a strong future for the family business, Scott Null said.
“Both grandsons, Brian and Colvin, are partners at Null Seed Farms,” Carroll Null said. “When they went to OSU, they went down the agricultural path for their education, as well.”
Scott Null’s older son, Brian, graduated with an agribusiness degree in 2014, and his younger son, Colvin, received degrees in plant and soil sciences and in animal science in 2019.
Times have evolved since Larry and Carroll Null attended college in Stillwater, Carroll Null said.
However, the agricultural industry, like OSU, remains rooted despite extensive changes, she added.
“It is important that people in agriculture support each other,” Larry Null said. “We need to support our neighbors and pass on the knowledge we have.”
Larry Null said he has helped others for so many years through agriculture and education, side by side, with OSU.
Larry and Carroll Null are proud of their family and the business started by Larry’s father so long ago. They are also proud to be part of the Cowboy family and hope future generations will continue those traditions, Larry Null said.
As the agricultural industry continues to evolve, the Nulls remain steadfast in their support for each other and their university, fostering a legacy of knowledge and tradition they hope future generations will carry forward with pride.
Source : okstate.edu