DroneSeed Acquires Largest Private Forestry Seed Supplier in the Western U.S.

Driven by Increasing Demand for Reforestation in the Face of Wildfires & Climate Change, Acquisition of Silvaseed Co. Positions DroneSeed as Vertically-Integrated Leader in Reforestation

(Seattle, Wash.) DroneSeed announced today it has acquired Silvaseed Company, a 130 year-old titan in the forestry seed collection and seedling supply business. The move expands DroneSeed’s reforestation services beyond aerial drone-based seeding to span seed collection, seedling cultivation in nurseries, and on-the-ground tree planting services. The acquisition comes at a critical time in the forestry industry, with skyrocketing demand for reforestation and many tree nurseries facing significant seed and seedling shortages. 

“With the compounding crises of climate change, wildfires and forest loss, accelerating the pace and scale of reforestation is essential,” said Grant Canary, CEO of DroneSeed. “By creating the industry’s first vertically-integrated reforestation company, we now offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ of reforestation services for landowners and foresters: starting from seed supply, to aerial enhanced seeding, to seedling cultivation, to traditional replanting, and more. We’re thrilled to build on Silvaseed’s track record and are doubling capacity at Silvaseed to meet intensifying demand.” 

Tackling the national shortage of tree seed & seedlings is critical to mitigate the exponentially increasing loss of forests due to wildfire and climate change. Forests are naturally regenerating fewer acres as fires impact larger areas, burn hotter, and natural “seed banks” in the soil and treetops get torched. There aren’t enough seeds or nursery capacity to regrow the trees being lost each year — the existing reforestation supply-chain evolved to boost regeneration in a minor percentage of fires, and now climate change fueled wildfire has increased demand many times over and supply of seed and seedlings hasn’t increased.  DroneSeed is eager to begin addressing this by building upon Silvaseed’s robust infrastructure and utilizing its aerial tech.

Tackling the national shortage of tree seed & seedlings is critical to mitigate the exponentially increasing loss of forests due to wildfire and climate change. Forests are naturally regenerating fewer acres as fires impact larger areas, burn hotter, and natural “seed banks” in the soil and treetops get torched. There aren’t enough seeds or nursery capacity to regrow the trees being lost each year — the existing reforestation supply-chain evolved to boost regeneration in a minor percentage of fires, and now climate change fueled wildfire has increased demand many times over and supply of seed and seedlings hasn’t increased.  DroneSeed is eager to begin addressing this by building upon Silvaseed’s robust infrastructure and utilizing its aerial tech.

“As we look to the future, we are pleased that DroneSeed will continue our work of reforesting the land we love in a way that is scalable and sustainable” said retiring former-owners and brothers David and Mike Gerdes of Silvaseed by email. “Transitioning our business to DroneSeed made sense from both a strategic and practical perspective. We are proud of the work we have collectively done to build lasting relationships with our customers for whom we have produced seed and grown a lot of seedlings over the years.”

Matthew Aghai, DroneSeed’s Senior Director of Biological Research & Development, will serve as interim general manager of Silvaseed with support from industry veteran Arnoud de Villegas. The company will continue seed collection and seedling operations with the Silvaseed name and brand.  DroneSeed is not disclosing the value of the transaction and associated costs of doubling capacity, but it was supported in part through capital raised in DroneSeed’s recent Series A funding round. DroneSeed plans to announce the results of the funding round in the near term. 

About DroneSeed 

DroneSeed is scaling reforestation to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. DroneSeed offers vertically integrated reforestation services across seed collection and procurement, seedling growth, aerial enhanced seeding with drones, traditional replanting on the ground, and funding for reforestation projects from carbon credits. Based in Washington State, DroneSeed was founded in 2016. 

DroneSeed customers include non-profits such as The Nature Conservancy, three of the five largest timber companies, tribal nations, and government agencies. DroneSeed is the first and only company approved by the FAA to operate heavy-lift drone swarms to reforest land. DroneSeed’s novel technology enables up to five aircraft to be managed by a single pilot using a computer, with each aircraft carrying 57 lbs. of seed vessels. The seed vessels carry geographically-appropriate seeds and boost the seed survival rate through precision deployment, moisture retention, biomimicry and predation deterrence. 

To learn more, visit DroneSeed or check recent press including CNN and NBC’s Today Show.